Changing Of The Guards - Patti Smith excels with new cover version

I approached Twelve, Patti Smith’s new covers album, with some trepidation: I’m generally not fond of the covers genre; I normally avoid Dylan covers (unless they’re by Bryan Ferry or Van Morrison); and my admiration for Ms Smith is not unreserved.

But my, how I’ve been enjoying Twelve, and particularly the excellent Dylan track, Changing Of The Guards. Smith’s version of the iconic Street Legal opener is compelling – her insouciant style is ideally suited to the mystery and majesty of the lyrics. I found myself listening anew to a song that’s fast becoming one of my favourite Dylan compositions.

The album is chock full of tasty selections – some of the finest songs in the rockpop canon. Hell, I even like the Beatles choice!

Are You Experienced?
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Helpless
Gimme Shelter
Within You Without You
White Rabbit
Changing Of The Guards
The Boy In The Bubble
Soul Kitchen
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Midnight Rider
Pastime Paradise


Twelve: recommended!




Gerry Smith

Hard Rain – new book of environmental photos set to Dylan’s lyrics

Hard Rain: Our Headlong Collision With Nature, is a new (2006) book of environmental photos by Mark Edwards documenting a “World Gone Wrong”. The photographs are juxtaposed with the full lyrics from the Dylan song A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.

Each photo in the collection, inspired by Hard Rain, illustrates a line from the song, which is reproduced in its entirety, giving the book its structure.

Edwards tells how, in 1969, lost in the Southern Sahara desert, he was rescued by a Tuareg nomad on a camel, who took him to a camp, fed him and then proceeded to play Dylan’s recording of A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall on a cassette machine!

The book, published 37 years later, is a credible adaptation of the theme of Dylan’s early 1960s song to a contemporary concern. It confirms what we already knew, of course – that much of Dylan’s writing is timeless - it will continue to illuminate the big issues for decades. And that there’s a rapidly growing body of art inspired by Mr Zim.

Hard Rain, a striking collection of images, is a must-have if you’re a Dylan book completist (like me) and/or a committed eco-warrior.


www.hardrainproject.com



Gerry Smith

Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 - #6

Thanks to Elly Prince:

“Like earlier contributors, I’m very fond of this period. I like nearly all the material but, if forced to pick only 10, I’d have:

Senor
Caribbean Wind
Heart of Mine
Lenny Bruce
In the Summertime
Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar
Angelina
Every Grain of Sand
Ye Shall Be Changed
You Changed My Life”

Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 - #4

Thanks to John Brooke:

Like Martin Cowan, my 'baptism' with the mighty Bob was in '81, but at the NEC, Birmingham instead of Earls Court. Unfortunately being just 19 or so, I was unsympathetic with the Gospel stuff, and it turned me off for a good long while.

Coming back to these albums with a more mature head, I discovered that I really enjoyed Shot of Love, and found more in Slow Train Coming than previously. Still can't quite swallow Saved though, apart from the couple of tracks listed below.

I have no problem with Gospel music generally (I have plenty of country & 'old-time' music that celebrates the "Christian Life") but I still don't quite like the fervent preaching on Saved.

No Time To Think
Changing of the Guard
Is Your Love in Vain
Senor
Slow Train Coming
When He Returns
In the Garden
Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar
Every Grain of Sand
In the Summertime
Property of Jesus
Angelina
Caribbean Wind

Bonus Track: Every Grain of Sand (demo)

Dylan meets his Maker - in new murder mystery

We've had Dylan - the musical. And are about to get Dylan - the biopic.

Now get ready for Dylan - the murder mystery. Blood On The Tracks, Los Angeles movie writer Tom Grasty's new novel, is set to be published this autumn. It's a murder mystery set against the world of rock n' roll.

As Tom just told The Dylan Daily: “But not just any rock star is knocking on heaven's door. The murdered rock legend is none other than Bob Dorian, a thinly-veiled Bob... well, you can guess which Bob it is (need a hint: the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind...)

“Suspects? Tons of them. The only problem is they're all characters in Bob's songs. And they all hold a grudge. Guess that's what happens when you banish your friends to Desolation Row.”

