Bob Dylan’s 1989 summer European tour wrapped up with a pair of shows in Greece. During an off-day, Dylan and Van Morrison climbed onto the picturesque Hill of the Muses in Athens for a stunning four-song acoustic set that thankfully was captured by cameras for the BBC documentary Arena: One Irish Rover – Van Morrison in Performances. They began with Morrison classics “Crazy Love” and “And It Stoned Me,” but the clear highlight was the 1986 Morrison obscurity “Foreign Window,” featuring Dylan on harmonica and Van on guitar and vocals. They wrapped up the set with a duet on “One Irish Rover.”
-Andy Greene (rollingstone.com)
Philopappos (The Hill Of The Muses) Athens, Greece 27 June 1989
That was an inspired song that came to me. I felt like I was just putting down words that were coming from somewhere else, and I just stuck it out.
~Bob Dylan (“Biograph” notes)
“That’s an excellent song, very painless song to write,… It took like 12 seconds – or that’s how it felt.”
~Bob Dylan (to Robert Hilburn – Feb 1992)
…But “Every Grain of Sand” is something special: the “Chimes of Freedom” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” of Bob Dylan’s Christian period. A pearl among swine, it has surety and strength all down the line. Also vulnerability.
~Paul Nelson (from his famous “Rolling Stone Magazine” review of “Shot Of Love” – Oct. 1981)
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Bob Dylan: House of Gold (Hank Williams)
I started writing songs after I heard Hank Williams.
~Bob Dylan (The Les Crane Show, Feb 1965)
If it wasn’t for Elvis and Hank Williams, I couldn’t be doing what I do today.
~Bob Dylan (to Robert Shelton, June 1978)
The tune utilized on ‘House Of Gold’ is an obvious variant of Williams’ own ‘Lost
Highway’. Williams’ original recording was made in 1949 as a demo and released, with
overdubs, in April 1951 (Polydor 833-752). It is currently available on the “Complete
Hank Williams” box set (Mercury Records, 2000).
~The songs he didn’t write (Derek Barker)
