I was devastated the first tour he moved to a standard setlist. But I have to admit that first show I saw.. even though I went into it knowing the setlist, was really really good. First time I ever heard him do "What Good Am I?" Forgive my memory, but by (temporary) new guitarist, do you mean Duke Robbilard?
For me, 2013 was a low point. I saw him that summer on the Americanarama-lama-ding-dong tour and he was growling and barking through the set. It just felt stale. The show certainly lacked the spark of the two shows I saw in 2012. Maybe it was an off night? 2014 was much better and definitely had him moving towards the magnificent shows he's done in the past few years. That's when he would close the show with Stay With Me, months before the first "Sinatra" record came out.
Yep, the deposed duke of robillard. I also went to a show just a few dates into the tour and kept expecting that surely not every song would be identical. But they were! What Good Am I was something, as was IIRC the then-new haunted house/Ain’t Talkin’-esque arrangement for Pay in Blood. The next fall, I got to see the showstopping “Stay with Me” encore and thought that things should start to get interesting right about now.
M I saw that tour in Nashville. I remember being pretty underwhelmed except for A Simple Twist Of Fate. He really seemed to come alive on that one.
Hey, anybody need -20% discount code to Bob Dylan Official Store? I got one today from the Dylan-newsletter. I can share the code, so if anybody wants it send me private message.
I saw him on that tour. Terrible venue, but with the Richard Thompson Trio and Wilco opening before him (and Thompson jamming on "Sloth" with Wilco), it was worth it. Thank heavens because this wasn't one of Dylan's best nights either. It figures, the one show I go to where he's just a few feet away and it's by far the worst one. Maybe he wasn't in good shape, but the low point was when he forgot some of the words to "Simple Twist of Fate." For a moment, you think he was just holding a long pause, which seemed reasonable given how he experiments with phrasing. Instead, that pause went on a bit long, and he quickly dropped a few syllables of complete gibberish. Charlie Sexton, who was standing right next to Dylan, looked right at him with a horrified expression before looking back down at his guitar. I thought that was going to be the last show, but then he swung through NYC in 2017 (his Thanksgiving Beacon residency which I guess won't be happening this year thanks to COVID), and I thought, "I should go see him - he's not getting younger, and sweet Jesus just look at all the people who died in the past two years: Prince, Bowie, Grant Hart, Merle Haggard, Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, Walter Becker..." At minimum, I'd get to see Mavis Staples, and she was great - after singing "Freedom Highway," she said "I was there [the Selma march]...and I'm still here." Tremendously humbling, that alone made the evening. Then Dylan came out, and the first number was good. Second, solid...then ****, this is turning into a really good show, and before I knew it, I was pleasantly surprised by what felt like the best Dylan show I've ever seen. I'm sure he still has an off night, just as some cuts on the new album are better than others. But he can still knock it out way out of the park, so I wouldn't write off his shows just yet.
A bit late to the party, but I finally got the vinyl in the mail today...it was released up here last Friday. Records play well. Sound is quite good, vocals positioned well in the mix. Good stuff.
I think I’ve seen about 80 Dylan shows since 97. Before he got his live show to a consistent state around the time of the Shadows in the Night, I used to figure you’d get one good show for every 4, and one great one for every 10. You still had to go every time because it was worth the chance of getting a great one. But since about 2015 I haven’t seen one that wasn’t great.
I did't look through this entire thread but long time forum member Joe Nino-Hernes cut this! JNH deadwax. I remember Joe back in 04 loving on his AR3's! Now all grown up working at Sterling!
My experience has been that if you are upfront, all of the shows are great, especially if you are "on the rail" at the stage.
certainly Dylan. also notice he is wearing his hat (see the brim) which is casting shadow over his eyes. it is obviously Dylan
For me the real nadir was around 2007-2009. 2010-11 had some interesting moments when he switched from organ to grand piano and started doing some more centre-stage work, focusing on his voice. The US 2013 Americanarama shows were still rough - I suspect his heart wasn't in the concept - but by the European tour in the autumn he was focused and on fire - London Royal Albert Hall 2013 might just be the best show I've been to since 2003... or 2005 at the latest. 2014 wasn't quite the same level, but after that his voice seemed to increasingly clear and strong and he mostly quit the lazy singing. The increasingly quiet band sound allowed him to restore nuance to his singing - refined on the cover albums and coming into full fruition on Rough and Rowdy Ways. For me, False Prophet is the only example of the lazy, barking singing of his nadir that made it onto the new album. I'm sure it's fun for him to belt it out like that, but it's not fun for me and I wish he'd abandon that style altogether. I know others differ - there's a lot of love for Pay in Blood for instance - but Long and Wasted Years and Goodbye Jimmy Read show that can still sing with full force without letting his voice break up, and I much prefer that.
All it is is high contrast b&w. That is a very old technique (over 100 years in use) not requiring photoshop at all. High contrast eliminates all skin texture. Simple stuff.
I just listened to my EU copy from The In Groove - and it's pretty much flawless Thanks so much for tip! Anyone on the fence for vinyl should spring for the EU copy - of course maybe I just got lucky w/ Optimal... Everyone knows United is "not the best" but frankly both my copies were so noisy (one was also really warped and another had a too small spindle that I had to force on the platter) that it feels disrepectful - I mean this is a new Bob Dylan album FFS. Another thing - did anyone notice how far back in the mix the percussive effect on Black Rider is compared to the hi-res digital download. I don't think it was necessarily remixed but the mastering is definitely different on that track. I prefer the quieter effect on the lp - it's a little less gimmicky. This is a fantastic album and I'm so happy to have an awesome copy on LP!
WTF! Finally found some time to pick this up at an independent local record shop. Noisy and pops galore! I hit the needle with a magic eraser before it went down for the first time. Had to “eject” almost immediately. Bust out the EDM brush for a swipe...thought all should be well... forehead slap!!!!!!! Back to WTF. Fark general distribution LP’s...Convinced to only ever buy from Quality Pressings from now on...or old used of the flimsy type. ..SO SICK OF BEING BURNED!!!!!!
It’s one of those albums I enjoy more every time I play it. On about the 10th listen, I’m still picking up subtle instrumental motifs (particularly guitars) I hadn’t really noticed previously.
My bad...just reinforced why I have a few turntables. Put it through a few different ones with “lesser stylus” . The pressing I have needs to be cleaned out. Giving it a wash is the last thing you want to do with new records...(guess you gotta think of them as underwear. Any suggestions of a “cleaner groove out” cartridge for new pressings? It would make millions Quality Pressings made us complacent.
A question for people with the black vinyl.... I picked up a copy from my local shop in Ontario, Canada, and it has a New York address on the sleeve but runout says EU not US. Has anyone else received this?
