There are many rare songs on this compilation. This compilation has the only Not Fade Away, Pledging My Time, Viola Lee Blues, Desolation Row, The Wicked Messenger, and the Long Black Veil from '97. This might be the only time he's ever performed Viola Lee Blues, the Roving Gambler here is the third ever (the other two are from '60 and '91), Desolation Row was dedicated to Allen Ginsberg who had died earlier that day (though the dedication is, for whatever reason, cut out here), The Wicked Messenger here is the first since '87, and this is the live debut of Long Black Veil.
03/31/97 St. John's, Newfoundland : B+ (B+/B+)
This is Larry Campbell's first concert as a regular member of Bob's band (he replaced J.J. Jackson). This is an all-around good show, with the acoustic set being particularly great.
Disc 1:
1. Down In The Flood (Crash On The Levee) - static distortion at 2:31
2. Lay, Lady, Lay - minor static distortion at 0:57
3. All Along The Watchtower - starts quiet
4. Just Like A Woman (Bob on harp)
5. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
6. Silvio
7. Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie (acoustic) - written by Elizabeth Cotton
8. Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
9. Masters Of War (acoustic)
Disc 2:
1. Seeing The Real You At Last
2. Shooting Star
3. Highway 61 Revisited
encore:
4. Like A Rolling Stone
5. Girl From The North Country (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
6. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
"Bathed In A Stream Of Pure Heat" : A (A-/A)
Bathed In A Stream Of Pure Heat is a compilation of very good songs from '97. This is often considered to be the best compilation ever. I wouldn't go that far, but I would say that it is indeed very good. The songs flow into one another as best as possible (considering the different sources). It's even set up like an imaginary show. Some of the songs on here are unbelievable. Unfortunately, though, there are very very minor gaps between each track (less than 1 sec).
Disc 1:
1. Not Fade Away - written by Buddy Holly - sound shifts to right speaker from 0:26-0:29 - sound shifts around at other times as well for short periods
2. Pretty Peggy-O - written by unknown (traditional - arranged by Bob Dylan)
3. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
4. Every Grain Of Sand
5. Pledging My Time
6. Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie (acoustic) - written by Elizabeth Cotton
7. Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle) - written by Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia, and John Dawson
8. John Brown (acoustic)
9. Viola Lee Blues (acoustic) (live debut of this song?) - written by Noah Lewis
10. Roving Gambler (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
11. Desolation Row (acoustic)
- Tracks 1,10 are from 04/19/97 Hartford, Connecticut
- Track 2 is from 04/18/97 Albany, New York
- Track 3 is from 05/03/97 Huntsville, Alabama
- Track 4 is from 04/09/97 Bangor, Maine
- Track 5 is from 04/22/97 Indiana, Pennsylvania
- Track 6 is from 04/11/97 Durham, New Hampshire
- Track 7 is from 04/17/97 Providence, Rhode Island
- Track 8 is from 04/15/97 Northampton, Massachusetts
- Track 9 is from 02/24/97 Sapporo, Japan
- Track 11 is from 04/05/97 Moncton, New Brunswick
Disc 2:
1. Stone Walls And Steel Bars (acoustic) - written by Ray Pennington and Ray Marcum
2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
3. The Wicked Messenger
4. Shooting Star
5. Long Black Veil (live debut of this song) - written by
6. Born In Time (Bob on harp)
7. You're A Big Girl Now (Bob on harp)
8. This Wheel's On Fire
9. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)
10. My Back Pages (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle) (Bob on harp)
- Track 1 is from 05/22/97 Beverly Hills, California
- Track 2 is from 04/09/97 Bangor, Maine
- Tracks 3-4 are from 04/22/97 Indiana, Pennsylvania
- Track 5 is from 04/28/97 Wheeling, West Virginia
- Track 6 is from 04/13/97 Wayne, New Jersey
- Track 7 is from 04/17/97 Providence, Rhode Island
- Track 8 is from 04/20/97 West Long Branch, New Jersey
- Track 9 is from 04/10/97 Portland, Maine
- Track 10 is from 04/24/97 Utica, New York
Tour Diary '97 - On The Road To The Highlands : B (B+/B+)
Unfortunately, my copy of this recording is missing the last song, which is from 08/29/97 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat. This makes it so I can't really recommend this copy... Anyway, this is an interesting collection of rare songs from Aug '97.
