GREAT WOODS
Wild Wolf 99-C-031 (A)/(B) [T-667]

(1) Great Woods (Mansfield, MA); September 13, 1993 (line)
(2) Cal Expo Amphitheater (Sacramento, CA); October 8, 1993
(3) Walnut Creek Amphitheater (Raleigh, NC); September 19, 1993

Tracklist: (1) You're Gonna Quit Me, Memphis Blues Again, All Along The Watchtower, Under The Red Sky, I & I, Watching The River Flow, BlackJack Davey, To Ramona, Boots Of Spanish Leather, God Knows, Maggie's Farm, Ballad Of A Thin Man, It Ain't Me Babe
(2) If Not For You, Mr Tambourine Man, Don't Think Twice, Man In The Long Black Coat, Girl From The North Country
(3) One More Cup Of Coffee

DEEP: You wanna know what Dylan sounded like in '93, this is it (and to my ears he sounds remarkably similar to how he sounds now). A setlist full of nice surprises (Red Sky, I&I, River Flow) works its way through a cutting acoustic set examining the vagaries of love, lust, betrayal and loneliness (BlackJackDavey, Ramona, Boots) and then into an astounding version of "God Knows," which slowly builds and builds until it explodes into an all out sonic assault, with Bob enunciating the words so clearly and screaming
3:10 into the song "ohhhhhhyeaaaaahh" like some manic street preacher, then right into a visceral, "Stonesian"  Maggie's Farm. Total goosebump material... now the band is really cutting loose and then Bob pulls out all the stops on "Thin Man," stretching
out the words and lines as only he can do, elasticizing (sic) them w/his inimitable vocal phrasing, while serving up one of the more frightening and direct-hit versions of this tune that I can ever remember ("props" must go to the Setzer-horns version of this from late '98 also, to digress).

A lovely and lengthy "It Ain't Me Babe" sews up the Great Woods in terrific fashion and segues seamlessly into the superb sounding Sacramento filler.  So good, in fact, that it takes a while to notice the difference - just a flat-out great sounding audience recording that includes stunning versions of Mr.TMan & GirlFromNC.

Wrapping it all up is a rare performance of OneMore Cup Of Coffee, performed only twice on the Santana double bill trek from summer/fall '93 and perhaps only two other times this decade. Unlike most other "periods" of the NET, the performances on the double-billed Santana tour have been underrepresented in this "idiom," so this is a most welcome account that serves the period quite nicely. Not to be missed!!!!!!!

(bathed in a stream of) PURE HEAT
QRecords 17/18 [T-551]

Tracklist: (all 1997) Not Fade Away (Hartford, CT, 4/19); Pretty Peggy-O (Albany, NY, 4/18); You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Huntsville, AL, 5/3); Every Grain Of Sand (Bangor, ME, 4/9); Pledging My Time (Indiana, PA, 4/22); O Babe It Ain't No Lie (Durham, NH, 4/11); Friend of the Devil (Providence, RI, 4/17); John Brown (Northampton, MA); 4/15); Viola Lee Blues (Sapporo, Japan, 2/24); Roving Gambler (Hartford, CT, 4/19); Desolation Row (Moncton, NB, 4/5); Stone Walls And Steel Bars (Beverly Hills, CA, 5/21); Love Minus Zero (Bangor, ME, 4/9); Wicked Messenger, Shooting Star (Indiana, PA, 4/22); Long Black Veil (Wheeling, WV, 4/28); Born In Time (Wayne, NJ, 4/13); You're A Big Girl Now (Providence, RI, 4/17); This Wheel's On Fire (West Long Branch, NJ, 4/20); Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Portland, ME, 4/10); My Back Pages (Utica, NY, 4/24)

DEEP:  The oft rumored and much-awaited compilation from the acclaimed April-May '97 tour of the US (+1) lives up to the the hype and then some. Flat out, this is easily the finest and most awe-inspiring COMPILATION of Dylan performances ever assembled, bar none. Think of a dream show without the "usuals" (Watchtower, Silvio, H61, LARS, RDW), then think of the best performances of the rarely-played, the debuts & the one-off performances. Add to this top-notch quality which consistently delivers from the opening track until the end with not a dud among them. Then, sequence them in a way that puts together a dream show minus the "usuals" mentioned above (i.e. placed in context of a regular Bob show) so they flow together perfectly. The sum of what you get is a package that is a true testament to Bob Dylan's genius as an artist and a performer and (arguably?) certainly :-) establishes the current band as the finest and most versatile of all the ones he's worked with. Each disk stands on its own but is best heard in its entirety. The sheer magic of the performances is incredible (I'm pulling no punches here), from the vocals, the harp playing, the instrumentation, everything, and the last 7 tracks on disk 2 had me (literally) shaking my head in amazement. The last track, MyBack Pages with Larry Campbell on violin, is a stunning and beautiful climax to a Holy Grail-like set of performances.

