Bob Dylan's Best Touring Band

I stand by the last 20+ years, but that’s clearly the band, the moment.

 

The Hawks '66 hands down for me.

 

The Dylan/Petty show I saw was excellent. Bob seemed inspired by the Heartbreakers.

The Dylan/Dead show was probably the worst rock concert I've ever seen.

 

The one with Jim Keltner and Tim Drummond. Hehe

 

Sexton/Campbell/Kemper band was amazing, and it doesn't hurt that Dylan was often in great form. They handled nearly every kind of American music with incredible skill, while balancing a repertoire of 100+ songs (more if one considers all the songs they played over their years together).

2003 band with Dylan on piano and Freddie Koella on gtr is a favorite of mine, too. What a great sound.

Hard to compare these to the glory years, Rolling Thunder or Hawks '66. Dylan was so different and everything else was too, and I wasn't around to see them, either. I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone claiming them.

 

Guam/Rolling Thunder
The Gospel Band 79-80
Campbell/Sexton/Kemper (Recile) 97-02 (easily the best NET band IMO).

 

I know this is heresy, but the RTR band is one of my least favorite configurations. They certainly had their moments. But their style (esp Wyeth and Stoner) wears on me after a while.

 

The kimball/freeman/Herron combo was really good too. The 2005 Birmingham show is one I go back to again.

 

IMO The Band would be the correct answer here

Again IMO, Rob Stoner is the worst bass player I've ever heard Dylan playing with. All those chromatic walking bass runs Stoner seemed to insist on playing on, like, every f--king song, it seems...I can handle him on Desire and Hard Rain but over the course of an entire Rolling Thunder Revue show his bass playing drives me bonkers! Stoner was definitely the weak link in that particular lineup. Howie Wyeth's drumming isn't bad, especially when you consider that the guy was completely strung out at the time.

The lineup I saw Bob playing with in '98 was pretty damn good, I must admit...if memory serves it was basically the Love And Theft band, but I don't recall Charlie Sexton being there on the night.

 

G.E.Smith and Freddy Koella were the best guitarists Dylan has toured with. Fred Tackett was great too. Mick Ronson was very good in the RTR. Michael Bloomfield would’ve been great with Dylan had he toured extensively.

The rest...meh to Charlie Sexton to be honest. Too jingley jangly. Not sure he’s ever done a run that starts or ends on the top E string or isn’t in A.
I think Robbie Robertson was a solid guitarist but no musical genius.
Billy Cross was solid as well but a bit too reserved.
Don’t think Mick Taylor was particularly great on the 1984 tour, certainly not Rolling Stones 1973 great.
Larry Campbell had his moments. Too forceful as an acoustic player though, which was a strong point of JJ Jackson, who conversely was a bit undisciplined as an electric player sometimes. Jackson’s interplay with Bucky Baxter around 1994-1996 was fantastic.

Best drummer was Chris Parker, by a mile.

Bass...meh. Garnier isn’t great. I’d probably go with Kenny Aaronson who at least injected a bit of funkiness into things.

 

Lots of props here for the gospel band. Great musicians all, but that band just doesn't do much for me (nor does most of the material from that era).

 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Queens of Rhythm

 

Not me. Love that band and espeically that rhythm section. After the Hawks, probably my favorite Dylan backing band.

 

the 78 and 88 bands were also exc. late 78/im not a big Rob Stoner fan.
the worst was when he had the one guy from Spirit(not Randy C, the one who came in later)
and the guitar tech playing the guitars.

 

When was that?

 

1990

 

On the other end of the spectrum, One of the lineups I was less enamored with from Spring 2003 Tour:

Bob Dylan - guitar, piano, harp
Larry Campbell - guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, cittern
Freddie Koella - guitar
Tony Garnier - bass
George Recile - drums

Bob on Keyboards mostly + Freddie Koella on guitar was a BIGTIME change from the last shows I saw previously in Spring 2002.

 

I liked Koella. Esp the way Bob introcuded him : "Fred-ee
Kooo-wallah"

Stoner was bass player trying to be a lead guitarist. One of those bass players always noodling up at the top of the neck.
And Wyeth compulsively beat that China cymbal like a rented mule. No subtelty.
Not a particularly skilled rhythm section IMO.

 

And especially because of Mickey Jones on drums, for me.

RTR, with Rob Stoner and T-Bone works for me, too. I do like the current lineup that he’s had relatively intact for the past while, but I don’t find them as interesting as The Hawks, The Band, RTR or his late 70s band...or even his Budokan band!

 

I'm not a big fan of the gospel era, but Drummond/keltner was a killer rhythm section.

 

This is a good resource, aims to document every band that has backed Dylan live since 1965.
Bob Dylan's Gigging Bands

 

1991 also. John Staehely was his name.

 

I saw a couple of shows in Paris in the early 2000's (might have been 2002 or 2003) and the Campbell/ Sexton / Garnier band was including Jim Keltner in the drums. Monster shows on back to back nights with very different set list and a wonderful venue. They were my first shows seeing the Bobster and I really was impressed. Have seen many show after that, but those shows kept in my mind.

J

 

My favorite Dylan band also

 

Yes, he was gone by 91. 91 was rough too.