“Some of these bootleggers, they make pretty good stuff”
So later this month, Bob Dylan will return to England and rock the Albert Hall. I’m not one to miss His Bobness in concert, so it was to my anguish that, while offline, tickets sold out in minutes. I’m all for Bob’s musical evolution, and I’ve yet to see him play since the brilliant and guttural Tempest came out last year.
It’s not a huge cause for concern, however. The so-called ‘Never Ending Tour’ will plough on as usual, and I expect our travelling bluesman will be back next year for another leg. In the meantime – coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Dylan’s schedule – I’ve decided to upload my favourite moments of the tour thus far. I know you’re clamouring for them, you bloody flirt.
The Never Ending Tour
At some point in the late eighties, Dylan stepped up to embrace the travelling performer: the musician by trade, whose job is to scour every breadth of land, playing to anyone and everyone. He describes the epiphany in Chronicles, cryptically triggered by an old jazz singer, crooning in a washed up New Orleans bar:
At first it was hard going, like drilling through a brick wall. All I did was taste the dust. But then miraculously something internal came unhinged. In the beginning all I could get out was a blood-choked coughing grunt and it blasted up from the bottom of my lower self, but it bypassed my brain. That had never happened before. It burned, but I was awake […] I had that old jazz singer to thank.
Whatever that meant, it stuck. Since 1987 Bob has played over 2,500 shows, performed in 800+ cities and traversed over a million miles of land for the sake of his craft. I dare say the man loves life on the road, as do I. Below are 50 odd songs, faithfully recorded by Bob’s legion of bootleggers and posted – legally, might I add – by the good people at Expecting Rain.
Roll on, Bob.
The Sixties (download)
01. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Prague, Czech Republic 11th March 1995)
02. Restless Farewell (Frank Sinatra’s 80th Tribute, New York City, 19th November 1995)
03. My Back Pages (Berlin, Germany, 17th June 1996)
04. Mr. Tambourine Man (Ohio, 29th October 1999)
05. The Wicked Messenger (Dublin, Ireland, 14th September 2000)
06. Song To Woody (Santa Cruz, California, 16th March 2000)
07. Blowin’ In The Wind (Santa Cruz, California, 16th March 2000)
08. Subterranean Homesick Blues (Paris, France, 29th April 2002)
09. Desolation Row (Berlin, Germany, 20th October 2003)
10. Ballad of Hollis Brown (Rochester, New York, 13th April 2004)
11. Visions of Johanna (Dublin, Ireland, 27th November 2005)
12. Highway 61 Revisited (Dublin, Ireland, 27th November 2005)
The Seventies (download)
01. Shelter From The Storm (Prague, Czech Republic, 11th March 1995)
02. Simple Twist Of Fate (Dublin, Ireland, 14th September 2000)
03. I Shall Be Released (Munster, Germany, 1st October 2000)
04. If Dogs Run Free (2000)
05. I Threw It All Away (2000)
06. Country Pie (Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 25th September 2000)
07. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Washington, 5th October 2001)
08. Tangled Up In Blue (Newport Folk Festival, 3rd August 2002)
09. You’re A Big Girl Now (Red Bluff, California, 7th October 2002)
10. To Be Alone With You (2003)
11. The Mighty Quinn (Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, United Kingdom, 23rd November 2003)
12. Down Along The Cove (Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, United Kingdom, 23rd November 2003)
13. Million Dollar Bash (Brixton Academy, United Kingdom, London, 25th November 2003)
14. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power) (Dublin, Ireland, 27th November 2005)
15. Happy Birthday (For Charlie Sexton) (Billing, 2010)
16. Forever Young (Shanghai, China, 8th April 2011)
The Eighties (download)
01. Disease Of Conceit (Hammersmith Apollo, London, 8th February 1990)
02. Most Of The Time (San Jose, California, 9th May 1992)
03. Ring Them Bells (The Supper Club, New York, 16th November 1993)
04. Tight Connection To My Heart (The Supper Club, New York, 16th November 1993)
05. Man In The Long Black Coat (Prague, Czech Republic 11th March 1995)
06. License To Kill (Prague, Czech Republic, 11th March 1995)
07. I’ll Remember You (Berkeley, California, 26th May 1995)
08. Dark Eyes (with Patti Smith) (New York, 17th December 1995)
09. Shooting Star (Oslo, Norway, 3rd October 2003)
10. Blind Willie McTell (Brixton Academy, London, United Kingdom, 25th October 2003)
11. Jokerman (Brixton Academy, London, United Kingdom, 25th October 2003)
12. What Good Am I? (Linz, Austria, 12th June 2010)
13. band introduction, (Tel Aviv, Israel, 20th June 2011)
14. Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking, (Tel Aviv, Israel, 20th June 2011)
The Nineties (download)
01. Blood In My Eyes (The Supper Club, New York, 16th November 1993)
02. God Knows (Warsaw, Poland, 19th July 1994)
03. Two Soldiers (Boston, Massachussetts 9th October 1994)
04. Born In Time ( ??? )
05. Love Sick (Grammy Awards, 25th February 1998)
06. Make You Feel My Love (Vienna, Austria, 1st May 1999)
07. Not Dark Yet (Vienna, Austria, 1st May 1999)
08. Delia (Newcastle, United Kingdom, 19th September 2000)
09. Standing In The Doorway (Munster, Germany, 1st October 2000)
10. Million Miles (Hammersmith Apollo, United Kingdom, 2003)
11. Tryin’ To Get To Heaven (Hamburg, 26th June 2011)
12. Cold Irons Bound (Toronto, Ontario, 26th March 2004)
13. ‘Til I Fell In Love With You (Dublin, Ireland, 27th November 2005)
The Noughties (download)
01. Summer Days (Fairfax, Virginia, 22nd November 2002)
02. High Water (For Charley Patton) (Ontario, Canada, 26th April 2003)
03. Cry A While (Berlin, Germany, 20th October 2003)
04. Po’ Boy (Rochester, New York, 13th November 2004)
05. Lonesome Day Blues (Rochester, New York, 13th November 2004)
06. Workingman Blues #2 (Birmingham, United Kingdom, 17th April 2007)
07. Nettie Moore (Birmingham, United Kingdom, 17th April 2007)
08. Spirit On The Water (Rothbury Festival, Michigan, 9th July 2009)
09. Forgetful Heart (Finsbury Park, London, 18th June 2011)
10. Mississippi (Memphis, Tennessee, 30th July 2011)
11. Thunder On The Mountain (Memphis, 30th July 2011)
13. A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover) (Apollo Theatre, New York City, 28th March 2004)