Intriguing. Watch this space…


Info:
http://blood-onthe-tracks.blogspot.com/

or:
http://profile.myspace.com/grasty_central




Gerry Smith

Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 - #3

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“As usual, couldn't resist this:

Changing of the Guard
Baby Stop Crying
We Better Talk This Over
Senor

Gotta Serve Somebody
I Believe In You
Slow Train
When He Returns

Saved
Solid Rock
Saving Grace
Pressing On
I Will Love Him (live)

Shot Of Love
Heart of Mine
In the Summertime
Every Grain of Sand
Angelina
Groom Still Waiting
Caribbean Wind
Dead Man Dead Man (live)

Is that too many? I have a great fondness for this era as it coincided with my first live Bob show - Earls Court, July 1981.”


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Does this selection mirror your favourite tracks? Please let me know via best@dylandaily.com, and I’ll use the responses to draw up a composite The Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 – thanks, Gerry Smith

Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 - #2

Thanks to Liam Mogan:

“Great to see that this much-maligned period of His Bobness' career is being re-appraised and given the regard it justifies. Just two points, though.

“Firstly, ignoring Saved altogether is a travesty. At least one
track from In the Garden, Saved, Solid Rock and Pressing On deserves to be in there. And any 'best of' from this period must include Satisfied Mind.

“Secondly, some of the 'best' music from this period comes from
Bob's live concerts, especially the early ones.

“My 'best of':

Changing Of The Guards
True Love Tends To Forget
Where Are You Tonight
Gotta Serve Somebody
I Believe In You
Slow Train
When He Returns
Solid Rock - Warfield 16-11-79 (Contract With The Lord)
Saved - Warfield 16-11-79 (Contract With The Lord)
Coverdown, Breakthrough - Toronto 20-04-1980 (Born Again Music)
Satisfied Mind
Pressing On
Caribbean Wind (out-take)
Angelina (out-take)
In The Summertime
Every Grain Of Sand
The Groom's Still Waiting At the Altar.”



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Does this selection mirror your favourite tracks? Please let me know via best@dylandaily.com, and I’ll use the responses to draw up a composite The Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81 – thanks, Gerry Smith

Mark Ronson remix to be left off new 3CD compilation?

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“This from Searchingforagem.com via Expecting Rain: Thanks to Ronald Born for news that the Mark Ronson remix of Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine), now available on promo CD singles, will not be on the 3CD Dylan 1 Oct set but only the one-CD sampler. It remains to be seen whether I class it as a rarity or not.”

More Greatest Hits, Masterpieces and Biograph - superior to the new 3CD release

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Further to this, to the fairly new Dylan fans I would say don't worry about compilations, get stuck into the back catalogue! It's like no other.

“If you do want compilations, the best ones to get are as these all have tracks on them that are unavailable elsewhere.”

Dylan/Cash on DVD

Thanks to Nigel Boddy:

“Just to let you know that, according to the Spin Records website, The Best of Johnny Cash TV Show is being released on DVD on 17 September - featuring his Bobness on three tracks! The website also has details of other artists featured.”

www.spincds.com

Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81?

It always happens. Whenever a new compilation is about to be released, the urge to make yet more of my own re-emerges. The pre-release promo for the new 3CD has duly stirred a filleting of the weaker albums – the 50% of Dylan releases I don’t rate as unalloyed masterpieces - to focus on the gems hidden among weaker material.

Focusing on the three Gospel-era albums - Slow Train Coming (1979), Saved (1980) and Shot of Love (1981) – and their precursor/close relative, Street-Legal (1978), I made a compilation drawn from them (and, in the case of Caribbean Wind, the out-takes):

Changing Of The Guards
No Time To Think
Is Your Love In Vain
True Love Tends To Forget
Where Are You Tonight
Gotta Serve Somebody
Precious Angel
Slow Train
Man Gave Names To All The Animals
Caribbean Wind
In The Summertime
Every Grain Of Sand

I’ve been raving about the compilation ever since. The opening and closing tracks, in particular, are wondrous creations, and have been duly promoted to the Dylan Daily Pantheon of Major Works (many readers will have made the same judgment years ago).

