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Released	August 24, 1993 Deluxe edition March 4th, 2014
Recorded	October 16, 1992
Genre	Rock
Length	148:24
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jeff Rosen and Don DeVito

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration is a live double-album release in recognition of Bob Dylan’s 30 years as a recording artist. Recorded on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it captures most of the concert, which featured many artists performing classic Dylan songs, before ending with three songs from Dylan himself.

The house band for the show were the surviving members of Booker T. and the MG’s: Booker T. Jones on organ, Donald “Duck” Dunnon bass, and Steve Cropper on guitar. Joining them is drummer Anton Fig filling in for the late Al Jackson, plus drummer Jim Keltner. Longtime Saturday Night Live bandleader G. E. Smith served as the musical director.

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, which reached #40 in the US and went gold, was released in August 1993 just before Dylan was about to deliver his second folk studio set inside of a year, World Gone Wrong. The concert was dubbed “Bobfest” byNeil Young at the beginning of his “All Along the Watchtower” cover.

An after-party was held at Tommy Makem’s Irish Pavilion.

A VHS collection of the same name was released on August 25, 1993. On March 4th, 2014, the concert was released in Deluxe Edition 2-DVD and Blu-Ray sets with bonus performances and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, as well as a 2-CD set with two bonus rehearsal tracks.

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Tracklist:

1. Like A Rolling Stone (John Cougar Mellencamp)
2. Blowin’ In The Wind (Stevie Wonder)
3. Foot Of Pride (Lou Reed)
4. Masters Of War (Eddie Vedder/Mike McCready)
5. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Tracy Chapman)
6. It Ain’t Me Babe (June Carter Cash/Johnny Cash)
7. What Was It You Wanted (Willie Nelson)
8. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (Kris Kristofferson)
9. Highway 61 Revisited (Johnny Winter)
10. Seven Days (Ron Wood)
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11. Just Like A Woman (Richie Havens)
12. When The Ship Comes In (The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with special guest Tommy Makem)
13. War (Sinead O’Connor)
14. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Neil Young)
15. All Along The Watchtower (Neil Young)
16. I Shall Be Released (Chrissie Hynde)
17. Love Minus Zero No Limit (Eric Clapton)Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Eric Clapton)
18. Emotionally Yours (The O’Jays)
19. When I Paint My Masterpiece (The Band)
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20. You Ain’t Goin Nowhere (Mary Chapin, Rosanne Cash, Shaun Colvin)
21. Absolutely Sweet Marie (George Harrison)
22. License To Kill (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
23. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
24. Mr Tambourine Man (Roger McGuinn)
25. It’s Alright, Ma (Bob Dylan)
26. My Back Pages (Bob Dylan /Roger McGuinn /Tom Petty /Neil Young /Eric Clapton /George Harrison)
27. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Everyone)
28. Girl Of The North Country (Bob Dylan)

 

* Richie Havens’ moving “Just Like a Woman,” completely within his style
* the Clancy Brothers’ fervent conversion of “When the Ship Comes In” to an Irish folk idiom
* the swinging, countrified “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, and Rosanne Cash
* a sullen “Masters of War” by Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready on acoustic guitar
* Lou Reed went through the bootlegs to come up with the pounding “Foot of Pride,” which is perfectly suited to Reed’s declamatory style
* Eric Clapton shrugs off his diffident manner to deliver one of the most electrifying performances of his life in “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” — each guitar lick and vocal cuts angrily to the bone —
* and George Harrison makes his first U.S. concert appearance in 18 years with “Absolutely Sweet Marie.”
~Richard S. Ginell (allmusic.com)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

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…Although the show is released as a double CD some months later, and Dylan is several hundred thousand /a couple of million dollars richer (take your pick) after the evening, on any kind of musical level the show has only served to remind that nobody sings Dylan like Dylan, and even he on occasion doesn’t sing Dylan like Dylan.
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)

-Egil