Classic concert: Bob Dylan: Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada April 20, 1980
…The band was refreshed, and excited about the concert being recorded and filmed. Dylan delivers a power house performance. If you are a fan of the christian material, this is not to be missed. If you love to hear Dylan pouring his heart and soul into the show… this is the one.
~bobsboots.com
FANTASTIC concert from the “Third Gospel Tour”.
Concert # 4 of the Third Gospel Tour
Gospel concert # 54
1980 concert # 28
Massey Hall Toronto, Ontario, Canada 20 April 1980
Oh all the money that in my whole life I did spend
Be it mine right or wrongfully
I let it slip gladly past the hands of my friends
To tie up the time most forcefully
But the bottles are done
We’ve killed each one
And the table’s full and overflowed
And the corner sign
Says it’s closing time
So I’ll bid farewell and be down the road
–
Dylan is part of an all-star cast who have convened at the Shrine to celebrate Frank Sinatra’s eightieth birthday. While cameras roll and Sinatra is seated in A 18, DyIan unveils a remarkable version of” Restless Farewell,” all five verses sung with a nervy precision, accompanied by his usual musical misfits and a string quartet. The whole thing is actually rather moving, as is Sinatra’s seemingly genuine enthusiasm for the performance, which is subsequently broadcast on cable TV.
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)
Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles, California 19 November 1995 Frank Sinatra 80th Birthday Tribute
Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
Bucky Baxter (pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar)
John Jackson (guitar)
Tony Garnier (bass)
Winston Watson (drums & percussion)
….. and a string quartet with unidentified musicians
2001 was a fine year for Bob Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour”.
.. the show was superbly recorded and much of the atmosphere does come across. “Forever Young” sounds like a benediction on the self-healing residents of the suffering city. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and, especially, “Blowin’ In The Wind” with its line “and too many people have died” have a special feel to them; a feeling that you can sense is being supplied almost as much by the audience as the performers. “Searching For A Soldier’s Grave” and Fred Rose’s song “Wait For The Light To Shine” cannot help but do the same, and the carefully-controlled lighting effects all added to the ambience.
~Andrew Muir (One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour)
A great & very special New York concert only 2 months after 9/11.
I wasn’t quite sure how to do it and what material to use. I would have liked to do old folk songs with acoustic instruments, but there was a lot of input from other sources as to what would be right for the MTV audience. The record company said, “You can’t do that, it’s too obscure.” At one time, I would have argued, but there’s no point. OK, so what’s not obscure? They said Knockin’ on Heaven ‘s Door.
~Bob Dylan (to Edna Gundersen May 1995)
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