But does this selection mirror your favourites from these four albums? Please let me know via best@dylandaily.com, and I’ll use the responses to draw up a composite The Best Of Bob Dylan 1978-81.


Gerry Smith

Dylan, the new 3CD release – “eagerly awaited”

Thanks to Martin Spence:

“You wrote – ‘the new 3CD album, Dylan, aimed at new fans, and with no new content - it will be a non-event for most Dylan Daily readers’.

“As a fairly new fan not yet familiar with many of the Dylan albums, I’ve been wondering which compilation to buy. The new album answers my prayers - and I know other regular visitors to The Dylan Daily who are in the same position. It’s something we’ve been eagerly awaiting - well done, Sony!”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For readers contemplating buying Dylan, the new 3CD release, here’s the (massively impressive) 51-song tracklist doing the rounds:

DISC ONE
Song To Woody
Blowin' In The Wind
Masters Of War
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
The Times They Are A-Changin'
All I Really Want To Do
My Back Pages
It Ain't Me Babe
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Mr. Tambourine Man
Maggie's Farm
Like A Rolling Stone
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Positively 4th Street
Rainy Day #12 & 35
Just Like A Woman
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
All Along The Watchtower

DISC TWO
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Lay, Lady, Lay
If Not For You
I Shall Be Released
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
On A Night Like This
Forever Young
Tangled Up In Blue
Simple Twist Of Fate
Hurricane
Changing Of The Guards
Gotta Serve Somebody
Precious Angel
The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar
Jokerman
Dark Eyes

DISC THREE
Blind Willie McTell
Brownsville Girl
Silvio
Ring Them Bells
Dignity
Everything Is Broken
Under The Red Sky
You're Gonna Quit Me
Blood In My Eyes
Not Dark Yet
Things Have Changed
Make You Feel My Love
High Water (for Charley Patton)
Po' Boy
Someday Baby
When The Deal Goes Down



Gerry Smith

New remix of Most Likely You Go Your Way - encore

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“To be honest, I think this is indicative of the way record companies totally misunderstand the product they are dealing with (ie the music) and what music listeners want to hear. The technology has existed for years to monkey around with old recordings. The current "mash up" trend is little more than Stars on 45 twenty five years on.

“I remember reading about when the "Highway 61" album was remixed for release on gold CD by Steve Hoffman in the early 90s. He said that the access he had to the master tapes meant that he could have re-tuned the guitars that are slightly out of tune on the tracks. However, the fact that he didn't do this meant that anomalies in the original recordings remain for future generations to enjoy.

“Part of the pleasure in discovering and listening to old music are the ambience created by the limitations that the recording industry struggled with at the time. "Heartbreak Hotel" is a good example - it sounds decidedly thin and tinny, even when compared to Elvis' early Sun recordings, but this is what makes it so spooky and memorable. Speaking as a relative newcomer to Elvis - within the last 5 years - it certainly wasn't that dreadful remix of "A Little Less Conversation" that got me hooked, but the brilliance of the original recordings.

“It's interesting to compare the quality of mono and stereo mixes - personally, I prefer the mono mix of The Kinks "Village Green Society" to the stereo. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes that Apple would do something about their eccentric stereo releases of The Beatles catalogue on CD - perhaps reissuing them in mono would be a good idea.

“In my view, it's the tip of the iceberg. What next? Cleaning up Bob's vocals on "Watching The River Flow" to remove the cold he had when he recorded it? Or how about getting Bob back in to re-record the vocals of his classic songs over the original backing tracks to sell at gigs? The mind boggles.

“If this track is intended to lure listeners to the back catalogue, Sony should leave well alone as Dylan's catalogue is second to none. If the idea is to lure purchasers of the package who already have all the other tracks in various other formats, then they should be ashamed of themselves. This product is pretty tawdry and I'm surprised that Dylan has been persuaded that it is a good idea.”

New remix of Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine): two views

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Sunday's Observer Music Monthly carried Paul Morley's barbed critique of the new Dylan remix. Having heard the track myself, I find myself agreeing with him”:

http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/comment/story/0,,2144403,00.html



There’s another view:

The Dylan remix is part of a trend of record labels attempting to reach a new audience for their heritage recordings by throwing in the odd electronica remix in otherwise faithful compilation albums.

