Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan From: howe...@punkhart.com (John Howells) Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:21:37 GMT Subject: Rundown Rehearsals oddity The much lauded new Rundown Rehearsals 4-CD set has a pretty grave error that no one has pointed out yet. At least four performances are repeated and given completely different dates. This is something I had suspected ever since I heard "Ballad of a Thin Man" on the Genuine Bootleg Series 3 and noticed that it was exactly the same performance that has long circulated on the supposed April 1978 tape, although in better quality. So now I'm wondering what's what and which dates are correct and how come no one else has noted this before. The songs are: disc 2 11. Maggie's Farm 12. Ballad of a Thin Man 13. Simple Twist of Fate 14. To Ramona 15. If You See Her, Say Hello disc 4 4. Maggie's Farm 5. Ballad of a Thin Man 6. Simple Twist of Fate 7. To Ramona 8. If You See Her, Say Hello Listen to them carefully and pay special attention to the conversations and noodling going on between the songs, and also note the musical passages and vocal mannerisms which are too identical to be a coincidence. The sound quality of the songs on disc 4 is better than disc 2, but otherwise they are the same. This is a little ironic because the fragments of this new "uncirculated" tape on GBS 3 were better than the usual April 1978 tape, but it's the April 1978 upgrade here that sounds much better than disc 2 which features the supposedly new material. I'm thinking there may be other performances from both of these two discs that are the same, but I haven't compared them yet. So, it appears the bootleggers didn't give us all that much new after all. -- John Howells howe...@punkhart.com http://www.punkhart.com Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan From: howe...@punkhart.com (John Howells) Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:43:05 GMT Subject: Re: Rundown Rehearsals oddity Some additional songs that are the same: disc 2 9. I Threw It All Away 10. Love Minus Zero disc 3 1. I Don't Believe You disc 4 3. I Threw It All Away 9. I Don't Believe You 10. Love Minus Zero Altogether I count 8 performances that are repeated. So it appears to me that either what we had long believed to be a genuine April 1978 tape is nothing of the sort, except perhaps for some of the Street Legal sessions ("We'd Better Talk This Over", "Coming from the Heart", "Stop Now") or else the reputed new January 1978 tape is fake or misattributed ----------------------- Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan From: "Bob Stacy" Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 20:31:44 GMT Subject: Re: Rundown Rehearsals oddity Just following up on what John Howells noted several weeks ago about the Rundown Rehearsals (4-CD set) having several performances repeated and given completely different dates. These are: disc 2 11. Maggie's Farm 12. Ballad of a Thin Man 13. Simple Twist of Fate 14. To Ramona 15. If You See Her, Say Hello --- same as --- disc 4 4. Maggie's Farm 5. Ballad of a Thin Man 6. Simple Twist of Fate 7. To Ramona 8. If You See Her, Say Hello disc 2 9. I Threw It All Away 10. Love Minus Zero disc 3 1. I Don't Believe You --- same as ---- disc 4 3. I Threw It All Away 9. I Don't Believe You 10. Love Minus Zero As John noted, these tracks are part of what has traditionally circulated on the usual April 1978 tape [as the disc 4 group of tracks] but on the Rundown Rehearsals set are also identified as separate and "new" performances from January 1978 [the disc 2 tracks + one from disc 3]. They are definitely the *same* performances. Big error and/or misrepresentation by the bootleggers. However, the "I Don't Believe You" [disc 3 track 1] is a more complete version of the one on disc 4 and the recording runs continuous into the next song, a previously unknown version of "Going Going Gone," [disc 3 track 2] which implies it too was concurrent with the same group of tracks. The confusion of "two separate tapes?" or "is it January or is it April?" has been around a while and is further confounded by discographers Heylin and Dundas. Each lists these particular tracks (excluding "Going Going Gone") as performed in the same order on separate occasions in both January and April. Maybe, maybe not. Dundas indicates the January tracks were not in circulation, and the April tracks are part of what has been known as the April tape. The essential difference in personel between those two rehearsal periods would've been Jerry Scheff who replaced Rob Stoner as bassist following the Far Eastern Tour. To my ears, these tracks have much in common to the other rehearsal tracks that we know from January - early February. When you listen to the song arrangements and particularly the style and technique of the bassist [and compare them to performances in Japan and Australia], it seems pretty indicative they include Rob Stoner in the works. I'm guessing the April identification for these tracks is the one that's incorrect. Possibly, all we have in the way of rehearsals following the Far Eastern leg would be tracks which actually sound more incommon to themselves (or to the new "Street Legal" album) than with the bulk of songs performed as the tour resumed in early June. Spring 1978 The Rundown Rehearsal Tapes - Disc 4 1) We'd Better Talk This Over (incomp.) -- [April] 2) Coming From The Heart (incomp.) -- [April] 12) Stop Now -- [May 1-2] -- same as on Genuine Bootleg Series 13) Coming From The Heart -- [May 1-2] -- same as on GBS-Take 2 11) Stop Now -- [June 8] -- same as on GBS-Take 2 -Bob Stacy