BOB DYLAN : A KNIFE, A FORK, A BOTTLE & A CORK

 

Disc One

  1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
  2. I Want You
  3. Can't Wait
  4. You're A Big Girl Now
  5. Silvio
  6. Cocaine Blues
  7. Masters Of War
  8. Tangled Up In Blue
  9. Million Miles
  10. This Wheel's On Fire
  11. Highway 61 Revisited
  12. 'Til I Fell In Love With You

Disc Two

  1. It Ain't Me Babe
  2. Love Sick
  3. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
    Bonus Tracks :
  4. Not Dark Yet
  5. Cold Irons Bound
  6. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
  7. Just Like A Woman
  8. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
  9. Born In Time
  10. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
  11. My Back Pages
  12. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Label : Junkyard Angel

Venue : John Savage Hall, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Date : February 15th, 1998

Quality : Audience Recording (A+)

Review (Bob's Boots) : Fantastic quality audience recording of an incredible show. The vocals are warm & up front. This is the Dylan that you hear in your mind when you think of a perfect show. The instruments are well separated and mixed to perfection. The performance is flawless. The band is well rehearsed and as tight and smooth as any performance you'll ever hear. Dylan is on a spiritual plane rarely heard. The vocals and phrasing are pure magic.

Revier (Gopherstick) : This is one of those nights, one of those special kind of concerts where all the signs and energy that have been built up over the last week finally boil over. Bob has been singing well lately but this is a throwback to a couple years ago, listen to the way he delivers You're a Big Girl Now, it's been a long time since I've heard him sing it so softly, this is almost 1995 territory. And what's with the little shuffling jam near the end, that's cool! This concert reminds me a bit of the soundboard from May 19th in that on a night with a sedate setlist Bob makes it all seem fresh and interesting. The acoustic set ends with an excellent This Wheel's On Fire, Bob's sneering and stretching, the band is tight and on top of the tune. The encore set is a full-blown party tonight, from the gentle phrasing of It Ain't Me Babe to the crunchy drunken barroom stomp of Rainy Day Women, just your overall fun show. The filler tracks must also be mentioned, you really can't go wrong picking tracks culled from the January New York run, and so not surprisingly every bonus track is outstanding and in great sound. Bottom Line: Would you think any less of me if I used the word 'dazzling' in a review? Well, this set is just that. The main show doesn't capture Bob in an especially outwardly happy mood or playing the most exciting setlist ever created by humanity but what we do get is a focused and interested Bob singing in front of a razor-sharp band intent on kicking some ass. Great set, highly recommended!