The new track on the Dylan 3CD follows recent compilations of timeless recordings by top musicians - including Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday – which have been treated to a bonus remixed track or two.

I can take them or leave them: any reinterpretation of great music is potentially interesting; some work, some don’t, but failure is no reason not to try. But I’d much prefer to listen to an electronica version of a Dylan song than yet another cover by yet another tedious, check-shirted grizzled Olde Farte brandishing an acoustic guitar.

The new remix of Most Likely You Go Your Way will have no bearing on whether I buy the new product, but I’ll give the remix at least a few hearings. As for Sony’s PR, attempting to make the remix into a big talking point – it obviously worked here, but I can’t help feeling it’s misguided – a trivial distraction from a great body of art.


Gerry Smith

BOBMANIA # 7: new Dyl-Time Theme Radio Hour

Thanks to Mel Prussack:

“Volume 12 of my podcast "Dyl-Time Theme Radio Hour" has just been
posted. The theme this month is "Leftovers". It consists of songs that did not make the final cut (but should have!) from my regular show:

http://dylanshrine.podOmatic.com/

World tour of 1978 – the Earls Court and Blackbushe spectaculars

Thanks to Back Pages musician Gerald Bamford:

“Thank you for your reminders of the 1978 world tour from your perspective in Sydney.

“My own recollections are from those you missed by being in Australia. Who now remembers having to spend the night queuing and sleeping with thousands of others in Leicester Square the very same night that Ipswich had beaten the Arsenal at Wembley in the FA Cup Final, to get the maximum allocation of 6 tickets each concert (who went to more than one in those days?) for the residency at Earls Court?

“The concerts in June were wonderful affairs, Bob not having graced us with his presence since his trip to the Isle of Wight in 1969. I loved every second of my night, June 17th, being fairly near the front and seemingly privileged to be so since Earls Court is the ultimate airplane hanger.

“I recollect with fondness the duets with Steve Douglas - he who had been Duane Eddy's sax man before joining Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Everything seemed so well arranged and so different from anything before or since. The songs stood up well to the Las Vegas stylings and the very idea that the tour was arranged to pay alimony following Bob's recent divorce is faintly ridiculous since the band must have cost a fortune - half of them having played with Elvis himself in the Nevada desert city.

“And then onto Blackbushe on the Surrey/Hampshire border. What an event that one was. It seemed to me that the whole world and his brother was there (mine certainly was anyway).

“Bob's part in the proceedings was enormous and totally befitting his status as the most respected rock star on the planet. He seemed to sing songs from all parts of his repertoire and the new ones from Street Legal (had it been released by then?). We recorded the whole show on a reel-to-reel tape recorder from near to one of the huge blocks of speakers situated at various points over the area.

“It was a massive concert in all its aspects and an absolute privilege to be there too. Never to be repeated, since Bob picked up a cross thrown onto the stage at a show later that same year in the USA and things (apart from the quality of Bob's performances) were not quite the same for a very long while.

“God bless him and all the good works that he does perform.

“Thanks once again for the reminder.”

Scorsese on No Direction Home

Thanks to Martin Cowan for the link to a revealing interview with ace director Martin Scorsese in Sunday’s Observer Music Monthly. In the course of promoting Shine A Light, his forthcoming Rolling Stones concert film, Scorsese also discusses No Direction Home:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,2144026,00.html

I'm Not There soundtrack has 33 Dylan songs

I'm Not There, the forthcoming Todd Haynes Dylan biopic-and-more reportedly has no fewer than 33 performances of Zim songs on the soundtrack. The pick of the bunch includes: I'm Not There, Sonic Youth; One More Cup Of Coffee, Roger McGuinn & Calexico; and Simple Twist Of Fate, Jeff Tweedy.

