Bob Dylan: "Trouble No More 1979 - 1981" - The Bootleg Series Vol. 13

I think there's plenty of evidence suggesting that Dylan's born-again fervor waned after 1982--and I don't know if it makes somebody a hypocrite to change one's mind about such things. If there is one constant with Dylan, it's that he's been evolving for the past fifty years--artistically, and, I assume, as a person.

If he does indeed regret what he said during these shows, it only makes sense that he would ask that recordings of these comments removed from this title, and I can't necessarily fault him for making the request. This is a collection of music, not trial discovery.

 

Just a few more weeks. It looks like the Copyright Series concept is over and done with. Too bad, but not unexpected.

 

If this is actually FOR REAL, Keith Baugh is the most pompous, sanctimonious, ego-centric, self-righteous eh-hole I've never heard of. This has GOT to be a joke!

 

I'd love to disagree with you, but at the moment I don't see any reason to. We'll know for sure within three weeks. Fingers crossed.

 

His name appears in the credits on the box set as being the supplier of said photograph, so I'd say it's safe to conclude that what you think has got to be a joke actually is not.

 

No, I don't doubt that he took the photograph in the book.

Everything he says about taking the photograph is a joke, there is almost nothing there that is true. Lots of people took pictures of Bob Dylan back in the day. Just because the tickets said, "No cameras allowed" doesn't make him a genius.

 

After waiting an extra two weeks beyond the estimated delivery date and slowly making my way through the first four discs and San Diego, I've spent the past couple of days catching up on the 80+ pages of discussion that I've missed here since release day.

I'm normally one to tune out when Dylan's lyrics are dissected to the nth degree (this is a constant problem I have with many biographers, Ian Bell being one that comes to mind most recently...) but the context and analysis provided here by @RayS and others has been almost as revelatory as the content of the box set itself.

Unlike most, I have long regarded Saved to be top tier Dylan (among my favourite five or six Dylan albums). I consider many of the songs that came about in this second phase of his gospel writing, celebrating his newfound faith, to be among his most inspired and transparent. By contrast, I've never really taken to much of the first phase of his gospel period, the finger pointing material on Slow Train Coming; songs built around lists that are somewhat lacking melodically (the sublime trilogy of I Believe in You, Precious Angel and When He Returns being the obvious exceptions).

Trouble No More reaffirms my belief that the body of work (live and in the studio) that celebrates Dylan's faith circa late 1979/early 1980 is among his greatest lyrically, melodically and most of all, vocally. You cannot fake passion and inspiration like this and the band and backing vocalists help create a stunning tour de force. It's impossible not to be moved by everything from the era's classics (that overwhelming version of Solid Rock from San Diego '79 or any version of Pressing On) to the comparatively minor tracks (I Will Love Him).

The other side of this Bootleg Series release is the reappraisal of material that never really appealed in the first place - which, like Another Self Portrait, is the primary objective here. And in every sense, this has been a huge success too. Thanks to an array of powerful live performances, I've enjoyed When You Gonna Wake Up?, Slow Train and Gotta Serve Somebody like never before. The 1978 soundcheck version of Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others) finally cracked that track for me as well.

On to some highlights and further observations...

As consistently great as the material is, Caribbean Wind (pedal steel) and Making a Liar Out of Me stand at the summit of an incredibly high mountain. I've always thought that there must be a goldmine of Caribbean Wind takes in the can but I never dreamed that any would approach would approach the genius of this take. Obviously, in this incarnation, it would have no place on a Dylan album circa 1981 and its creator's struggle to capture it in a manner that was self-fulfilling and suitable for public consumption is as heart-wrenching as the frustration expressed throughout the She's Your Lover Now session.

It's not overly surprising that Making a Liar Out of Me suffered an even more abrupt fate. Try as I might, I can't imagine this one being given the Shot of Love treatment (as per the Biograph version of Caribbean Wind). It seems possible that Bob just didn't know where to take it next. But I find it amazing that certain lines were not pulled apart and used elsewhere (especially as we're coming into an era when this became more commonplace - Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart, New Danville Girl, etc.). That third verse absolutely floored me on first listen; "That you must have been beautiful when you were living/You remind me of some old-time used-to-be," brings to mind the, "You would not think to look at him..." lines in Desolation Row, and I mean that as the highest compliment. It's incredible to think that in an alternate universe a 1981 Dylan album could have contained a sequence of, ...Liar, Caribbean Wind, ...Groom..., Angelina and Every Grain of Sand - that would have put it straight into the elite Blood on the Tracks/Blonde on Blonde territory.