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie - sound mixing moves around for this song (this is on original)
2. I Want You
3. This Wheel's On Fire
4. Pretty Peggy-O - written by unknown (traditional - arranged by Bob Dylan)
5. To Ramona (acoustic)
6. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
7. I Shall Be Released
8. Tough Mama
9. Blind Willie McTell
10. Lay, Lady, Lay
11. Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle) - written by Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia, and John Dawson
12. Tears Of Rage
- Tracks 1-3 are from 08/03/97 Lincoln, New Hampshire
- Track 4 is from 08/18/97 Wallingford, Connecticut
- Tracks 5-6 are from 08/13/97 Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Tracks 7-9 are from 08/10/97 Clarkston, Michigan
- Track 10 is from 08/05/97 Montreal, Quebec
- Track 11 is from 08/22/97 Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Track 12 is from 08/29/97 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
08/23-08/24/97 Vienna, Virginia ("Weekend At Wolftrap") : A- (A-/A-)
Both of these performances are sourced from the hearing-impaired line (so they're soundboard quality). From the first show, I like Man In The Long Black Coat. Several songs on this bootleg are lesser-played songs so it's nice to have them here. I have the 08/23/97 show also on a bootleg called "Back At Wolftrap". I don't know which I prefer because I have yet to review the other bootleg. There are times throughout the bootleg in which the volume gets quieter and then almost immediately goes back to normal volume again (this caused the sound quality letter grade to drop from an A to an A-).
Disc 1:
08/23/97 Vienna, Virginia:
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie - sound levels are being adjusted in this track
2. crowd noise - this track is only 3 seconds long
3. Man In The Long Black Coat
4. Tough Mama
5. Under The Red Sky
6. Silvio
7. Stone Walls And Steel Bars (acoustic) - written by Ray Pennington and Ray Marcum
8. Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic)
9. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
10. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Disc 2:
1. Blind Willie McTell
2. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
encore:
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (acoustic)
5. Alabama Getaway - written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia
08/24/97 Vienna, Virginia:
6. Absolutely Sweet Marie
7. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
8. Tough Mama
9. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
10. Silvio
Disc 3:
1. Roving Gambler (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional) - click sound at 1:49
2. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
3. Cocaine Blues (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
4. Watching The River Flow
5. Blind Willie McTell - small gap at 1:44
6. Highway 61 Revisited
encore:
7. Like A Rolling Stone
8. Forever Young (acoustic)
9. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Elvis Can Wait (Aug. '97 compilation) : B+ (A-/B+)
Because this is a compilation there are fade-outs between a bunch of the songs. This is a nice compilation for anyone who likes '97. This August tour of '97 was the tour which immediately followed Bob's hospitalization (hence the title - Bob commented after being released from the hospital that he thought he'd be seeing Elvis soon).
Disc 1:
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
2. I Want You
3. This Wheel's On Fire
4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
5. Blind Willie McTell (Larry on Irish bouzouki) (live debut of this song from The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3)
6. Lay, Lady, Lay
7. If You See Her, Say Hello
8. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
9. One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)
10. I Shall Be Released
11. Tough Mama
08/12/97 Scranton, Pennsylvania
12. Absolutely Sweet Marie - small static noise at 2:55
13. Joey
- Tracks 1-4 are from 08/03/97 Lincoln, Neww Hampshire
- Tracks 5-6 are from 08/05/97 Montreal, Quuebec
- Tracks 7-9 are from 08/07/97 Toronto, Onttario
- Tracks 10-11 are from 08/10/97 Clarkston,, Michigan
Disc 2:
1. All Along The Watchtower
2. Born In Time
3. Silvio
4. Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie (acoustic) - written by Elizabeth Cotton
5. Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic)
6. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
7. Tough Mama
8. She Belongs To Me
9. Everything Is Broken
encore:
10. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
11. Girl From The North Country (acoustic)
Disc 3:
1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob on harp) - harmonica mic is not on
filler:
2. To Ramona (acoustic)
3. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (acoustic)
4. Pretty Peggy-O - written by unknown (traditional - arranged by Bob Dylan)
5. Tears Of Rage
6. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
7. Shelter From The Storm
8. Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle) - written by Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia, and John Dawson - small glitch at 3:36
9. Man In The Long Black Coat - clicks in background
10. Under The Red Sky
