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’
- She’s Love Crazy
- Baby Stop Crying
Thank you! All right, this is a new song, played for you now right at the start. - Mr. Tambourine Man
- Shelter From The Storm
Thank you! This next song is the story of my life. - It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
- Tangled Up In Blue
- Ballad Of A Thin Man
- Maggie’s Farm
- I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
- Like A Rolling Stone
- I Shall Be Released
- Going, Going, Gone
- A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
- Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Steven Soles: Laissez-faire (David Ackles) - A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
- You’re A Big Girl Now
- One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
- Blowin’ In The Wind
- I Want You
- Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
This is another new song, Tales Of Yankee Power. - Masters Of War
Thank you. That was a new song. This is an old one. Not really new. It gives me great pleasure to sing it in this place! - Just Like A Woman
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
OK, We wanna do this tune. A lot of people say this is reggae, but it still seems to work pretty well this way. It’s an old song still says the same thing. Actually it’s more Southern Mountain Reggae. - All Along The Watchtower
This is called All Along The Watchtower. We wanna dedicate this to the late great Jimi Hendrix.Thank you! David Mansfield on the violin. I taught him every single note. - All I Really Want To Do
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
Thank you! All right, I wanna introduce you to my band. You know how good they are so give them the appreciation they deserve. Tonight, on the drums, from England, Ian Wallace. On the bass guitar, from San Francisco, Jerry Scheff. All right, on the organ, from Philadelphia, Alan Pasqua. From Mobile, Alabama, on lead guitar, Billy Cross. On the conga drums from Detroit, Bobbye Hall. All right, rhythm guitar, you met this young man earlier. He’s got a great future ahead of him, Mr. Steve Soles from Tombstone, Arizona. On the fiddle, the violin, violin and the mandolin, David Mansfield. On the saxophone, a young man who gave up a career as an airline pilot to join this band, Steve Douglas. Background singers tonight, on the left, my fiancée Carolyn Dennis. On the right, my childhood sweetheart, Jo Ann Harris. And, in the middle, my current girlfriend, Helena Springs. I wrote and recorded this in New York City 1963, called It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding. - Forever Young
Thank you! I wish we could stay and play all night, I really I do. But just can’t. This is a tune I recorded on an album with The Band called Planet Waves. I’m gonna leave you with this tune. It means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to you. - I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Thank you. Eric Clapton is back. He’s gonna stay here and sing all night with me.
Thank you. Eric Clapton on lead guitar! - The Times They Are A-Changin’
“…the vocals are well above the music throughout the recording, and full of power. They are never compromised. Perhaps lost on the audience is the irony of this Jewish war-baby singing in the city of the trials. It’s not lost on Bob, however. He introduces Masters Of War with: “It gives me a great pleasure to sing it in this place.”, and spits out the final line with a vengeance. Another rare song intro comes at All Along The Watchtower. Bob says “I want to dedicate it to the late, great, Jimi Hendrix.” This tour was heavily produced, and changed little from city to city. If you like the new, funky arrangements of Bob Dylan At Budokan (recorded four months earlier), then you’ll enjoy hearing how the songs were actually presented to the audience. Just don’t expect the untouchable quality of that official release. The songs that work best are the two from the newly recorded Street Legal. As an added bonus, Eric Clapton joins Bob on stage, and plays on the show’s final two song encore.”
– Bobsboots
Check out:
- Bob Dylan: Live 1961- 1969 (video & audio)
- Bob Dylan: 5 essential videos from the 60’s
- Bob Dylan live 1970 – 1979 (videos & audio)
- Bob Dylan: 7 essential videos from the 70’s
- –
- Karl Erik’s expectingrain.com
- Olof’s “Still On The Road“
-Egil and Hallgeir
I was there.
Since I was reminded yesterday, May 24, 2021 of Bob Dylan‘s birthday and having listened the whole day in Bayern2 radio station on features about the one person who probably has influenced my life more than anything else I am actually listening to the YouTube record of the 1978 concert on Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg.
I attended this concert and still remember the special atmosphere there. I was doing my „Zivieldienst“ in a Munich hospital at that time, after I had refused to join the German Army. Bob Dylan helped me during those years to be strong and articulate in my decisions, this hold on during my whole life…
When the sun started to shine when Bob Dylan started his show, I will never forget this moment, it made me much happier than the first round of a pipe with cannabis, which was for me the first and last experience in my life. Hopefully I do not net recreational later on…
I was at the show myself. Me and my buddies took a train from Bamberg. 82 ND ENG. bravo c. camped out for a night. looked like rain but it cleared up. great show great time. A lot of wine and black hash. 1976-1979. jim (raz) (buzz) myself mike (phill)
I was there, I’d travelled down from Hamburg, I was a Hamburg Docker, driving without a licence, with loads of possible accidents, a car full Irish lads. Dublin Uni students. We were very lucky. US Army guys were smoking pure cannabis, one Israeli flag was in the crowd. All facing the stage which was at the other end of this Stadium, from where Hitler had addressed the Nuremberg Night Time Torch, Held Rallies.
The “It gives me great pleasure to sing this, in this place”. “Come you Masters of War”. It did stuff with my spine. Clapton was on before, but it was Bob’s VERY RED HAIR, that shocked me. I’d never seen a picture of him with Red Hair. I think the Tour was after Blood on the Tracks Album. I remember Slide Guitar being used as a Lead Guitar, and the Mandolin on some of the Blood Tracks, which struck me as unusual. A Dylan Gig was not just a Gig, it was an experience. Dylan’s voice was better than I’d heard on his live Gigs on TV or Record. I always thought his Studio Records were better than his live records, because of his voice all over the place. Looking back and listening to this now, my thoughts were right, it was a well sung Gig, and some of the arrangements were spot on. GOD BLESS WHOEVER RECORDED THIS, I’m young again. OXO
Thank you for sharing your memories! Very appreciated
Hi Duncan,
I attended that concert too. I was stationed in Bad Kissingen from 1977 to 1980. I was one of those US soldiers in attendance (FYI, it was not cannabis, but hash). BTW, I only found this article after I was looking for photos I took of it that I wanted to send to FB friend, but I couldn’t remember the dates. I can honestly say, it was one, if not the best concert I ever attended.
Thanks for letting me share, Bill Houser