Thanks to Martin Cowan who unearthed the full tracklist on the website of Tampa music retailer Vinyl Fever:

www.vinylfevertampa.com/index.php

NZ gigs

Thanks to Bob Munro:

“I only got to see the Christchurch show but there have been some excellent reviews from different points of view posted at 'Bob Links' for the three shows so far:

http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/dates.html

“And here is a discussion of the Wellington show in a podcast from Radio New Zealand:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday


“Because Dylan only comes our way about every four years there is a different dynamic each time. This may be old news to people in Europe and the States who have him touring regularly but a really obvious thing this time around is the number of teenagers attending.

“The big arenas are treated like regular concert halls with everyone in a seat and the more expensive seats are at the front. This is fine for us oldies but a bit tough on the kids who would love to be standing and reacting and dancing with their peers. How do they handle this in Europe? Surely Bob would enjoy the energy from the mosh pit as well?

“There are the usual sound problems at these arenas too as you have alluded to a number of times. In Christchurch the Modern Times songs were fine but often Bob's voice was quite distorted on other songs at least where we were sitting. You can see in the 'Bob Links' reviews that it’s happening at other arena venues as well. In a small place like New Zealand there just aren't proper concert halls with more than 2000 or so seats so the multi purpose arenas get used to cater for the demand but it's less than satisfactory.

“As you can see from the reviews the nostalgia fans get really confused as well by the newer arrangements. I think the lack of sound subtlety in these places doesn't help these fans either as they can tell what isn't there but can't hear the new things that are. One poor sod near us was so incensed he yelled out 'play it properly!' during 'Just like a Woman'. Well he obviously hasn't been keeping up for a few decades but the shading and subtle band interaction was hard to detect as it reverberated off all that concrete.”

New Dylan 3CD launch - promo/PR #2 - tracklist

Thanks to Steven Pearce and Martin Cowan for the link to UNCUT’s listing of the new 3CD release.

Martin commented: “Honestly, is this really the best compilation they could come up with? It shows a distinct lack of imagination as anyone picking up Greatest Hits vols 1, More and 3 would probably end up with pretty much this same selection. Another missed opportunity.


http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/bob_dylan/news/10090

Gerry Smith

Dylan 3CD - launch promo/PR #1

Dylan Daily prediction: the promo/PR for the Dylan 3CD compilation, to be released on 1 October, will be a) massive; b)multi-platform; c) global. Only citizens of Mars will be unaware that there’s a major new mass-market Dylan album in the shops.

Thanks to JB Heinink of ZimmingPoint, in Spain, for this link:

“Sony BMG Spain created last week a site in MySpace named dylan07es in which they call for a competition on versions of Bob Dylan songs.

More info: http://www.zimmingpoint.com/gww/



Gerry Smith

Dylan in Christchurch, NZ, last night

Thanks to Bob Munro:

”Bob Dylan played the Westpac Arena here in Christchurch, New Zealand last night. He was energetic and in good voice and the band was tight and in the groove. It was a workmanlike performance, although everything from Modern Times sounded lovely and fresh.

“The real wonder, though, was that he was here. A 66 year old man flew across the Pacific Ocean to a Christchurch winter and played to a sold out 4000 seat arena in a town of 300,000.

“The two other arena concerts in New Zealand are also sold out and now he has scheduled two extra gigs at an intimate venue in Auckland after the Australian leg of his tour.

“The magic of this man just continues.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Are you attending any of the shows in New Zealand or Australia? The Dylan Daily is keen to publish your review/setlist: please email tour@dylandaily.com


Thanks in advance,

Gerry Smith

Dylan in Sydney

Dylan’s return to Sydney next Wednesday, as part of a rare NZ/Australia tour, evokes vivid memories of the show I saw at Sydney Showground in April 1978.

The Sydney media had been building up Bob to boiling point for weeks – Radio 2JJ had been celebrating Zim since my arrival in January - I often mused that the Qantas 747 had dropped me off in Heaven by mistake.

The Sydney 1978 set was the Budokan (aka “Las Vegas”) show. Classic material, radically reworked. Many affected to despise the arrangements; I love ‘em. Well, most of ‘em - maybe not the cloying flute and horns.

