BOB DYLAN : AND A CANNONBALL BLEW MY EYES AWAY

 

Disc One (51:08)

  1. intro
  2. Maggie's Farm
  3. She Belongs To Me
  4. Lonesome Day Blues
  5. Positively 4th Street
  6. Rollin' And Tumblin'
  7. John Brown
  8. Watching The River Flow
  9. Workingman's Blues #2

Disc Two (54:14)

  1. Highway 61 Revisited
  2. When The Deal Goes Down
  3. Tangled Up In Blue
  4. Blind Willie McTell
  5. Summer Days
  6. Thunder on the mountain
  7. like a rolling stone
  8. All along the watchtower

Label : Tambourine Man Records

Venue : Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Recording Date : October 31, 2006

Quality : Audience recording (A+)

Review (Bob's Boots) : This title is a brilliant show captured on a phenomenal audience recording. By the title of this release, TMR alludes to John Brown as the standout track, and, rightfully so as it is sung with chilling conviction. However, at least one verse could have been plucked from any one of these songs and used for the title. Dylan, accompanied by his talented band, is in one of those can-do-no-wrong modes, and sings extraordinarily well. Maggie's Farm continues to have all the whistle and smoke of a great show opener, and yet, it has been tweaked even further for a clearer, more melodious sound. As usual, the maestro continues to play with his phrasing. One result of his lower octaves is that he is turning out some devastatingly good verses. This is particularly evident in Tangled Up In Blue. As for the new material, Dylan has already begun fleshing out some incredible versions, sounding as if he's played these songs from his catalogue of classics for years. TMR usually struggles in the packaging department, but has shown recent improvement by issuing their December ’06 titles with full color image discs. Unfortunately, the full color schemes are limited to the discs only in this set. The nicely created front cover has much of its appeal diminished by be printed in black and white. The biggest disappointment, however, lies with the inserts and liners. The lack of content and color provide for a very sterile appearance. So, perhaps two steps forward and one step backward in the aesthetics department. In all, though, this title is a tremendous listen that easily justifies a silver release. Highly recommended!

Review (Collector's Music Reviews) : And A Cannon Ball Blew My Eyes Away! is a complete stereo audience recording of Bob Dylan's Halloween concert in Madison, Wisconsin. Like many of the other tapes from this tour, this is an excellent, well-balanced, finely detailed and powerful recording of one of the better show on this tour. "Maggie's Farm" (played closer to its 1988 arrangement) and "She Belongs To Me" are the common opening two songs, followed by a "Lonesome Day Blues" so heavy it seems to knock back the first ten rows. "On this night, however, the old master's shaky wisdom was partially redeemed. Not the greatest ever, but these musicians are as elastic and volatile as their boss, especially lead guitarist Denny Freeman. Their start was slow - it wasn't until their fourth song before drummer George Receli's scowl became a smile - but once they settled in, they became confident enough to add new textures to the canon. Freeman is clearly his star pupil. Dylan has had more than his share of blues-rock showboats over the years, but he's never had a guitarist with such exquisite taste as Freeman. While the Texan could appear a bit restrained when called on to deliver a thunderous blur of notes, the phrasing of his solos was always spare and thoroughly original. "During 'When The Deal Goes Down,' Freeman gave an especially serene solo - his tone-rich sound rung and reverberated like an organ - and he actually got some cheers. Most shocking was the inconsistent treatment of older standards 'Like A Rolling Stone' and 'All Along The Watchtower,' which were not impressive. 'Like A Rolling Stone' was lusterless and seemed perfunctory, even contrived. Lights illuminated the audience for the chorus, cueing them to roar. 'Watchtower' was meant to defiantly conclude the evening and came on strong with energy and volume, but nearly collapsed when the group meekly pulled too far back as they made room for Dylan to sing the first verse. They were never able to recapture that electricity, and it didn't help matters when Dylan' insisted on changing the emphasis of certain words and then botched the lyrics completely. It was disservice for a show that had worked so hard to prove a point" (Dylan, Foo Fighters Surprising Treats On Halloween by David Hyland). The title of this release quite rightly quotes the line from "John Brown" as it is one of the most impressive renditions on tape. Like with Rock And Tangled Up In Blue TMR use a simple but effective cover of Dylan's face superimposed over a photo of the venue designed by Office Camnes. This is a great recording of a great show and is recommended.