The highest accolade I can offer:
1) Play this for your friends who aren't Dylan fans and don't be surprised if they become converts.
2) If limited to bringing 10 CDs to a desert island, this would be one.

  A word about the quality: it is so consistently excellent that it is hard to imagine that there are much better circulating tapes around, and the obvious care that was taken in selecting the best performances of each song is to be applauded. This was obviously a labor of love for someone.

WOLFTRAP 8/24/97
(Not to be confused with QRecord's release, this is from the source tape of the second Wolftrap '97 show.)

Wolf Trap (Vienna, VA); August 24, 1997 (line)

Disc One:
Sweet Marie, Tonight I'll be staying..., Tough Mama, You aint going nowhere, Silvio, Roving Gambler, Tangled, Cocaine Blues, Watching the River Flow, Blind Willie, Highway 61
Disc Two:
Rolling Stone, Forever Young, Rainy Day Women
Filler:
Joey, Heaven's Door, Takes a lot to laugh, Rainy Day Women

DEEP: A high-energy, charismatic & fun-filled show w/some of the best Bob vocals you'll ever hear and a thrilling, sympathetic band that plays the hell out of everything, and plays it well. Well-rounded quality from the bottom up and clear, crisp Bob vocals that will bring you to tears (see below). Give a bit of a nod to the bass and a bit less treble and your ears will hear the glory of the coming of.......forget it.  The nature of the transmission leaves a few harsh moments where the levels were a bit high and Bob's voice will distort for a split second here and there, but they are few and far between and I just thought I'd mention it.  The bottom line is, this thing will blow you away.  The highest recommendation I can give is this:  You wanna hear what Bob Dylan and his band sound like? This is how they sound.
   rmd: This show sounds absolutely spectacular. The instruments are all clear and crisp, the vocals are up front where they should be, and the performance is dead on. The only criticism I have so far is that occasionally the levels will fluctuate momentarily, but this is a very small qualm.

AT THE GLOBE ARENA
Crystal Cat CC 464-66 [T-617]

(1) Globe Arena (Stockholm, Sweden); June 9, 1998
(2) Sibbarb Beach (Malmo, Sweden); June 6, 1998
(3) Frognerbadet (Oslo, Norway); June 7, 1998
(4) Scandanavium (Goteborg, Sweden); June 10, 1998
(5) Forum (Copenhagen, Denmark); June 11, 1998
(6) Roskilde Festival (Roskilde, Denmark); June 26, 1998

Tracklist: (1) All Along The Watchtower, Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You, Cold Irons Bound, Every Grain Of Sand, Silvio, Desolation Row, One Too Many Mornings, Tangled Up In Blue, Make You Feel My Love, This Wheel's On Fire, Highway 61 Revisited, Forever Young, Love Sick, Rainy Day Women 12 & 35, Blowin' In The Wind
(2) Pretty Peggy-O, Positively Fourth Street, Roving Gambler
(3) Simple Twist Of Fate, Mr. Tambourine Man
(4) To Be Alone With You, Times They Are A-Changin', It's All Over Now Baby Blue, She Belongs To Me
(5) Shooting Star, To Ramona, Masters Of War, Love Minus Zero, Blind Willie McTell, Don't Think Twice
(6) Gotta Serve Somebody, If Not For You, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, It Ain't Me Babe, Ballad of A Thin Man, I Shall Be Released

DEEP: Not since "(bathed in a stream of) PURE HEAT" have more uniquely sublime Dylan performances been gathered together in one place. In fact, let me go so far as to say that, other than the GenuineBootSeries 1&2 volumes, it doesn't get much better than this, kids. The quality is stunning, to say the least, and it is far and away the best "Cat" Dylan yet. Crystal clear, upfront sound, every quirk and rasp of those glorious pipes ringing true in all their raging glory, every pluck, strum, bash and cymbal hit burning through with astounding clarity.....and  even some sorely missed harp thrown in for good measure. Perhaps the ultimate live collection to date...............don't you dare miss it!!  Includes the usual, classy full color, multi-page booklets (2)  & gorgeous photos.

rmd: While the Globe concert is magnificent in every respect, the filler tracks are less reliable, both in performance and in sound. Overall, though, I've never heard a better field recording.(AD)

BOB'S BOOTS: Fantastic quality. The Globe show is indispensable to the collection. Great package, however, it would have better been served as a double CD focusing away from all of the added material.

