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Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition

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Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition
A star-studded show celebrating the music of Bob Dylan, televised around the world thirty years after the release of his first Columbia recording, 1962's Bob Dylan, could have been seen as swan song; after all, Dylan was in a period of songwriting inactivity that would last from 1990 through to his potent reemergence with 1997's Time Out of Mind (Columbia) and a less prolific but still impressive period ever since. But at the time, nobody knew if Dylan the songwriter was finished. In fact, nobody even knew if Dylan was going to show up to his own party at New York City's Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992, where fellow '60s folk icons like Richie Havens were invited to deliver interpretations of Dylan material alongside contemporary singer/songwriters Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Shawn Colvin and Rosanne Cash, country stars Willie Nelson, June Carter Cash and husband Johnny, blues six-stringers Johnny Winter and Eric Clapton, punk progenitor Lou Reed, folk-rock legends Roger McGuinn and Neil Young, roots godfathers The Band, and a bevy of other stars—some rising, some falling and others in a holding pattern.

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration was originally released in 1993 on CD and VHS tape; the Deluxe Edition brings it back into print on CD (expanded with two bonus tracks), two-disc DVD and single-disc Blu- Ray, and while the content is identical on the video media, there are a few significant differences between them and the two-CD audio version. For one, the audio version differs from both the video and original 1993 release by including two rehearsals. One, Eric Clapton performing a blues-drenched "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a worthy partner to the live version, though with other performances from both the show and bonus area of the Blu-Ray and DVD left out, it's a fair question to ask why two versions of the same song are really necessary.

More significant, however, is the inclusion of Sinead O'Connor's rehearsal of "I Believe in You," the tune she was meant to sing at the tribute show. Instead, introduced by Kristofferson as "an artist whose name has become synonymous with courage and integrity," she is booed for two long minutes, the result of her infamous tearing up of a picture of the Pope on the Saturday Night Live television show less than two weeks prior. After two false starts and master of ceremonies Kris Kristofferson's clear encouragement for her to continue, she instead waves the band silent, instructs her microphone to be turned up and launches into an a cappella version of Bob Marley's "War," the same song she sang on SNL in protest of child abuse in the church. "War" is included on the Blu- Ray and DVD, but it's unfortunate that she was unable to perform "I Believe in You," as the rehearsal reveals it to be a gorgeous rendition, delivered with a fragile truth almost diametrically opposed to her outpouring of outrage (yet similar in its absolute honesty) in "War" while—coming, as it does, from the first of Dylan's three "born again" recordings, Slow Train Coming (Columbia, 1979)—making total contextual sense.

While it did slightly derail the proceedings, the show quickly resumed, and with Neil Young delivering a potent one-two punch of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and an even more incendiary take of "All Along the Watchtower," his reckless abandon on guitar as vicious as O'Connor's Singing of "War," the focus once again returns to Dylan, as the second half of the show keeps ratcheting up the power. Chrissie Hynde's rocking balladic look at "I Shall Be Released" contrasts with The O'Jays' gospel-infused version of "Emotionally Yours." Despite the painful loss of pianist/vocalist/drummer Richard Manuel to suicide in 1986, leaving Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson as The Band's only remaining original members—even more tragic that Hudson is now the only member of the three heard on this release who is still alive in this second decade of the new millennium—the group that was, at one point, Dylan's backing band and whose interpretations of the singer/songwriter's music remain, in many cases, definitive, delivers a two accordion-driven version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece" that easily trumps the original on Cahoots (Capitol, 1971).

There are other highlights that take place prior to the O'Connor debacle: Johnny Winter reprises his slide guitar-heavy, hard-rocking version of "Highway 61 Revisited" first heard on Second Winter (Columbia, 1969) but here gone thoroughly nuclear, while guitarist Ron Wood delivers a version of "Seven Days" that in some ways makes his subjugation in the The Rolling Stones and consequently largely overlooked solo career something of a shame. And while a few too many singers try to adapt and adopt Dylan's inimitable approach to phrasing and delivery (the two biggest culprits: John Mellencamp and Tom Petty, despite both turning in admirable performances), one performance that seems to have actually gotten better with time is Lou Reed's searing version of "Foot of Pride." Backed by the evening's crack group, led by musical director/guitarist G.E. Smith and featuring drummers Anton Fig and Jim Keltner along with three-quarters of Booker T. & The M.G.'s—organist T., guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck Dunn—it's hard not to believe Reed when he sings:

They got some beautiful people out there, man
They can be a terror to your mind and show you how to hold your tongue
They got mystery written all over their forehead
They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young
They don't believe in mercy
Judgement on them is something that you'll never see
They can exalt you up or bring you down main route
Turn you into anything that they want you to be

Well, there ain't no goin' back
When your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back


Reed's unschooled and furiously raw electric guitar scorches, while he speaks Dylan's prose more than sings it, but does so with so much unbridled rage—filled with frenzied growls and caustic screams belied by his relatively calm and collected physical stance, as he reads the lyrics from a music stand—that it sets a very high bar early in the evening that is only met and raised because nobody else (other than, perhaps, Young, who approaches—but doesn't quite reach—Reed's sneering indignation) even attempts to deliver Dylan's music with the same kind of visceral veracity. Only O'Connor approaches the kind of truth that Reed does with "I Believe in You," albeit with an unashamed vulnerability that makes it all the more a shame she was unable to perform it at the concert.

Contrasting the electric music are some fine acoustic performances: Richie Havens' "Just Like a Woman" could well be the definitive version, his characteristic fast- strummed guitar driving the song in a much different way than most who treat the song as a ballad; still rising stars Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, with G.E. Smith adding some tasteful mandolin, deliver a simmering "Masters of War"; its three-chord form may be simple, but the trio ekes as much drama as possible when it moves from the single chord that drives the verses into the two chords of the chorus. Tracy Chapman's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is relatively faithful, but her fragile vibrato and powerful guitar work suggest a song that still rings true today.

There are a couple of missteps. As great as Stevie Wonder is, his soulful but overly melismatic delivery is just too over-the-top; it's unfortunate that his usually good instincts failed on this occasion, making it an early precedent to what would later become the American Idol "phenomenon." A countrified version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" features three great voices—Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Rosanne Cash and Shawn Colvin—but it's a little too light. His Heartbreakers may perform admirably, but Tom Petty's delivery is just a bit too "Dylan" for comfort. There's no denying Dylan's vocal approach has informed everyone from Petty to Mark Knopfler, but when it becomes imitation—especially in a tribute show where the goal is to bring something personal to the music—it loses its own personality. Mellencamp, too, does his best "Dylan" on "Like a Rolling Stone," but ruins it with solo spots for his over-the-top backup vocalists that are saved only by a lovely turn from violinist Lisa Germano. He turns in a better take with the blues of "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" that, while part of the two-CD set only appears as a bonus feature on the Blu Ray/DVD (and, like the two other bonus performances, in standard definition).

There's more—Willie Nelson's beautifully deadpan delivery of "What Was It You Wanted," Kris Kristofferson's countrified "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and the even more up-tempo country of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash's "It AIn't Me Babe." The Clancy Brothers open a lovely, traditional take on "When The Ship Comes In" by saying "You never thought you'd hear Dylan with an Irish accent, did you?," while George Harrison contributes a rocking version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" that, surprisingly, falls close into the "too close to Dylan for Dylan" category, but is saved with some beautiful guitar work at the song's end that puts G.E. Smith's overly zealous trade-offs to shame. The Byrds' Roger McGuinn, backed by Petty & the Heartbreakers, delivers a nostalgic version of "Mr. Tambourine Man," while McGuinn joins Harrison, Clapton, Petty, Young...and Dylan (yes, he does show up) for another retro version of "My Back Pages" that sticks closely to the Byrds' arrangement, but gives each of the stars a verse of their own.

And therein lies The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition's biggest problem. Dylan's voice has always been something of an acquired taste, and one that's gone through many changes over the years, but he's definitely been in much better form than he is here, and might have been better to have simply sat on the sidelines and basked in the adulation. His two solo performances— "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "Girl From North Country"—are so nasal as to be painful, even more so when he holds a note for any length of time. The obligatory "everybody in the pool" "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" isn't as bad, but combined with Dylan's performances, it does make the final twenty minutes of The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition somewhat anticlimactic.

