Bob Dylan
The Road Is Long – Live, 1978
- Repossession Blues (02-24)
- Tangled Up In Blue (06-07)
- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (07-06)
- I Threw It All Away (02-24)
- We Better Talk This Over (12-10)
- I Don’t Believe You (06-07)
- True Love Tends To Forget (07-08)
- Coming From The Heart (10-31)
- Am I Your Stepchild (12-09)
- Senor (12-10)
- If You See Her, Say Hello (02-24)
- The Man In Me (07-06)
- One Of Us Must Know (06-07)
- You’re A Big Girl, Now (02-24)
- Girl from the North Country (12-10)
- Changing Of The Guards (12-10)
This is a companion to the long and winding road that Bob Dylan took through the year of 1978. Biographical details aside, it was a fascinating year for Dylan’s art, as he released a loud, brassy record full of mysticism and imagery while touring the world performing some of the most radical rearrangements of his back catalog. Surely, it’s a lot to take in.
Unfortunately, the tapes from this era are inconsistent in quality, due to the technical limitations of the time. The complexity of the arrangements were ill-suited even to the studio process for Street Legal, so it is not surprising that the enterprising bootleggers of 1978 were able to capture the mystery and majesty, but not always the subtlety of these rapturous concerts. Some tapes stand out, however, as the cream of the crop – these are a stronger document than even the contemporary release of Dylan’s ‘At Budokan.’ I’m speaking of tapes like Charlotte, Tokyo, Paris, Columbia, and more. Without these brilliant tapers, who but those in attendance could have heard the passionate ‘Coming From The Heart’ from October 31, or this dramatic Tangled Up In Blue from June 7? Please bear in mind that this compliation focuses on the cleanest tapes of ’78, so some brilliant performances on muddier recordings have been omitted.
Though the tour has its detractors, and fits somewhat uncomfortably between the fire of the Rolling Thunder Revue and the brimstone of the Gospel Tours, there is brilliance to be found here. I set out to make a companion to ‘At Budokan’ that would round out the year’s best performances of songs not included on that release. This CD has what I would consider to be the definitive ‘Man in Me’ and ‘Changing of the Guards,’ and I wanted to get these and more songs down in one place for the newcomer to Bob Dylan’s live bootlegs. Hopefully the veterans will find something of merit here as well.
In any case, this one is coming from the heart, and should be a pleasant listen on the long road ahead!
Enjoy,
Belleseb32
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The Midnight Cafe, February 2021.
themidnightcafe.org 