11. Stone Walls And Steel Bars (acoustic) - written by Ray Pennington and Ray Marcum
12. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
- Tracks 2-3 are from 08/13/97 Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Track 4 is from 08/18/97 Wallingford, Connecticut
- Tracks 5-7 are from 08/20/97 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Track 8 is from 08/22/97 Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Tracks 9-12 are from 08/23/97 Vienna, Virginia
Disc 4:
1. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (acoustic)
2. Alabama Getaway - written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia - clicks in background
3. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
4. Roving Gambler (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
5. Cocaine Blues (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
6. Watching The River Flow
7. Blind Willie McTell
8. Highway 61 Revisited
9. Like A Rolling Stone
10. Forever Young (acoustic)
- Tracks 1-2 are from 08/23/97 Vienna, Virginia
- Tracks 3-10 are from 08/24/97 Vienna, Virginia
10/03/97 Cardiff, Wales ("Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's Bob Dylan") : A- (B+/A-)
Absolutely Sweet Marie, I Want You, and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue are highlights of this show. There is a static glitch in disc 1 track 6, and there are a few dropouts spanning tracks 9-11 as described below. The other technical problems mentioned below are really only mentioned for completeness's sake (they really aren't very significant at all). The filler contains the first Rank Strangers To Me since '89, the live debut of Long Black Veil, the first One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) since '78, and the show for the pope (which happens to contain the first electric Hard Rain since '81). The filler (especially the great pope show) makes this bootleg worth owning by itself.
Disc 1:
1. Intro - starts with a static pop
2. Absolutely Sweet Marie
3. I Want You
4. Tough Mama
5. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
6. Silvio - static glitch at 4:45
7. Stone Walls And Steel Bars (acoustic) - written by Ray Pennington and Ray Marcum
8. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
9. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (acoustic) - very slight and very short dropout at 3:49
10. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again - slight dropout at 2:19 - very slight dropouts elsewhere in this track
11. This Wheel's On Fire - slight dropout at 1:01 - very slight dropouts elsewhere in this track
12. Highway 61 Revisited
Disc 2:
encore:
1. Like A Rolling Stone - opens with a static pop - fades-out and fades-in at end
2. My Back Pages (acoustic) - fades-out and fades-in at end
3. Love Sick
4. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
filler:
5. Cocaine Blues (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
6. Roving Gambler (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
7. Rank Strangers To Me (acoustic) - written by Albert E. Brumley
8. Blind Willie McTell
9. Long Black Veil (live debut of this song) - written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin
10. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
12. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
13. Forever Young
- Tracks 5,8 are from 10/01/97 Bournemouth, England
- Track 6 is from 10/02/97 Bournemouth, England
- Track 7 is from 10/05/97 London, England
- Track 9 is from 04/28/97 Wheeling, West Virginia
- Track 10 is from 08/12/97 Scranton, Pennsylvania
- Tracks 11-13 are from the show for the pope: 09/27/97 Bologna, Italy
12/08/97 New York City, New York ("White Dove") : A- (A-/B+)
This was a benefit show for a home which treats drug-addicted and AIDS babies. There is a bit of a static, crackle noise in the background at times near the start, and this contributed to the lowering of the sound quality rating by one letter grade. Cold Irons Bound is great, as is the next song: You're A Big Girl Now. White Dove is also very beautiful (yet sad). I And I is very well done (it's unfortunate that there's a small glitch as described below). The filler is great. There are two songs on disc 2 track 8: the continuation of Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues from track 7 as well as Silvio.
Disc 1:
1. Maggie's Farm
2. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. You're A Big Girl Now
5. Can't Wait
6. Silvio
7. Cocaine Blues (acoustic) - written by unknown (traditional)
8. To Ramona (acoustic)
9. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
10. White Dove - written by Carter Stanley
11. I And I - glitch at 2:08 which causes the sound to 'wave' for a second
Disc 2:
1. 'Til I Fell In Love With You
encore:
2. Highway 61 Revisited
3. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (acoustic)
4. Love Sick
5. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
filler:
6. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob without guitar, but on harp)
7. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - continued on next track
8. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Silvio
9. Positively 4th Street
10. Highway 61 Revisited (Ron Wood on electric slide guitar)
- Tracks 6-10 are from 06/29/96 Prince's Trust Concert, London, UK