BOB DYLAN : TOAD'S PLACE 1990

 

Disc One - First Set (54:26)

  1. Walk A Mile In My Shoes
  2. One More Cup Of Coffee
  3. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
  4. Trouble No More
  5. I've Been All Around This World
  6. Political World
  7. Where Teardrops Fall
  8. Tears Of Rage
  9. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
  10. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
  11. Everybody's Movin'

Disc Two - Second Set (39:47)

  1. Watching The River Flow
  2. What Was It You Wanted
  3. Oh Baby It Ain't No Lie
  4. Lenny Bruce
  5. I Believe In You
  6. Man Of Peace
  7. Across The Borderline
  8. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
  9. All Along The Watchtower

Disc Three - Third Set (66:47)

  1. Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)
  2. Political World
  3. What Good Am I?
  4. Wiggle Wiggle
  5. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  6. Paid The Price
  7. Help Me Make It Through The Night
  8. Man In The Long Black Coat
  9. Congratulations
  10. Dancing In The Dark
  11. Lonesome Whistle Blues
  12. Confidential To Me
  13. In The Garden
  14. Everything Is Broken

Disc Four - Fourth Set (80:27)

  1. So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye
  2. Where Teardrops Fall
  3. Political World
  4. Pretty Peggy-O
  5. I'll Remember You
  6. Key To The Highway
  7. Joey
  8. Lay Lady Lay
  9. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
  10. When Did You Leave Heaven?
  11. Maggie's Farm
  12. I've Been All Around This World
  13. In The Pines
  14. Highway 61 Revisited
  15. Precious Memories
  16. Like A Rolling Stone

Label : Zion Records

Venue : Toad's Place, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Recording Date : January 12, 1990

Quality : Audience Recording (A-)

Review : On January 12, 1990 Dylan and his band, led by guitarist G.E. Smith, played an unannounced, marathon set at Toad's Place, a small New Haven club holding only around 750 people. Over more than four hours and roughly fifty songs, spread across four sets, Dylan sounded unusually loose and playful with the crowd, mixing well-known staples with deep-catalogue rarities, an early live outing of "Wiggle Wiggle" and offbeat covers such as a ramshackle take on Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark". This four-disc Zion Records set documents the entire evening; the audience recording is far from pristine, but it captures the sprawling scope and loose, bar-room energy of one of the most talked-about shows of the Never Ending Tour.

Review : Bob Dylan’s legendary four-hour public rehearsal gig at Toad’s Place in 1990 remains one of the great audience recordings in Dylan live history, combining a wealth of rare songs, high-energy performances throughout, and outstanding audience sound. The definitive edition of this concert was released as "Toad's Place 1990", and remarkably, it has already been ten years since that acclaimed title first appeared. Although that release was highly regarded as the definitive version of this legendary rehearsal performance, the source used for the 2016 edition, while described as “low generation,” was actually based on a circulating digital file of uncertain lineage. At the time, it was the best source available. Today, however, transfers made directly from the genuine master cassette have finally become available. Most importantly, "Toad's Place 1990" has long been out of print. Simply reissuing the decade-old edition when a true master copy now exists would be unthinkable. This new release therefore presents Toad's Place sourced directly from the master cassette for the first time ever, delivering 100% master-quality audio. The improvement in sound quality is immediately obvious. Compare the new master with the previous edition and the difference is unmistakable. The clarity of the master tape reveals just how many cassette generations separated the earlier release from the original recording. Even the tape hiss before the opening song, “Walk A Mile In My Shoes,” makes the improvement obvious. From the very beginning, listeners will hear the freshness and presence that only a true master source can provide. The original audience recording was already exceptional, but it had one major flaw: as “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” begins, a volume adjustment briefly interrupts the performance. The 2016 edition’s main selling point was that this gap was patched with “source 2,” creating the first complete version. This new release goes even further by making more comprehensive use of that secondary source. Not only is the opening repaired, but every interruption caused by cassette changes during the four-hour performance has also been patched. As a result, the missing Dylan introduction before “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” has been restored, and for the first time ever the ending of “Man In The Long Black Coat,” previously incomplete on every release, is presented in full. The result is the longest and most complete edition of the Toad’s Place performance ever issued. The total running time is longer than the 2016 release, with the final set now beginning near the end of Disc Three—further proof that this edition was transferred directly from the master cassette. Combined with the extensive restoration using “source 2,” this is the most complete documentary record of the performance yet assembled. Above all, what shines through is Dylan’s sheer enjoyment. Throughout the full four hours he sings and plays with remarkable enthusiasm. Unexpected selections such as the Traveling Wilburys’ “Congratulations” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” helped make this performance legendary, and it remains astonishing to hear them performed spontaneously as the evening unfolded. Backing Dylan every step of the way are G. E. Smith and the rest of the band, who respond flawlessly to every musical turn. Their instinctive support keeps the performance vibrant from beginning to end, despite its extraordinary four-hour length. At last, this legendary public rehearsal has received the definitive treatment: the finest sound quality ever achieved and the longest, most complete presentation ever released. A full four hours—and four hours that fly by."

