|
BOB DYLAN : INSIDE THE RAIN |
|
Label : Don't Ya Tell Henry Time : 52:35 Venue : Cracovia Football Stadium, Kraków, Poland Date : July 17, 1994 Quality : Audience recording (A+) Review (Bob's Boots) : While normally beyond our scope to include fan produced cd-rs, for this one we'll make an exception. This is a wonderful audience recording from a tree rooted at the Polish "Fan Klubu Boba Dylana". It has a professional looking cover available for download with photos taken in Kraków during the performance. The digital recording is removed from the crowd, and taken directly from the speakers. The mix is soft and warm with the vocals up front in just the right amount. A thunder storm arises at this outdoor event, and the falling rain can be heard from 'I Don't Believe You' forward (hence the CD title from 'Just Like A Woman'). 'Rain Fallin' On His Shoes' would have been another cute title. The rain noise is not an annoyance, however, instead it adds something romantic. You can close your eyes and be whisked away under a huge protective oak tree in a soft shower , listening to perhaps the best Dylan concert you'll ever hear. Even the in-between-song audience talking is enjoyable, as it is only the two bootleggers who bring you into their world and help to narrate the event (in English). And what an event it is! This is the first ever Polish concert, and Dylan seems to reward the audience for their 30 year wait with a mind blowing performance. There is an incredible vibrato in his voice that drives the words deep into uncharted territory. The acoustic songs are as powerful a version as will ever be heard. In the "You that build the big bomb" line of 'Masters Of War', a 'bomb' goes off punctuating the line, and making the audience gasp. In actuality, it is due to an incredibly coincidental lightning strike that glitches the PA system. Bob's driving guitar at songs end will not only make you smile, it might just bring you to your feet right there in your living room. The show ends a bit prematurely because of the storm. Concert promoter Andrzej Marzec breaks the bad news in Polish. After the show, Dylan tells him, "That was the best show of my life.. and for the best audience, too". You might disagree, of course... then again, you might not. Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar), Bucky Baxter (pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar), John Jackson (guitar), Tony Garnier (bass), Winston Watson (drums & percussion). The show previously circulated under the title "Don't Show Any Response". It's a vastly inferior recording from analog tape. This recording is DDD (No analog tape). Review (Bob's Boots) about the filler (tracks 11 - 15) : The filler material is just that. Interesting enough, though unneeded snippets to bring the already 1 hour + concert up to the maximum 74 minuets that the CD would accept. All are soundboard recordings. Heartland is a fairly good quality duet with Willie Nelson from January 13, 1993. Recorded at CBS Studios, Nashville for the "A Country Music Celebration" show. Following it is a 29 second speech from the World Tour 1994 rehearsals, Los Angeles. It's a testimony to Van Morrison as he became recipient of The BPI (British Phonographic Industry) Lifetime Achievement Award. The next track is from "Rhythm, Country & Blues: The Concert" from March 13, 1994 at the Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles. Bob makes an unexpected appearance in a duet with Trisha Yearwood. This recording is only a few seconds from a VHS source - a fragment broadcast on Italian TV. "I Want You" is only a short piece of the music with talk over. "The Late Night With David Letterman" show was filming the October 20, 1994 concert rehearsal at the Roseland Ballroom, NY. Paul Shaffer is on keyboards. He and David Letterman make exchanges regarding his comedic exit. The final track is a Dylan song that was written (but not used) for "Under The Red Sky". The LP producers, brothers David and Don Was, had a very talented, though commercially unsuccessful band called "Was Not Was". This song is an incredible version performed by that band. Taken from the KCRW Radio Dylan tribute "Oh Mercy", Santa Monica, July 4, 1993. The early working title was "Shirley Temple Don't Live Here Any More." Even though it's not Dylan, this is the highlight of the filler material. |