MAY YOUR SONG ALWAYS BE SUNG

Dandelion 046/047 [T-622]

Vorst Nationaal (Brussels, Belgium); June 17, 1998

Tracklist: Disc One - Leopard-Skin PillBox Hat, License To Kill, Cold Irons Bound, Tears Of Rage, Silvio, Mama You Been On My Mind, Ballad Of Hollis Brown, Mr Tambourine Man, Tangled Up In Blue

Disc Two - Make You Feel My Love, Can't Wait, I Don't Believe You, Highway 61 Revisited, Forever Young, Love Sick, Rainy Day Women, Blowin' In The Wind

DEEP: Excellent show, just shy of excellent quality - nice balance and separation, a clear distinct mix with Bob's vocals riding nicely above the fray. The performances are terrific. Setlist is quite the doozy, too. Nice package with color pics from the show.

BOB'S BOOTS: Another great quality Dandelion package. The aesthetics and photos are beautiful. The sound quality is great. Very nice overall mix. The performance is heart-stopping incredible, and the chosen material... take another look at the songs... Fantastic!

EATING CAVIAR IN A KING SIZE BED

Rattlesnake 011/012 2D

(1) Target Center (Minneapolis, MN); October 23, 1998 (line) (2) San Jose Arena (San Jose, CA); May 19, 1998 (line)

Tracklist: Gotta Serve Somebody, I'll Remember You, Cold Irons Bound, Just Like A Woman, Silvio, It Ain't Me Babe, Masters Of War, Tangled Up In Blue, My Back Pages, Make You Feel My Love, Highway 61 Revisited, Love Sick, Rainy Day Women, Blowin' In The Wind, 'Till I Fell In Love, Forever Young (2) Absolutely Sweet Marie, The Man In Me, Stone Walls And Steel Bars, Make You Feel My Love, Forever Young

DEEP: Absolutely astounding sound quality, from the board; every bit the equal of the 1997 Irving Plaza line recording. Here's the one to have from Fall '98, supplemented by five remastered filler tracks from the San Jose May '98 soundboard. A dazzling package.

BOB'S BOOT'S: There are over two hours of perfect soundboard recordings represented on this great set. One of the best of the year. The mix is incredible. The performance is tight and well oiled. The package is very nice with some great concert photos. Don't miss this one.

THE LONELY GRAVEYARD OF MY MIND
Dandelion 108/109 [T-664]

(1) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY); February 22, 1999
(2) (Birmingham, AL); February 7, 1999
(3) Van Andel Arena (Grand Rapids, MI); February 15, 1999
(4) Broome County Arena (Binghampton, NY); February 19, 1999
(5) Mullins Center (Amherst, MA); February 24, 1999
(6) Civic Center (Portland, ME); February 25, 1999

Tracklist: (1) Gotta Serve Somebody, Million Miles, Maggie's Farm, Tears Of Rage, Silvio, Masters Of War, Boots Of Spanish Leather, Tangled Up In Blue, The Times They Are A-Changin', Cold Irons Bound, I Shall Be Released, Highway 61 Revisited, Love Sick, To Be Alone With You, Don't Think Twice, Not Fade Away
(2) My Blue-Eyed Jane
(3) Honky Tonk Blues, Ballad Of A Thin Man
(4) Friend Of The Devil, Every Grain Of Sand, Everything Is Broken
(5) Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Saviour, I Don't Believe You
(6) Visions Of Johanna

DEEP: A stunning quality presentation of the dynamite Troy, NY show from earlier this year, supplemented by tunes Bob pulled out only once or twice on this leg, and what tunes they are. No need to ramble on about this one, it's simply "mahvelous," both in performance terms and sound.

rmd: The best reason to get this is for the filler, covering the highlights from the February 1999 tour. So you get a great single show in top notch quality, and the best of the rest of the concerts.

rmd: Sound quality is pristine throughout, and performance is about as good as it got during that tour. But it really can't compare to the blistering peaks reached in November during the Phil Lesh tour.

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA 4/28/99

Moose 2CDR

Hala Tivoli (Ljubljana, Slovenia); April 28, 1999

Tracklist:

Disc One: Friend Of The Devil, Mr. Tambourine Man, Masters Of War, Mama You Been On My Mind, Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,Tangled Up In Blue, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Can't Wait, Every Grain Of Sand, Memphis Blues Again,

Disc Two: Not Dark Yet,Highway 61 Revisited, Love Sick, LeopardSkin PillBox Hat, Blowin' In The Wind, Not Fade Away, Like A Rolling Stone