It's a shame that Nancy Griffith's version of "Boots of Spanish Leather" and Booker T. & The M.G.'s "Gotta Serve Somebody" are relegated to "bonus feature" status on the DVD/Blu Ray and omitted entirely from the two-CD set—though at 78:52 and 79:20, there's not much room left for anything. Still, Clapton rehearsal could have been excluded (a better bet for bonus feature on DVD/Blu Ray); ditto Mellencamp's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"—which is included as a video bonus—could have been swapped out so that Griffith and Booker T could have been given some CD space, since one Mellencamp tune and one version of the Clapton tune more than suffice.

Still, these are minor quibbles. Dylan may not have been in good voice at the time, and there are a couple of missteps with Wonder, Petty and Mellencamp, but the rest of The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition is so good that it's surprising it's taken this long to get the Deluxe Edition treatment. Tributes are always a risky business; doing it live in front of a massive audience and being fed, by satellite television, to the rest of the world even more so. But with the vast majority of the performances stellar, and a few—like Lou Reed and the promise of O'Connor's rehearsal—actually definitive two decades later, The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition is one of the better, more consistently superlative tributes, in this case to a singer/songwriter whose place in the history books has long since been cemented. Dylan could have gone silent at the time of this tribute and, with a repertoire of 500 tunes, already contributed more than most; that he has continued to record and perform since that time—on record, sounding far better, while his mercurial tendencies have always rendered his live performances hit and miss—does, indeed, make The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition, as Bill Flanagan's liner notes describe, "rock & roll's greatest half time show."

Track Listing

CD1: Like a Rolling Stone (John Mellencamp); Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (John Mellencamp); Introduction by Kris Kristofferson; Blowin' in the Wind (Stevie Wonder); Foot of Pride (Lou Reed); Masters of War (Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready); The Times They Are A-Changin' (Tracy Chapman); Introduction by Kris Kristoffersen; It Ain't Me Babe (June Carter & Johnny Cash); What Was It You Wanted (Willie Nelson); I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Kris Kristofferson); Highway 61 Revisited (Johnny Winter); Seven Days (Ron Wood); Just Like a Woman (Richie Havens); When the Ship Comes In (The Clancy Brothers & Robbie O'Connell with special guest Tommy Makem); Introduction by Johnny Cash; You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin); Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Eric Clapton, bonus track: rehearsal--October 15, 1992). CD2: Just Like Tom Thumb Blues (Neil Young); All Along the Watchtower (Neil Young); I Shall Be Released (Chrissie Hynde); Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Eric Clapton); Emotionally Yours (The O'Jays); When I Paint My Masterpiece (The Band); Absolutely Sweet Marie (George Harrison); License to Kill (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Mr. Tambourine Man (Roger McGuinn); It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Bob Dylan); My Back Pages (Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison); Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Everyone); Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan); I Believe In You (Sinead O'Connor, bonus track: afternoon rehearsal--October 16, 1992). Blu-Ray: Like a Rolling Stone (John Mellencamp); Blowin' in the Wind (Stevie Wonder); Foot of Pride (Lou Reed); Masters of War (Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready); The Times They Are A-Changin' (Tracy Chapman); It Ain't Me Babe (June Carter Cash & Johnny Cash); What Was It You Wanted (Willie Nelson); I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Kris Kristofferson); Highway 61 Revisited (Johnny Winter); Seven Days (Ron Wood); Just Like a Woman (Richie Havens); When the Ship Comes In (The Clancy Brothers & Robbie O'Connell with special guest Tommy Makem); War (Sinead O'Connor); Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Neil Young); All Along the Watchtower (Neil Young); I Shall Be Released (Chrissie Hynde); Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Eric Clapton); Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Eric Clapton); Emotionally Yours (The O'Jays); When I Paint My Masterpiece (The Band); Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin); Absolutely Sweet Marie (George Harrison); License to Kill (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Mr. Tambourine Man (Roger McGuinn); It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Bob Dylan); My Back Pages (Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison); Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Everyone); Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan). Bonus Live Performances: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (John Mellencamp); Boots of Spanish Leather (Nancy Griffith with Carolyn Hester); Gotta Serve Somebody (Booker T. & The M.G.'s). Bonus Feature: Behind the Scenes (running time: 39 minutes). Total Blu-Ray Running Time: Approximately 220 minutes. Filmed in High Definition, PCM Stereo.

