44 • UNCUT • jULY 2019
AFTERthelonely
craftingofBlood
OnTheTracks, Bob
Dylanevidently
neededcompanyand
collaboration.The
summerof 1975 found
himproppingupbarswitholdcronies
inGreenwichVillage,makingsurprise
appearancesattheclubswherehe’dmade
hisname.HewasalsowritingDesireand
talkingaboutgoingbackontheroad.Tour
’74withTheBandhadbeenanunhappy
trip.Whathewasthinkingaboutnow
wasmorelikea circus,maybeoneofthose
travellingcarnivalshewritesaboutso
fondlyinChronicles. Theromanticnotion
wastoturnupsomewhereunannounced,
playa smallclub,splitforthenextgig.He
puttogethera 10-piecebandwhocalled
themselvesGuam,roundedupsome
oldfriends– BobbyNeuwirth,Roger
McGuinn,Ramblin’JackElliott,Allen
Ginsberg,JoanBaez.Dylancalledit The
RollingThunderRevueandit hittheroad
onOctober30, 1975 attheWarMemorial
AuditoriuminPlymouth,Massachusetts.
TheRollingThunderback-storybecame
soquicklyfabled,themusicmadeonthe
tourconsequentlyseemedneglected,like
a relativelockedinanattic,talkedabout
butnevervisited.It was 2002 beforeDylan
assentedtoTheBootlegSeriesVol5: Bob
DylanLive1975,TheRollingThunderRevue.
It wasa thrillingalbum.Butits 22 tracks
offeredbarelya hintofthemusicalbooty
fansweresurewasoutthere,someofit
tantalisinglyheardinRenaldo& Clara,
the film shot in tandem with the tour.
Moreofthatwillpresumablyappear
inRollingThunderRevue,A BobDylan
StoryByMartinScorsese, whichScorsese
hasassembledfromthehundredsofhours
offilmaccumulatedbyDylanandhis
crew,towhichTheRollingThunderRevue:
The 1975 LiveRecordingsis billedasa
companionpiece.
It’sa 14CDboxset,threediscsof
rehearsals, 10 discsofthefiveshows
professionallyrecordedintheirentirety
anda finaldiscofrarities.ThetwoCDs
fromSIRRehearsalsinNewYorkfind
Dylaninwhatmightbedescribedashis
element.Whichis tosay,atthecentreof
a certainamountofchaos.Hisapproach
torehearsalis atbestrelaxed,if not
entirelywhimsical.There’snoobvious
instruction,clarificationofkey,tempoor
otherapparentlyfrivolousirrelevancies.
Dylanseemshappyenoughtoplaythefirst
thingthatcomesintohishead– “People
GetReady”,“Lily,RosemaryAndThe
JackOfHearts”– andleaveit totheother
musicianstosomehowfindtheirown
waytofitin.TheeighttracksonCD3 were
recordedonOctober 29 attheSeacrest
MotelinMassachusettsandareeffectively
therevue’sfinaldressrehearsal.Several
songsarestilllookingforarrangements,
including“Hurricane”.
Thefirstconcertsrantofivehours,Dylan
onstagefora littlemorethananhour.
Theshowshadthesamenightlyformat.
FollowinganopeningsetbyGuamand
solospotsfromMcGuinn,JoniMitchell,
RoneeBlakleyandRamblin’Jack,an
unannouncedDylanstrolledonstage,
singing “When I Paint My Masterpiece”.Heusuallyplayedthe
samesixorseventunes,
mixingsongsfromDesire,
stillunreleasedwhenthe
tourstarted,“Tangled
UpInBlue”,morerarely
“ShelterFromThe
Storm”,andsomeolder
big-hitters,revisitedin
unpredictableways.
