BOB DYLAN : A DYING VOICE WITHIN ME

 

Disc One (72:02)

  1. Highway 61 Revisited
  2. Jokerman
  3. All Along The Watchtower
  4. Just Like A Woman
  5. Maggie's Farm
  6. I And I
  7. License To Kill
  8. Just My Imagination (Greg Sutton)
  9. Mr. Tambourine Man
  10. It Ain't Me, Babe
  11. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
  12. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  13. Masters Of War

Disc Two (60:40)

  1. Ballad Of A Thin Man
  2. When You Gonna Wake Up?
  3. Every Grain Of Sand
  4. Simple Twist Of Fate
  5. Like A Rolling Stone
  6. Tangled Up In Blue
  7. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright
  8. Blowin' In The Wind
  9. Tombstone Blues
  10. Love Minus Zero / No Limit
  11. The Times They Are A-Changin'

Label : Thinman Records

Venue : Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg, Sweden

Date : June 9th, 1984

Quality : audience recording (A-)

Review (Collectors Music Reviews) : Bob Dylan's first tour in four years was originally going to be of countries in South America, but when those plans fell through he booked an arena tour in Europe. The new band he assembled with Mick Taylor on guitar, Ian MacLagan on keyboards, Greg Sutton on bass, and Colin Allen on drums took a while to come together. The early shows were ragged as the band began to learn how to play music with the master. A Dying Voice Within Me is an excellent sounding stereo audience recording from the ninth show of the tour, June 9th in Gothenburg, Sweden. One of the most popular shows from the era, it first surfaced on vinyl in 1984 on Extra Dylan (Colucia Records KC 846910) with the complete show plus two tracks from Copenhagen the following night. Gothenburg '84 - Don't Think Twice (Lust Records TBJ 8406) also contains the full show on five LPs and was transfered to compact disc many years ago on the no label Don't Think Twice Gothenburg 84. Many commentators of this tour complain that the band do not posess a creative spark, that Taylor is flashy but out of sync with Dylan, and that the rhythm section of Sutton and Allen are wooden. Despite their limitations Taylor's work is tasteful and interesting and the others do hold the songs together (more or less) and some of the arrangements are very interesting beginning with the first song "Higway 61 Revisited." This is one of Dylan's most common live songs and is normally played close to its heavy blues roots. But in this concert it is played in a Chuck Berry early rock-and-roll arrangement. "Jokerman" is suprisingly played close to the Infidels version. It has the same same matter-of-fact tone in the choruses and McLagan duplicates the spook of the Hammond. "Maggie's Farm" Taylor plays a simple solo and then stops and McLagan loses the cue. Dylan comes in to rescue them. Appalacian-gospel beat. Part of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was broadcast on Danish television with audio from this audience recording. The final two songs, "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" are available on a mono soundboard recording. "Mr. Tambourine Man" begins a three song solo acoustic set and part of this performance was broadcast on Danish television (with audio from this tape). The band come back on for "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." Dylan plays the acoustic and Taylor plays archtypal fills giving the song a Sticky Fingers flavor. "When You Gonna Wake Up?" sounds tentative and a big miscalculation. Dylan changes the refrain to "when you gonna wake up? / or maybe you never will." But it sounds as if Taylor and McLagan don't know where to take the song and it would be dropped soon after. The final three songs of the set are simply phenomenal in execution. "Every Grain Of Sand" is sung with a tremendous amount of urgency and emotion as it reaches its climax. The re-written "Tangled Up In Blue" is played as the first encore and is again a highlight of the set, and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" is also sung solo. Carlos Santana, who was the opening act for Dylan, joins the band onstage for "Blowin' In The Wind" and accompanies the band for the rest of the encores. The audience sing along to "Blowin' In The Wind" so much that Dylan stops and listens. Perhaps most interesting in the encores is the electric rock arrangement of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit." Taylor's guitar creates a huge pop-hook for the audience to grab onto. A Dying Voice Within Me is packaged in a double slimline jewel case with thick cardboard inserts and looks simply gorgeous. This is one of their best productions. The only small flaw is they made an error with date, claiming this is June 6th instead of June 9th.

Review (Bob's Boots) : The Thinman strikes again. With this, and other recent releases they are establishing themselves as contenders for the crown. This beautiful set uses various 1980s photos to create a mouthwatering package. The title comes from a line in the beautiful Every Grain Of Sand. Each CD is offset printed with a unique concert photo as well. The typeset is crisp and concise, and everything works together well. Only one minor error appears on the back cover. The show is listed as the sixth of June when it actually occurred on the ninth. Stick a disc in the player, though, and you'll forget all about this oversight. The music is crisp and well defined. The vocals are up front and powerful. Best of all... the performance is one for the books! Sony released "Real Live" from this tour, but as Tiny Montgomery said: "Hello!... They'd have been a lot better off just releasing this show!". Bob is on his A game on this night, and every song is its own incredible highlight. This show has traded among tapers from the night it was performed. It appeared on two different vinyl releases just a couple months later. It has appeared on disc before according to one of our reliable sources, but we do not have a copy. It's such a fantastic show, however, that the Thin Man can be proud for once again getting it out there to the silver collectors There is precious little 1984 material on the must have list. This one shoots to the head of the line!