Personnel

Bob Dylan
guitar and vocals

John Mellencamp: vocals (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); Al Kooper: organ (CD1#1-2, CD2#12-13, BR#1, BR#26-27); Michael B. Wanchic: guitar (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); Kenneth D. Aronoff: drums (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); Lisa Germano: violin (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); Jeffrey G. Meyers: bass (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); John David Grissom: guitar (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27); Pat Peterson: background vocals (CD1#1-2, CD2#13, BR#1, BR#27), percussion (CD1#1-2, BR#1); Sue Medley: background vocals (CD1#1-2 BR#1, BR#27); Stevie Wonder: piano (CD1#4, BR#2), harmonica (CD1#4, BR#2), vocals (CD1#4, CD2#13, BR#2, BR#27); D. Keith John: background vocals (CD1#4, CD2#13, , BR#2, BR#27); Lou Reed: guitar (CD1#5, BR#3), vocals (CD1#5, CD2#13, BR#3, BR#27); Eddie Vedder: vocals (CD1#6, CD2#13, BR#4, BR#27); Mike McCready: guitar (CD1#6, CD2#13, BR#4, BR#27); Tracy Chapman: guitar (CD1#7, BR#5), vocals (CD1#7, CD2#13, BR#5, BR#27); June Carter Cash: vocals (CD1#9, CD2#13, BR#6, BR#27); Johnny Cash: vocals (CD1#9, CD2#13, BR#6, BR#27), introduction (CD1#16); Willie Nelson: guitar (CD1#10-11, BR#7), vocals (CD1#10-11, CD2#13, BR#7, BR#27); Reggie Young: guitar (CD1#10-11, CD2#13, BR#7-8, BR#27); Mickey Raphael: harmonica (CD1#10-11, CD2#13, BR#7-8, BR#27); Kerry Marx: guitar (CD1#9, BR#6, BR#27); Don Was: bass (CD1#10-11, CD2#13, BR#7-8, BR#27), vocals (CD1#11, CD2#13, BR#8, BR#27); Kris Kristofferson: guitar (CD1#11, BR#8), vocals (CD1#11, CD2#13, BR#8, BR#27), introduction (CD1#3, CD1#8); Johnny Winter: guitar (CD1#12, BR#9), vocals (CD1#12, CD2#13, BR#9, BR#27); Ron Wood: guitar (CD1#13, BR#10), vocals (CD1#13, CD2#13, BR#10, BR#27); Richie Havens: guitar (CD1#14, BR#11), vocals (CD1#14, CD2#13, BR#11, BR#27); Paddy Clancy: harmonica (CD1#15, BR#12), vocals (CD1#15, CD2#13, BR#12, BR#27); Bobby Clancy: percussion (CD1#15, BR#12), vocals (CD1#15, CD2#13, BR#12, BR#27); Liam Clancy: guitar (CD1#15, BR#12), vocals (CD1#15, CD2#13, BR#12, BR#27); Tommy Makem: banjo (CD1#15, BR#12), vocals (CD1#15, CD2#13, BR#12, BR#27);Robbie O'Connell: guitar (CD1#15, BR#12), vocals (CD1#15, CD2#13, BR#12, BR#27);Mary Chapin Carpenter: guitar (CD1#17, BR#21), vocals (CD1#17, CD2#13, BR#21, BR#27); Rosanne Cash: guitar (CD1#17, BR#21), vocals (CD1#17, CD2#13, BR#21, BR#27); Shawn Colvin: guitar (CD1#17, BR#21), vocals (CD1#17, CD2#13, BR#21, BR#27); Eric Clapton: guitar (CD1#18, CD2#4, CD2#12-13, BR#17-18, BR#26-27), vocals (CD1#18, CD2#4, CD2#12-13, BR#17-18, BR#26-27); Neil Young: guitar (CD2#1-2, CD2#12-13, BR#14-15, BR#26-27), vocals (CD2#1-2, CD2#13, BR#14-15, BR#26-27); Chrissie Hynde: guitar (CD2#3, BR#16), vocals (CD2#3, CD2#13, BR#16, BR#27); Eddie Levert,Sr.: vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#19, BR#27); Walter Williams: vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#19, BR#27); Sammy Strain: vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#19, BR#27); Ron Fair: piano (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#19, BR#27); Levon Helm: mandolin (CD2#6, BR#20), vocals (CD#6, CD2#13, BR#20, BR#27); Rick Danko: guitar (CD2#6, BR#20), vocals (CD2#6, CD2#13, BR#20, BR#27); Garth Hudson: accordion (CD2#6, CD2#13, BR#20, BR#27); Richard Bell: accordion (CD2#6, CD2#13, BR#20, BR#27); Jim Weider: guitar (CD2#6, BR#20), vocals (CD2#6, CD2#13, BR#20, BR#27); Randy Ciarlante: drums (CD2#6, BR#20); George Harrison: guitar (CD2#7, CD2#12-13, BR#22, BR#26-27), vocals (CD2#7, CD2#12-13, BR#22, BR#26-27); Tom Petty: guitar (CD2#8-10, CD2#12-13, BR#22-24, BR#26-27), vocals: (CD2#8-10, CD2#12-13, BR#22-24, BR#26-27); Mike Campbell: guitar (CD2#8-10, CD2#13, BR#22-24, BR#26- 27); Benmont Tench: organ (CD1#10, CD2#8-10, CD2#13, BR#7, , BR#22-24, BR#27), piano (CD2#8-9, CD2#13, BR#22-23), keyboards (CD1#11, BR#8); Howie Epstein: guitar (CD2#8-9, BR#22-23); vocals (CD2#8-9, CD2#13, BR#22-23, BR#27), lap steel guitar (CD2#9, BR#23), bass (CD1#12, CD2#10, BR#9); Stan Lynch: drums (CD2#8- 10, BR#22-24), percussion (CD2#12-13, BR#27-28); Roger McGuinn: guitar (CD2#10, CD2#12-13, BR#24, BR#27-28), vocals (CD2#10, CD2#12-13, BR#24, BR#27-28); Bob Dylan: guitar (CD2#11-14, BR#26-29), vocals (CD2#11-14, BR#26-29); Sinead O'Connor: vocals (CD2#15, BR#13, BR#27); Lenny Pickett: clarinet (CD2#15); G.E. Smith: guitar (CD1#4-5, CD1#9, CD1#12-13, CD1#17-18, CD2#3-7, CD2#12-13, BR#203, BR6, BR#8-9, BR1#16-22, BR#27-28); mandolin (CD1#6, BR#4), bass (CD1#15, BR#12); Steve Cropper: guitar (CD1#4-5, CD1#12-13, CD1#17-18, CD2#1-5, CD2#7, CD2#12-13, BR#2-3, BR#9-10, BR#14-19, BR#21-22, BR#27-28); Booker T. Jones: organ (CD1#4-5, CD1#12, CD1#17-18, CD2#1-5, CD2#7, CD2#13BR#2-3, BR#9, BR#14-19, BR#21-23, BR27-28), guitar (CD1#13, BR#10); Donald "Duck" Dunn: bass (CD1#4-5, CD1#12, CD1#17-18, CD2#1-9, CD2#12-13BR#2-3, BR#9, BR#14-19, BR#21-24, BR27-28); Anton Fig: drums (CD1#4-5, CD1#9, CD1#12-13, CD1#17-18, CD2#2-5, CD2#7, CD2#12-13, BR#2-3, BR#6, BR#9-10, BR#15-19, BR#21-22, BR26- 27), percussion (CD1#10-11, CD2#8-9, BR#7-8, BR#23-24); Jim Keltner: drums (CD1#4-5, CD1#9-13, CD1#17-18, CD2#1-10, CD2#12-13, BR#2-3, BR#6-10, BR#14- 24, BR#26-27); Paul Shaffer: piano (CD2#3, CD2#13, BR#16); Curtis King: background vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#10, BR#27), chorus (CD2#5, BR#13); Brenda White King: background vocals (CD2#5, BR#10, BR#27), chorus (CD2#5, BR#13); Dennis Collins: background vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#10, BR#27), chorus (CD2#5, BR#13); Christine Ohlman: background vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#10, BR#27), chorus (CD2#5, BR#13); Sheryl Crowe: background vocals (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#10, BR#27), chorus (CD2#5, BR#13); Cissy Houston: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Katrice Barnes: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Gary Houston: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Jerry Barnes: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Rosse Mitcham: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Gynnice Coleman: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Leotis Clyburn: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27); Curtis King: chorus (CD2#5, CD2#13, BR#13, BR#27).

Album information

Title: Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Deluxe Edition | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Legacy Recordings

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