OnTour’74,heoften
soundedlikea mantrying
tomakehimselfheard
inanairraid.There’s
nogreaterevidence
hereofthemercurial
phrasingsofthe 1966
worldtour,andseveral
timeshesoundsasif he’s
halfwaytoturninginto
JoeStrummer,especially
onlividversionsof“The
LonesomeDeathOfHattie
Carroll”.Atleasthe’s
absolutelyengagedagainwithhisown
songs,evenif fansstruggledtorecognise
someofhisfearlessreinventions,
somethingthey’dhavetogetusedtoin
yearstocome.TheversiononDisc 13 of
“TonightI’llBeStayingHereWithYou”,
forinstance,hasa completelyrewritten
lyricanda careeningnewarrangement.It
soundslikea roombeingransacked.“Just
LikeA Woman”becomesincreasingly
theatricalintheseperformances.
DylanandGuamputa bombunderthe
revered“AHardRain’sA-GonnaFall”,
transformingit intoa barnstorming
roadhouserocker,likesomethingoff
MorrisonHotel.
Aftera briefinterval,thecurtainwent
upona startlingsight.DylanandBaez
sharinga microphone,asif it were
Newport’63.Forallthesensetheirvoices
maketogether,though,Dylanmayaswell
havebeenduettingwithDamoSuzuki.
Whentheyactuallysoundasif they’re
singingthesamesong,therearewonderful
moments,notleast“I DreamedI SawSt
Augustine”stunninglyrecastasa cantina
ballad.Baezhada soloslotbeforeDylan
returnedforincreasinglythunderoustakes
onsongsfromDesire, includingversions
of“Sara”asmuchblackmailnotesaslove
song.Theshowsalwayswrappedwith
WoodyGuthrie’s“ThisLandIs YourLand”,
precededby“Knockin’OnHeaven’sDoor”,
fabulousineveryiteration,eachwitha
bespokelyric.
AllthemusiconThe 1975 LiveRecordings
isfromthefirstlegofthetour.Therewas
a secondinApril1975,datesintheSouth,
poorlyattended,althoughbythenDesire
wasa No1 album.Dylanplayedthe
showstorecoupsomeofthemoneyhe’d
pouredintoRenaldo& Clara. Hismood
wassour.SongsfromBloodOnTheTracks
replacedthenumbersfromDesireandhis
performanceswerewrathful,apocalyptic.
Oneofthem,atFortCollins,Colorado,ona
cold,wetday,wasfilmedfora TVspecial.
Youcanonlyhopethetapesarealready on
their way to Martin Scorsese.A
BO B DYLAN
TheRollingThunderRevue:
The1975 Live RecordingsCOLUMBIA LEGACY
9/10
Historic concerts collected on 14 discs.By Allan Jones
Discs1 and 2
SIRRehearsals,
N ewYo rk
Disc 3
SeacrestMotel
rehearsals,
Falmouth,MA
Discs4 and 5
Memorial
Auditorium,
Wo rces te r,MA
Discs6 and 7
HarvardSquare
Theatre,
Cambridge,MA
Discs8 and 9
BostonMusicHall,
afternoonshow
Discs 10 and 11
BostonMusicHall,
eveningshows
Discs 12 and 13
Forumde
Montreal,Canada
Disc 14
BonusDisc– rare
performancesPersonnel:Bob
Dylan(vocals,
guitar,piano,
harmonica),Joan
Baez(voca l s,
guitar),Joni
Mitchell(vocals),
RogerMcGuinn
(guitar,vocals),
Ramblin’Jack
Elliott(vocals,
guitar),Allen
Ginsberg(vocals,
f i n g e rcy m b a l s)
Guam:Bobby
Neuwirth(guitar,
vocals),Scarlet
Rivera(violin),
T BoneBurnett
(guitar,vocals),
StevenSoles
(guitar,vocals),
MickRobson
(guitar),David
Mansfield(steel
guitar,mandolin,
violin,dobro),
RobStoner(bass,
vocals),Howie
Wyeth(drums,
piano),Luther
Rix(perc),Ronee
Blakley (vocals)SLEEVE NOTES
ApensiveDylanon
theRollingThunder
Revue in 1975