There's one other performance I want to draw attention to, because I haven't seen it discussed too much here. Trouble No More continues the (now) long tradition of moments on Dylan archival releases literally making my jaw drop the first time I hear them. For context, some other recent examples are the stunning alternate version of I Can't Wait on Tell Tale Signs, Wild Mountain Thyme (and that whole portion of the set) from Isle of Wight, Visions of Johanna takes #4 and #5 from The Cutting Edge and the apocalyptic Like a Rolling Stone from 26/05/66. Here, it's that raucous version of Ain't Gonna Go to Hell for Anybody on disc four. It's a disorganised, noisy, onslaught that I just can't get enough of. The rocking riff and unforgettable solo, the way Bob trips over almost unintelligible lyrics, the way he sings "crazy" in the second verse, the line about "legs spread apart" (in a gospel track!) and the beautiful chorus from the backing vocalists that almost holds everything together - it's exhausting and empowering with so many twists and turns. As incredible as the disc two version is, this one is something to behold.

There's plenty more moments I'd love to discuss - that incredible Dead Man, Dead Man outtake that completely transforms a track I'd never given much time to and the Portland version of Man Gave Names to All the Animals that is the closest to a mod-Bob vocal I've heard from a pre-Never Ending Tour performance...but I've rambled long enough for now. I never had any doubt that I'd love this set but it has absolutely exceeded even my wildest expectations. The best part is I still have Toronto and Earl's Court left to explore...

 

I agree with you totally on this particular point. Has anyone said it before?

Great and thoughtful post overall. I’m glad you waited this long.

 

It looks to me like his writing and recording became more associated with other topics than overt gospel music after 1981. That isn't surprising, given that he had a twenty year history of folk and rock 'n roll writing and recording, rather than a twenty year history of gospel music. It isn't as if gospel, American folk, and rock 'n roll don't have an intimate connection, regardless. It is easy for Dylan to jump between different musical genres because he isn't a one trick pony. It's easy to focus on career developments after a three year period of writing and recording mostly gospel music and extrapolate more from that than what we actually know. I agree that Dylan changes as an artist and as a person, but focusing on musical diversions from a narrow musical genre, that he didn't have a history in maintaining a career in prior to 1979 at the age of 38, and claiming that it means that he changed his mind in a way that he hasn't explicitly stated seems like a rash judgment to me.

Regardless of the reasons for leaving sermons off of the CDs, it allows Dylan's artistry as a singer and song writer to speak for his career, rather than as a paid preacher, an occupation for which we normally expect a formal education and commitment to in terms of more time at school than Dylan devoted to his "gospel period". That Dylan never did devote himself to seminary begs the question of why people would pay money to listen to him preach on a CD. It's one thing to endure it when you're a captive audience and are part of a communal experience at a concert. It's quite another thing to pay money to listen to a non licensed preacher on a CD at home or in the car. It's not that there isn't a market to hearing Bob Dylan preach. It's just that the market for listening to Bob Dylan sing and play guitar is much greater.

 

Been listen to this set for a while now. First thought is that this isn't Gospel music, and the set should have been called 'The King of Christian Rock'.

 

It makes him a photographer with a photo used as an album cover.

 

Rash judgment? *shrugs* My bad. I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of how, in just the past three years or so, he's allowed the release of something like 70 compact discs or vintage music (not counting downloads and copyright extension sets) and yet the only recordings he's alleged to have personally vetoed is the release of any of his onstage sermons from 1979-81. (Has anybody within his organization stated that the decision was not made by Bob?) Sorry if it seemed like a rash judgment.

For what it's worth, I don't have an issue with the exclusion of the vintage sermons, although it's not a debate I'm especially passionate about either way.

 

Really? Which album cover would that be?