The Sydney weather had been atrocious for days – with the result that the open air arena, normally used to house agricultural shows, was a sea of mud. From the back of a crowd approaching 30,000 I could just about make out Dylan’s girly white blouse and heavy make-up, with the help of binoculars.

Unpromising, but I savoured every single second. With Dylan still reeling from the panning of Renaldo & Clara, and Street-Legal about to get another critical drubbing, you might have expected a downbeat Bobby. In fact, he was in great form at the time – writing and performing at the peak of his powers.

Living in Sydney – a world-class city – for another year after the Bob show, I duly missed the epochal week of London Earl’s Court shows and the Blackbushe spectacular, back home in England. But the memory of a great Oz show eased the pain.

And Sydney 1978 ensured that the Dylan habit would last a lifetime.



Gerry Smith

Your Top 10 Dylan Songs #27

Thanks to Peter Blanko:

“Like A Rolling Stone
Positively 4th Street
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Mr Tambourine Man
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Tangled Up In Blue
Shelter From The Storm
Jokerman
Dignity
Not Dark Yet”


Peter’s is the final contribution in the series of articles on Your Top 10 Dylan Songs. An aggregate ranked list – a distillation of the collective wisdom of Dylan Daily readers – will be posted shortly, and forwarded on to the suits at Sony.

Many thanks to all contributors. The winner of the competition for the free copy of the Rough Guide to Bob Dylan will be informed tomorrow.



Gerry Smith

Don’t Look Back - De Luxe 2DVD box surpasses the hype

Having documented the difficulties of buying the De Luxe version of Don’t Look Back 2DVD, and whining that, after several weeks of non-availability, it had become available in London, but was too pricey, I finally took possession.

What a marvellous product – surpassing the hype! Before release, The Dylan Daily predicted that “it looks like the product of the year”; in fact, it’s more than that – it’s one of the finest Dylan products of all, for five reasons:

* new second DVD, the Pennebaker documentary, with loads of new footage shot on the 1965 English tour, including a whole album’s worth of newly available live performances.

* audio extras – five songs - on the main disc.

* re-published 1968 paperback, incorporating full transcript and photos.

* revealing commentaries by Pennebaker and Neuwirth embedded on both discs.

* beautiful packaging – it’s the handsomest Dylan artefact yet.

I bought my copy of this cherished product via amazon.co.uk Marketplace dealer Record Village, for a mere £15.41, delivered. New, shrink-wrapped, plus fast delivery, from stock: after earlier disappointments with bigger online dealers, I’ll be putting more business their way.



Gerry Smith

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Earlier article on The Dylan Daily:


Don’t Look Back on DVD - biggest Dylan event of 2007 to date

The DVD re-release of Don’t Look Back, the classic fly-on-the-wall documentary, looks like being the biggest Dylan event of 2007 to date. Pre-orders on amazon.com have already put it inside the online retailer’s top 10,000 DVD titles.

The film tracks Dylan at his iconic, sneering, imperious peak (as well as his court of jesters) on the 1965 English tour. It has long been a must-have for aficionados.

There’ll be two new DVD versions of Don’t Look Back – a single disc release of the original film, remastered, plus a new 2DVD package:

Disc 1:
* Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
* Commentary by director D.A. Pennebaker and tour road manager Bob Neuwirth
* Five additional uncut audio tracks
* Alternate version of the Subterranean Homesick Blues cue-card sequence
* Original theatrical trailer
* Pennebaker filmography
* Bob Dylan discography
* Cast and crew biographies

Disc 2:
* Bob Dylan 65 Revisited – new documentary compiled by Pennebaker from over 20 hours of unseen footage
* Commentary by Pennebaker and road manager Bob Neuwirth
* book (168pp) including a complete transcript, over 200 photos, and a new foreword by Pennebaker
* Collectible Subterranean Homesick Blues flipbook

Don’t Look Back on DVD is due for release in N America on 27 February, so presumably in the UK on Mon 26 February or Mon 5 March.

It’s a must-buy, even for those like me who’ve had the VHS and original DVD versions for years – a well-conceived new product, with loads of added value in the new two-disc package.



