BOB DYLAN & The Rolling Thunder Revue - Waterbury November 11th 1975 (SBD, LOSSY) JTT

BOB DYLAN & The Rolling Thunder Revue
Palace Theater
Waterbury, Connecticut
November 11th 1975

'NEW CAPTURE'

Excellent Quality

SOURCE: 320kbps > Soundforge PRO 10c * > FLAC Level 8

* Clean Transitions & Edit

Bob Dylan - vocals, guitar, harmonica; Joan Baez - vocals, guitar; Bob Neuwirth - vocals, guitar;
T-Bone Burnett - guitar; Steven Soles - guitar; Mick Ronson - guitar; David Mansfield - steel guitar,
violin, mandolin, dobro; Scarlet Rivera - violin; Rob Stoner - bass; Howie Wyeth - piano, drums;
Luther Rix - drums, percussion; Ronee Blakley - vocals, piano; Ramblin' Jack Elliott - vocals, guitar;
Roger McGuinn - vocals, guitar; Kevin Crossley - piano

On this night, Neuwirth kicks things off with "Good Love Is Hard to Find" and "Sleazy," before turning
it over to guitarist T-Bone Burnett who sings lead on a danceable version of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves
of London." The other Guam guitarist, Steven Soles, goes next with a cover of Jimmy McHugh's "Don't
Blame Me," and then bassist Rob Stoner takes a turn with Dylan's tribute to baseball player "Catfish"
Hunter. 

Mick Ronson, guitarist and arranger from David Bowie's legendary Ziggy Stardust band is next with "Life
On Mars." For obvious reasons, this song was often confused with David Bowie's Hunky Dory LP track, but
it was actually written by Bob Barnes (a.k.a. Roscoe West) and shares nothing in common with the Bowie
song (other than the title). Following Ronson, Neuwirth introduces the core members of Guam and then
invites Nashville singer and actress Ronee Blakley to the stage to duet with him on the homage to Hank
Williams, "Alabama Dark." Blakley then sits at the piano to lead the band through her own "Need A New
Sun Rising." Neuwirth takes over again on the next three numbers, first performing "Cindy (When I Get Home)
" followed by "Mercedes Benz," the song he and Janis Joplin wrote, immortalized on her Pearl LP and one of
her last recordings. Finally, Neuwirth pays homage to his good friend Ramblin' Jack Elliott with a song
that takes his name, which is utilized as a fitting introduction to the man himself. Ramblin' Jack's solo
mini-set starts off with his signature "Muleskinner Blues" but, unfortunately, tape stock ran out during
this song and the rest of his set is lost. When the recording comes back on-line, Bob Dylan has already
joined the revue on stage, though his first two songs of the evening are also missing here.
 
The recording picks back up with a biting electric version of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," a vintage solo
acoustic song that takes on new meaning in this ragged performance. Despite addressing troubling subject
matter, this is an ecstatic performance that becomes a celebration of life. Dylan displays rare vocal control,
truncating or elongating certain lines, often revealing nuances and subtleties not apparent in the original
studio recording. This is a great example of his conscious disregard for professional songwriter polish, and
it is this elasticity in his approach to the material that made the performances on this tour so engaging,
not only for the audience, but for Dylan himself. There's no doubt that he is fully engaged in the material.
In stark contrast to the over-hyped Dylan & the Band tour from the previous year, where he often seemed
distracted, on this tour (and specifically on this first leg of the tour), Dylan's commitment to the moment
is palpable at all times. To end his first set, Dylan brings out violinist Scarlet Rivera, who adds another
textural layer to the proceedings. He then performs two of the greatest songs from the recent Desire sessions.
The first, "Romance in Durango," is immediately captivating, with Dylan compressing the syllables and jabbing
at the lyrics in a very dynamic 

01. GOOD LOVE IS HARD TO FIND
02. SLEAZY
03. WEREWOLVES OF LONDON
04. DON'T BLAME ME
05. CATFISH
06. LIFE ON MARS
07. BAND INTRODUCTION
08. ALABAMA DARK (AKA HANK WILLIAMS)
09. NEED A NEW SUN RISING
10. CINDY (WHEN I GET HOME)
11. MERCEDES BENZ
12. RAMBLIN' JACK
13. MULESKINNER BLUES (INCOMPLETE)
14. HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL
15. ROMANCE IN DURANGO
16. ISIS
17. BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
18. THE WATER IS WIDE
19. I DREAMED I SAW ST. AUGUSTINE
20. NEVER LET ME GO
21. I SHALL BE RELEASED
22. DIAMONDS AND RUST
23. SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT
24. JOE HILL (INCOMPLETE)
25. LOVE SONG TO A STRANGER, PT. 2
26. LONG BLACK VEIL
27. PLEASE COME TO BOSTON
28. CHESTNUT MARE
29. EIGHT MILES HIGH
30. THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN
31. SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE
32. OH, SISTER
33. HURRICANE
34. ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE (VALLEY BELOW)
35. SARA
36. JUST LIKE A WOMAN
37. KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR
38. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

JTT, September 2015