 

Dylan approves the bootleg series, but, from what I've read, doesn't get involved with the nitty gritty details. He's busy enough as a recording artist and touring artist. That's why it's possible that either he, Sony, or the producer of Bootleg 13 made the decision not to include the sermons. The reasons for not including might range from Dylan's prerogative to increasing the commercial viability of the various Bootleg 13 packages, or doing so might have been how everyone involved wanted to present the studio and live recordings as a package.

 

"When You Gonna Wake Up" is great live. Listening to the Toronto show.

 

Regarding the inclusion of the sermons (or lack thereof), I doubt it ever reached the point where a Dylan veto was necessary.

Like many here, I was bitterly disappointed when it was revealed that the sermons would be omitted but having now had time to digest this and delve in to the set, I can understand why this decision was made. While The Cutting Edge and The 1966 Live Recordings both feature a fair amount of studio and stage banter respectively, they are more historical documents than carefully curated collections.

If the purpose of Trouble No More is to provide a rewarding listening experience and fresh perspective on an era of Dylan's career that has been long overlooked for its heavy handed approach to a divisive concept, including the sermons would surely be counterproductive. To use a cliche, the 'fire and brimstone' of the sermons highlight what turned many off Dylan's 1979/80 output in the first place.

Naturally, when 98% of the content on a recording is music and the remainder is spoken word, that 2% has powerful cut-through. Evidence of this is that most press from last year's The 1966 Live Recordings set highlighted Dylan's quips from the Paris show. Or to go even further, there would barely be a review of Bootleg Vol. 4 that doesn't contain the word, "Judas" inside the first two paragraphs. If the Tempe sermon, for example, were included here, it would be a focal point of many reviews.

Placing the sermons alongside the spellbinding performances within Trouble No More would have no doubt drawn attention away from the music. If the aim was to provide a comprehensive historical account of Dylan's Gospel tours, they would, of course, be essential. Instead, the radio spot promoting the Portland show provides amusing and 'safe' period context.

The other factor that I suspect was at play here is the potential damage their inclusion could have done to the Dylan brand. In today's world of click-bait journalism where the real story is sacrificed for the sake of a provocative headline, some fool would no doubt have penned an article entitled, 'Nobel Prize Winner Bob Dylan's Racist On-Stage Rant' or some other such nonsense.

Having said all of that, I see no reason why the sermons could not have been preserved on the San Diego discs (other than for the sake of consistency with the full set); especially given the market for that release is even more exclusive than 'Big Blue'.

 

I’m listening to the two CD set in the car and the first disc is much stronger musically than the second. The second disc started getting good for me towards the end. Only have listened each disc once so far.

 

Whilst it is sometimes referred to as Bob's Gospel period, you are right that the music never really is gospel-ly. It is Bob playing rock music with Christian lyrics.

 

Frankly, if I was in charge of that kind of project, I would definitively make that phone call to Mr Dylan.

 

I bet it was Jeff Rosen who made the call to not have the raps. He probably wanted to focus on the music and probably knew that Dylan would agree with the approach. The guy has been with Bob for so long... He knows what to do with the Bootleg Series.

I myself don't mind not having them. I'd probably listen a few times but likely skip them to get to the music. However, like others I think the raps should have been on the San Diego set for sure. Finally got the CD set by the way!

 

Not only is it "Christian rock" but my current opinion after half-digesting this set is it is in many respects the toughest, rocking-est rock of his career, taking the period as a whole. I wasn't really in the mood for this era Dylan, I thought, when this set came out, but it's winning me over.

 

I would agree more regarding Slow Train Coming and Shot Of Love; on the other hand, I find many of the Saved songs to be quite "gospelly" -- thinking of "Saved" itself, along with "Saving Grace" and "Pressing On." I'm not a musicologist, but to me those songs (and some others) seem to draw more from the gospel music tradition than rock or blues or folk.

 

Does anyone here have an American pressing of the boxset? I ordered one from Grooves.Land (a German company I've used in the past without issue) that came today, and I just want to verify the IFPI codes on the back of a CD to ensure this is legit. (I ordered it for about $150USD). Thanks in advance!

 

His original sermons, for me, had already proven that.

 

It's easy to assume, albeit in error, that Dylan Inc is embarrassed by the Sermons to a degree.