Category Archives: Bootleg

July 2: Great recording of Bob Dylan’s set at the Finjan Club, Montreal in 1962





bob dylan live finjan club

The Finjan tape, similar to the early party tapes in that it’s a small group of people, and Dylan’s aware of the tape recorder and is trying to think of interesting songs to play, has many delights, particularly an electrifying version of Muddy Waters’s “Two Trains Running,” a fine loose rendering of “Let Me Die in My Footsteps,” and a haunting fragment of Robert Johnson’s “Rambling on My Mind.” On “Two Trains” Dylan sings, “I’m afraid of everybody/and I can’t trust myself.” The tape also features one of Dylan’s most powerful original blues (if you can draw the line between blues songs he writes and ones be assembles from existing songs; definitely a matter of degree, as is true with most blues singers): “Quit Your Low Down Ways.”
~Paul Williams (Bob Dylan Performing Artist I: The Early Years 1960-1973)

I’m sitting here drinking coffee and listening to this fine recording of early Bob Dylan. For fans of early Dylan, this is a gem . It’s a trip back in time to what Dylan sounded like playing in the small clubs before he became famous. Listening to this CD I can imagine sitting in this dark club and hearing Bob Dylan perform songs that would become well known, and others that wouldn’t get any attention at all in the coming years.

Several of these tunes were recorded for Dylan’s first and second albums. Rocks and Gravel was meant to be on his second album, but was replaced by Girl From the North Country.  Robert Johnson’s Ramblin’ On My Mind is performed here for the first time by Bob Dylan. The recording of Hiram Hubbard is the only known performance of this song by Bob Dylan. He Was A Friend of Mine  was also left off Dylan’s first album.

I drink my coffee and marvel at the “time travel”, at the sureness of the young Bob Dylan. He definitely had “it” already then.

It is on Amazon for just 15 dollars.

Finjan Club
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2 July 1962

Released on DYLAN, BOB – FINJAN CLUB, 14 January 2013.
(The release is unauthorized and is not associated with or approved by Bob Dylan or his current recording label)

Continue reading July 2: Great recording of Bob Dylan’s set at the Finjan Club, Montreal in 1962

July 1 – Bob Dylan live in Nuremberg, Germany, 1978 (audio)

bob dylan nurnberg 1978

In his first tour of Europe in 12 years, Bob Dylan played Nürnberg on July 1. Organized by the new “Rock im Park” festival which was established in 1976 with Santana and Chicago, 1978 featured both Eric Clapton and Dylan in front of 80,000 spectators.
The show is imbued with additional meaning since the Zeppelinfeld was constructed in the ’30s and was the site for the Nazi Party rallies between 1933 and 1938 and can be seen in the film Triumph Of The Will. That a Jewish artist such as Bob Dylan preformed there 40 years later provides a special irony for the setting.
~gsparaco(collectorsmusicreviews.com)

Zeppelindfeld
Nuremberg, West Germany
1 July 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)
  • Jerry Scheff (bass)
  • Bobbye Hall (percussion)
  • Ian Wallace (drums)
  • Helena Springs, Jo Ann Harris, Carolyn Dennis (background vocals)
  • Eric Clapton (guitar) on I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight & The Times They Are A-Changin’

Continue reading July 1 – Bob Dylan live in Nuremberg, Germany, 1978 (audio)

June 27: My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 2011 Funen Village Odense Denmark

Bob Dylan & His Band - Funen Village, Odense (Live 27.06.2011) - Front

My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 2011: Funen Village Odense Denmark June 27

This is a great sounding Bob Dylan bootleg from his 2011 European tour, we saw Dylan in Bergen, Norway two days later, and the Odense concert is really close to my experience in Bergen. I have the recording from Bergen as well, and I did consider that show as my 2011 choice. But in the end I had to admit that I like the Funen Village show a little bit better. It sounds very good and Bob Dylan is clearly enjoying himself. I also love his version of The Man in Me here (we didn’t get that in Bergen).

The highlights for me are: The Man in Me, and then  “the three in a row”, Boots of Spanish Leather, The Ballad of Hollis Brown and Every Grain of Sand. Jump down to the video and check it out!

