Category Archives: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan: Rotterdam – September 10, 1987

Bob Dylan & Roger McGuinn - Rotterdam 1987
Bob Dylan & Roger McGuinn – Rotterdam 1987

Three years on, Dylan returns to this relatively intimate venue, and, although the acoustics remain poor, he presents a high-energy show. After concluding the main set with a version of “Slow Train,” he returns with the Heartbreakers and Roger McGuinn (who has opened all the shows) for a fine version of “Chimes of Freedom,” Dylan singing the first and last verses, and Mr. McGuinn the second. The second encore is “Gotta Serve Somebody.”
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)

Sportpaleis Ahoy
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
19 September 1987

  • Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar) with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
  • Tom Petty (guitar)
  • Mike Campbell (guitar)
  • Benmont Tench (keyboards)
  • Howie Epstein (bass)
  • Stan Lynch (drums)
  • The Queens Of Rhythm: Carolyn Dennis, Queen Esther Marrow, Madelyn Quebec (backing vocals)

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Calexico and Jim James Going to Acapulco


calexico-jim-james

Calexico and Jim James – Going To Acapulco

Calexico have some very fine Dylan covers. Sometimes alone and sometimes as a terrific backing band for other great artists. Today we present the collaboration, Going To Acapulco, with Jim James (My Morning jacket) and Calexico from the film, I’m Not There.

I’m Not There is a 2007 biographical musical film directed by Todd Haynes, inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan’s public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw. At the start of the film, a caption reads: “Inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan”. Apart from the song credits, this is the only mention of Bob Dylan in the film.

The film tells its story using non-traditional narrative techniques, intercutting the storylines of seven different Dylan-inspired characters. The title of the film is taken from the 1967 Dylan Basement Tape recording of “I’m Not There”, a song that had not been officially released until it appeared on the film’s soundtrack album. The film received a generally favorable response, and appeared on several top ten film lists for 2007, topping the lists for The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, Salon andThe Boston Globe. Particular praise went to Cate Blanchett for her performance, culminating in a Volpi Cup from the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Calexico has several fine collaborations on the soundtrack.

We will start with a wonderful live version from The Newport Folk Festival in 2008.

Going To Acapulco – Calexico and Jim James (Live, August 3, 2008, Newport Folk Festival):

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50 years ago: Bob Dylan – The first recording session for “Bringing It All Back Home”

Bob Dylan - bringing it all back home

I never wanted to write topical songs,…. Have you heard my last two records, Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61? It’s all there. That’s the real Dylan.
~Bob Dylan (Frances Taylor Interview, Aug. 1965)

50 years ago – 13 January 1965 – Bob Dylan entered Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, NYC for the first of three seminal days in the studio… It was time to show the “real” Dylan on record.

Wikipedia:

Bringing It All Back Home is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band—a move that further alienated him from some of his former peers in the folk song community. Likewise, on the acoustic second side of the album, he distanced himself from the protest songs with which he had become closely identified (such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”), as his lyrics continued their trend towards the abstract and personal.

The album reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan’s LPs to break into the US top 10. It also topped the UK charts later that Spring. The lead-off track, “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, became Dylan’s first single to chart in the US, peaking at #39.

bd-65-studio
Photo by Columbia Records photgrapher Don Hunstein

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Bass player Tim Drummond died today – Rest in Peace

bob dylan 1979
Tim Drummond with Dylan at Warfield in 1979

 

Bass player Tim Drummond died today –  Rest in Peace

Tim Drummond, born Timothy Lee Drummond, 20 April 1940, Bloomington, Illinois, USA was sadly reported dead today, January 11th. He played with a lot of great artists, Bob Dylan during “the Gospel Years”, Neil Young, Ry Cooder and James Browne among others. Drummond has co-written songs with many of the artists he has worked with, including: “Saved” (Bob Dylan), “Who’s Talking” (J.J. Cale), and “Down In Hollywood” (Ry Cooder). He often plays as part of the session rhythm duo Tim & Jim with drummer Jim Keltner.

Great musician, he will be missed.

Here are many videos from his fantastic performance with Bob Dylan in Toronto in 1980

Allmusic:
“He joined Brown’s band, touring with great players such as Jimmy Nolen and Maceo Parker in North America, Vietnam, Korea and Africa, but eventually quit. Drummond then moved to Nashville, playing sessions for blues and R&B singers including Joe Simon, Margie Hendricks, Fenton Robinson, and country artists including Ronnie Mislap, Jimmy Buffett, Doug Kershaw and Charlie Daniels. A meeting with Neil Young resulted in Drummond playing on Young’s highly successful Harvest, and touring as part of his Straygators backing group. Drummond moved to California, where he has become an in-demand session player, working with a stellar list of artists including Young, Bob Dylan (Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot Of Love), Ry Cooder (Bop Till You Drop, The Slide Area, Borderline), J.J. Cale (Naturally, Travel Log, Anyway The Wind Blows), Crosby, Stills And Nash (CSN), Graham Nash (Wild Tales), the Beach Boys (16 Big Ones), John Mayall, Rick Danko, Don Henley (Building The Perfect Beast) and Jewel (Pieces Of You).”

Neil Young – Long May You Run (with Tim Drummond, MTV Unplugged):

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5 songs covered by Bob Dylan & Elvis Presley

bob dylan elvis presley

 

Today it’s 80 years since The King was born.

Let’s celebrate with 5 songs made famous by Elvis Presley & later also covered by Bob Dylan.

1. Mystery Train (Herman Parker Jr.)

Bob Dylan covered this song once during the Nashville Skyline sessions in 1969 & twice during the Shot Of Love sessions in 1981.

Shot of Love outtake:
Mystery Train by Bob Dylan on Grooveshark

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