Review (a visitor) : I attended this show, I shamelessly called a connection who was able to finagle us a pair of tickets at face value ($35.00 I think). The Stones had played there shortly before - they did a 50 minute set and that was it, we were expecting little more than that. After the first set Bob said "Thanks alot, we'll see you in a little while" and I thought to myself, how cool is this? Two sets. At the end of the second set he said it again "Thanks alot, we'll see you in a little while" and now I was in a mild state of shock. Three sets?!?! Well the third set lasted about 80 minutes and whenever he said "Thanks alot, we'll see you in a little while" I about fell over. At this point, the place was starting to thin out a bit, it almost seemed like he wanted to see how much we could take. The fourth set lasted from about 1:00-2:30am....I stood right in front of Bob for the whole fourth set, there was a kid to my right who started calling out songs and Bob started playing them. At the end of the 4th set as he was walking off the stage, he turned around, came back and leaned over to the kid and said "those songs were for you!" as he poked his finger to the kid's chest. I thought the guy was going to faint. I later heard from a reliable source that Dylan wanted to go back for a 5th set but they wouldn't let him (how do you say no to Bob?). My friend Jerry and I stumbled out into the street at nearly 3am not really sure what had just happened, from what I have read and heard it was almost like some of those old Fillmore shows that lasted until dawn. One long show from the guy who rarely played more than 100 minutes, none of us had a clue. The taper came unprepared and was able to concoct a story about needing some medication (diabetes or seizures, depending on which version you heard) that enabled him to get fresh batteries and more tape, very resourceful indeed. I lived only a mile or so from Toad's at the time, we went back to my place and crashed. The band was amazing and His Bobness was so animated. I wonder if he ever did anything like that anywhere else, truly a night to remember. My memory is quite clear, I did very little drinking and nothing else as I had to work the next day. Good choice on my part. Special thanks to my friend Jerry Johnson for pulling the tix out of his hat, Kev.

Review (The waitress of Toad's Place) : I was there. I had been a cocktail waitress at Toad's for at least 4 years at that point. I liked Dylan a lot but this went on for, as I remember it, five hours. The crowd was great, totally into it, prerty mellow, and long past wanting drinks. I wanted to go home. I was so tired. Yes, it felt more like a practice session but it was good and he was clearly having the time of his life. It was not long after the Rolling Stones had popped into Toad's for a surprise (and relatively well kept secret, which I unfortunately missed). You mentioned smells. Toad's always smelled the same. Stale beer, cigarettes and smoke machine fog. Beer was served in cans or cheap plastic cups on tap (Schafer). No pot smell inside. Rules were strict and the bouncers and management took their jobs seriously. Brian, the manager and now owner, stood up in the crow's nest and could see pretty much everything. You didn't mess around. It was a night to remember, even if I was crazy tired. I'll never forget it and I'm 61 now.

Review (Reddit) : Today marks 35 years since the legendary Toad's Place show here at the start of the Never Ending Tour - 1990 Edition. If you don't know Toad's, this is the longest Bob Dylan show of all-time. He played 50 songs over the course of the night at the small music venue Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut. With tight four-piece band of G.E. Smith on guitar, Christopher Parker on drums, and Tony Garnier on bass, Bob leads everyone through a kind of public rehearsal to start off the 1990's. There's greatness here, and badness too, mainly depending on Dylan's own vocal/musical performances. He can go from sounding amazing to sounding pretty bad, often within the same song. But he keeps going, pulling all sorts of crazy choices out of his hat, and it's such an incredibly fun show to listen to, and I would have loved to have been there, but I was not born yet. This is not one to play for your Dylan-skeptic spouse or friend who you want to turn on to Bob. This is advanced Dylan listening, but it is legendary for a reason. Thanks as always to the tapers who do such amazing work capturing these indelible moments for the sake of posterity. Maybe the best setlist of all-time, even if the performances are not all-time great, lots of deep cuts and rarities, and there's many songs here that he played only this one time. Were you at this show? What did it smell like? Are you hearing it or about it for the first time? What are your favorite picks from this setlist? What are your favorite/least favorite performances from this show? What substances do we think Bob was partaking in on this particular occasion? This is a show where you might start listening and think "eh this isn't very good," but I think if you give it a chance you'll be hooked. Am I wrong? Maybe, but I listened to the whole show this weekend and it wasn't my first time, and I love it, warts and all. There's an incredible vibe here, and a lot of excellent music. Cheers everyone.