Gerry Smith

Your Top 10 Dylan Songs #26

Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:

“A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Mr Tambourine Man
Like a Rolling Stone
Desolation Row
Visions of Johanna
All Along the Watchtower
Tangled Up in Blue
Blind Willie McTell
Not Dark Yet
Po' Boy”


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Would you like to win a free copy of Nigel Williamson’s excellent Rough Guide to Bob Dylan (2nd ed, 2006)?

If so, simply send The Dylan Daily a list of the 10 Dylan songs (ranked 1 to 10) – you’d most like to see included on DYLAN, the new 3CD compilation, due 1 October. Please send to: songs@dylandaily.com

Your list will be posted on The Dylan Daily web site, and then aggregated with the other lists to produce a composite fans’ choice list of 51 tracks, which will be widely publicised and sent to Sony.

Your name will be entered in a prize draw and the lucky winner will be asked for his/her postal address and receive a free copy of the Rough Guide, kindly provided by the publishers at launch last year.

Please send your Top 10 Dylan songs list now, before you forget!

If you already have a copy of the Rough Guide, please send your Top 10 list anyway – the more contributions, the more authoritative will be the eventual list of top Dylan songs – the 51 track compilation the fans would like to see!

Your Top 10 Dylan Songs #25

Thanks to Bill Nicolet:

“Of course there are no definitives, but as of right here, right now, from memory:

Visions Of Johanna
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Highlands
Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)
Desolation Row
Girl From The North Country
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
You're A Big Girl Now
Most Of The Time
Things Have Changed:



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Would you like to win a free copy of Nigel Williamson’s excellent Rough Guide to Bob Dylan (2nd ed, 2006)?

If so, simply send The Dylan Daily a list of the 10 Dylan songs (ranked 1 to 10) – you’d most like to see included on DYLAN, the new 3CD compilation, due 1 October. Please send to: songs@dylandaily.com

Your list will be posted on The Dylan Daily web site, and then aggregated with the other lists to produce a composite fans’ choice list of 51 tracks, which will be widely publicised and sent to Sony.

Your name will be entered in a prize draw and the lucky winner will be asked for his/her postal address and receive a free copy of the Rough Guide, kindly provided by the publishers at launch last year.

Please send your Top 10 Dylan songs list now, before you forget!

If you already have a copy of the Rough Guide, please send your Top 10 list anyway – the more contributions, the more authoritative will be the eventual list of top Dylan songs – the 51 track compilation the fans would like to see!

Michael Gray’s autumn mini-tour

Michael Gray, Dylan Encyclopedist and now Blind Willie McTell biographer, is busily promoting his new book. Two Scottish gigs have just been announced - a Willie McTell event at a whisky distillery in Dumfries and Galloway, as part of the Wigtown Book Festival in October, and a Bob Dylan event in Glasgow in November. These follow his September date in Birmingham:

* Thursday Sept 13, 8pm
Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues
Birmingham: Midlands Arts Centre
Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston Rd, Birmingham B12 9QH
Box Office: 0121 440 3838
https://secure.ticketsbirmingham.com/welcome.asp
tickets £9 (concessions £6.75)


* Friday Oct 5, 9pm
In Search of Blind Willie McTell
Wigtown Book Festival
Bladnoch Distillery, Bladnoch, Wigtown, Scotland DG8 9AB
Festival Box Office: 01988 403222
tickets £5


* Friday Nov 16, 8pm
Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues
Glasgow CCA
Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD
Box Office 0141 352 4900
www.cca-glasgow.com
tickets £11, concessions £6

Michael told The Dylan Daily that it's his first gig in Birmingham, the first in Glasgow since a short talk at a Waterstones in Sauchiehall Street in 2000, and certainly the first time he’s staged one of his events in a whisky distillery!


(Having heard the Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues presentation, I strongly recommend it – Gerry Smith, Editor.)

New remix of Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

According to www.dylan07.com, the site promoting the new 3CD Dylan compilation, the Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) remix starts getting radio airplay today, globally.

In case you no longer listen to kiddywink radio (does anybody?), here’s a clip:

www.dylan07.com

It’s an alternate version of an OK Dylan song, to add to all those already out there. It’ll attract some younger buyers of the new CD. And?


Gerry Smith