Bob Dylan – guitar, keyboard, harp
Tony Garnier – bass
George Recile – drums
Stu Kimball – rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton – lead guitar
Donnie Herron – violin, viola, banjo, electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel

Other entries in this series:
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1962: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1969: The Dylan / Cash Sessions
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2012: The Day of Wine and Roses, Barolo, Italy July 16

fyn 3

“…We participated all in a great garden party, perfect environment, amphi theatre packed with 2,000 spectators, surrounded by large trees, no wind,
20 degree C, blue night sky, my wife and I dancing few meters from the stage.

Most of the evening Bob acted as a showman, relaxed and unpretentious, rocking center stage with his microphone, harp or guitar, smiling “his” smile.

The band was swinging and the sound mercury clear, Bobs words came out personally strong, with long notes, in delicate balance with his tight band.

His standout songs tonight were many: The Man In Me , Things Have Changed (crooning with funny arm gestures), Ballad Of Hollis Brown (obsessive),
Ballad Of A Thin Man (majestic theatrical) and specially Forgetful Heart (beautiful, who induced goosebumps)…”
– Lars Jørgensen (Boblinks)

Full Funen Village, Odense playlist, very closely filmed and with good sound:

Continue reading June 27: My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 2011 Funen Village Odense Denmark

Classic Bob Dylan Bootleg: The Oh Mercy outtakes 1989

mercy on us1

Classic Bob Dylan bootleg 1989: The Oh Mercy Outtakes

“Most of them [the songs on “Oh Mercy”] are stream-of-consciousness songs, the kind that come to you in the middle of the night, when you just want to go back to bed. The harder you try to do something, the more it evades you. These weren’t like that.”
~Bob Dylan (to Edna Gundersen, 21 September 1989)

There are several releases that has these outtakes, the first I found was Deeds of Mercy but my favourite is Mercy on Us: The Oh Mercy outtakes remastered. Essentially the same release but with better sound.  I think they managed to cut the hiss, without ruining the music – unlike so many other times…

 “These recordings have traded for years, and have appeared on several commercial bootlegs. The cover states the tracks to be remastered, and indeed they sound great. The package is a cardboard triptych with some beautiful “Oh Mercy” inspired graphics. The track list shown on the back cover is correct except for one thing…What Good Am I? has a misspelling and appears as “What Goog Am I?”. Other than that typo, this is truly a stunning title . Highly recommended!”
– Bobsboots

Highlights: Born in Time, Shooting Star (both takes) and God Knows but everything is highly recommended and I would pick different songs if you asked me another day.

Other entries in this series:

My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1962: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1969: The Dylan / Cash Sessions
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1973: The Pat Garrett sessions
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1983: Infidels outtakes (Rough cuts)
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1995: Prague 3 nights in March
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2011: Funen Village Denmark June 27
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2012: The Day of Wine and Roses, Barolo, Italy July 16
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2014: Gothenburg Sweden July 15

Continue reading Classic Bob Dylan Bootleg: The Oh Mercy outtakes 1989

16th and 17th of November: My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 1993 The Supper Club





bob-dylan-supper-club2

The concerts @ the Supper Club in Nov 1993 are considered by “most” fans to be “The Real MTV unplugged”. 4 fantastic shows in 2 days, all of them delivered at approximately 60 min. This Soundboards series presents the legendary  shows in incredible quality. It simply can’t get  better than this. Well, it says soundboards but they sound like proffesional studio recordings (or very close). Search for all 4 they are fantastic!

  • Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar & harmonica)
  • Bucky Baxter (pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar)
  • John Jackson (guitar, banjo)
  • Tony Garnier (bass)
  • Winston Watson (drums & percussion)

“The early show performance [of “Ring Them Bells – Supper Club 17 Nov]…. may well be the single finest moment of the Never Ending Tour…”
~Clinton Heylin (Still On The Road)

Highlights: The three first shows are slightly better than the last, but they are all incredible!

Here are some audio & a video.

One Too Many Mornings and Queen Jane Approximately for the Supper Club performances (video):

Other entries in this series:

My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1962: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1966: The Genuine live 1966 box set
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1969: The Dylan / Cash Sessions
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1973: The Pat Garrett sessions
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1983: Infidels outtakes (Rough cuts)
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1989: The Oh Mercy Outtakes
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1995: Prague 3 nights in March
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2011: Funen Village Denmark June 27
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2012: The Day of Wine and Roses, Barolo, Italy July 16
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2014: Gothenburg Sweden July 15

Continue reading 16th and 17th of November: My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 1993 The Supper Club