BOB DYLAN : WATERFRONT SECOND 2015

 

Disc One (45:02)

  1. Intro
  2. Things Have Changed
  3. She Belongs To Me
  4. Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
  5. The Night We Called It A Day
  6. Duquesne Whistle
  7. What'll I Do
  8. Pay In Blood
  9. I'm A Fool To Want You
  10. Tangled Up In Blue

Disc Two (60:43)

  1. Intro
  2. High Water (For Charley Patton)
  3. Where Are You?
  4. Early Roman Kings
  5. Why Try To Change Me Now
  6. Spirit On The Water
  7. Scarlet Town
  8. All Or Nothing At All
  9. Long And Wasted Years
  10. Autumn Leaves
  11. Blowin' In The Wind
  12. Love Sick

Label : Crystal Cat Records

Venue : Waterfront Auditorium, Stockholm, Sweden

Date : October 6th, 2015

Quality : Audience Recording (A+)

Review (Collectors Music Reviews) : The crowd on the second night seem to be a little more animated, they're certainly clearer on the tape at least but this could be a consequence of the taper moving seats. Dylan's mood remains the same however, this show is in effect a loose mirror image of the show the night before, most of the more excitable tracks are confined to the first set, Dylan takes a breather, paces himself towards the end and then finishes to a strong finale. 'Things Have Changed' doesn't quite test Dylan as much tonight, he seems to have gone back to his crib notes and studied again, the words are clearer but the pace remains the same. 'Beyond Here Lies Nothin'' reverts back to the pace of the first track. His piano playing, slightly abstract but playful, bangs against the drums at inopportune moments like he's pulling against the leash from time to time. It sounds heavier than the previous nights rendition too, clattering to a climax. 'Duquesne Whistle' begins with a playful little discordant intro as the band warm up together and shake up the mood, the song skittles and taps along, mainly in parts to George's ratterty-tat drumming, towards the second half, Dylan matches the ascent and decent of his piano chords to his phrasing, obviously having a whale of a time, the silliness is infectious, the coda allows the band to bully around and jazz up the jamming. "What'll I Do" changes ever so slightly, tonight's rendition loses the sharpness of the previous nights version, the nagging feel of a chatty audience bothers too as they seem to get bored a little easier and from time to time, you'll catch the very snippet of conversation, a little annoying if you're listening through headphones. 'Tangled Up In Blue' greets a change in phrase, Bob almost sounds coy at times and whispers lines, his harp playing is thankfully a little more boisterous and sharp. At the end of the track, Dylan thanks us and leaves, the Cat also captures the spoken announcement from the venue with regards to the intermission. 'Where Are You' might be the low point of the night. Mercifully, it is short but why Dylan figured he should show it off is beyond my expectations and so, 'Early Roman Kings', kicking like an itchy mule, George shuffles to a lolopping beat, while Stu's guitar wriggles like a salted worm, Dylan smiles to himself throughout as he enjoys spitting out his lyrics, full -stop sentence by full-stop-sentence, his words come out straight and like he's reading someone their rights. 'High Water (For Charly Patton)' sounds a bit more spry than the night before, lighter on it's feet, more rumpus about it. It has a very excitable Dylan at it's helm so badgers to be heard. 'Spirit On The Water', the fans favourite, skips along as usual and in the same spirit that it's always played in, unfortunately, it's a little past it's best now, and while it's no 'Where Are You', it should be disemployed from the set list this year and a relative oldies or rarities section should over take it. Seem's early likely though as Dylan seems to believe it fits with his current remit and sounds like he enjoys playing it. "All Or Nothing At All" shows a marked change around from it's previous outing, impish and light, it skittles around and sounds a delight, there's a marked difference on last nights performance. Both 'Blowin' In The Wind' and 'Love Sick' repeat last nights successes, 'Love Sick' gathers just a little more passion however and Bob adds a few more full stops. They need no extra embellishment though and as Dylan's in no want to change much anyway, there's no problem. They are the perfect ending to a pair of very good shows. The Crystal Cat has once again presented us with two sterling recordings, the packaging that presents them is also very handsome - two slim jewel cases in a glossy, psychedelic box, with an extra 16 page booklet that features the lyrics to the 'Shadows in The Night' album. The booklets that accompany each double disk set are filled with images from the shows, the venue, the tour bus, the merch stall, all typical CC traits, the unfortunate traits are still around though as some of the images are blown up far beyond their resolutions and so look a little pixelated. It's not specifically the cat's fault - they want to offer a full presentation but if the images aren't there for the show, they wisely don't use any others. Tiny things aside, this is another brilliant release and a success for the Cat. A must have!