Dylan makes a surprise appearance at a tribute to Roy Orbison at the Universal Amphitheater, Universal City, Los Angeles, joining three of the original Byrds (David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and Chris Hillman) on a version of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” He remains onstage, playing guitar on “He Was a Friend of Mine,” and joining in on an ensemble encore of “Only the Lonely.” The version of “Mr. Tambourine Man,” on which Dylan competes with McGuinn for the “lead” vocal, subsequently appears in a cable TV special of the benefit, as well as on CBS’s four-CD Byrds retrospective, simply titled The Byrds.
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)
Universal Amphitheater Los Angeles, California 24 February 1990 Roy Orbison Tribute.
February 23 captures the third night in Budokan in excellent stereo with a minor tape flip in the middle. It is a good but nervous performance. Dylan himself sounds self-conscious and make several quips through the performance. Before “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” commenting on a mistake in the lights, jokes “we left the light show home tonight” and after a sloppy “Like A Rolling Stone” he jokes “Thank you! We almost played that one right.”
The show comes to grand finale with nice versions of “The Man In Me,” “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” and especially “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” using the flute set to a reggae beat. The set ends with “Forever Young” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” It is a very good, but not classic, performance. They are still trying to learn the new arrangements and have not yet introduced any new songs to the set.
~collectorsmusicreviews.com
Nippon Budokan Hall Tokyo, Japan 23 February 1978
Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
Billy Cross (lead guitar)
Alan Pasqua (keyboards)
Steven Soles (rhythm guitar, backup vocals)
David Mansfield (violin & mandolin)
Steve Douglas (horns)
Rob Stoner (bass)
Bobbye Hall (percussion)
Ian Wallace (drums), Helena Springs, Jo Ann Harris, Debbie Dye (background vocals)
