Header Graphic
Bob Dylan - 1980s
Not his best decade, not mine either

 

JESUS IS THE ONE. Source information not on the artwork on this Christian collection. Love it - Fantastico!

YONDER COMES SIN. Volumes 1 & 2. (2) Nice collection of rarely performed Christian tracks mostly from 1980 (some from 1979) All in good sound. Seperately released

JANUARY 12, 1980 (2) Portland, Oregon. Nice complete show with the 6 song set by the women and then Bob's complete gospel shtick. Oh so fun.

JANUARY 13, 1980 (2) Seattle, Washington. Not the best recording from the era, but every listen to these shows shakes my moneymaker.

JANUARY 14, 1980 (2) Seattle, Washington. Nice evening - more than enjoyable. Plenty of taste.

NEVER RELEASED CHRISTIAN LIVE ALBUM. Contains 6 of the 7 cuts (as best as I can tell) of Rock Solid - said album. I think this is an abreviated version of...

JANUARY 16, 1980 (2) Portland, Oregon. Kicks off with such poor sound quality I almost removed the disc from the player, however, the sound get better - that's not saying much - I'd grade this just below acceptable.

JANUARY 21, 1980 (2) Denver, Colorado. Subpar taping, cleaned up a bit, but a bit thin. Warmed up as I listened, a minor source flaw or two. Particularly spirited "What Can I Do For You."

JANUARY 22, 1980 Denver, Colorado. The complete 8 song set sounds a bit remastered, but still clear and enjoyable. A classic Dylan vocal on "Man Gave Name," a treat.

JANUARY 23, 1980 (2) Denver, Colorado. An imperfect recording but a direct hit to my heart.

JANUARY 25, 1980 (2) Omaha, Nebraska. An amazing performance captured acceptably. Some amazing vocal performances, i.e. "Covenant Woman."

JANUARY 26, 1980 (2) Omaha, Nebraska. A warm, soft, friendly taping - but certainly has it's shortcomings. Still quite enjoyable.

JANUARY 27, 1980 (2) Kansas City, Missouri. More that sweet, sweet gospel Music. How good is it?

JANUARY 28, 1980 (2) Kansas City, Missouri. Arrving during my dark days, this listen came at the right time. Made me smile.

JANUARY 31, 1980 (2) Memphis, Tennesee. Love this era so I tend to overlook the flaws - mostly the sound a bit on the tinny side once again. But still, a clear, consise taping. A Great performance though my version is missing "In the Garden" due to a digital flaw from the trader. Highlight: The Two (2) harp solos on "What Can I Do For You."

FEBURARY 1, 1980 (2) Memphis, Tennessee. Unfortunately a subpar taping.

FEBRUARY 2, 1980 (2) Birmingham, Alabama. An audience taping that's a real charmer.

FEBRUARY 5, 1980 (2) Knoxville, Tennessee. Well recorded - imperfect - show. Captured the music & the show well. What singing! "Covenant Woman" is sung with such passion & care.

KNOXVILLE GRAIL. (2) February 5, 1980. Same show as above but with different bonus tracks.

FEBRUARY 8, 1980 (2) Charlestown, West Virginia. Low quality show, but on the list, I guess.

FEBRUARY 9, 1980 (2)  Charleston, West Virginia.  Glad to have this acceptable taping of a wondrous era. 

GRAMMY PERFORMANCE. February 22, 1980. Just the song with a maudlin introduction (atleast he wasn't called the Voice of a Generation) and Bob's acceptance speech.

APRIL 19, 1980 (2)  Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The first night at Massey Hall, but this is an audience before the next well recorded show.

THE BORN AGAIN MUSIC. (2) An outrageous set. Great sound and even includes a Sermon from Deacon Bob. From the famed April 20, 1980 show in Toronto. Kind of a Christian Tent Revivial feeling. Highest recommendation.

APRIL 22, 1980 (2) Montreal. A disappointing taping from that magical era. Difficult to hear any stage dialog - it's just not that fun.

APRIL 25, 1980 (2)  Montreal.  A sturdy audience taping capturing the Gospel night.  Enjoy.

APRIL 27, 1980 (2) Albany, New York. A mid level taping.

APRIL 28, 1980 (2) Albany, New York. Best described as having a cavernous sound. Not a total loss, just what you'd expect a tape recorded bootleg would sound like.

APRIL 30, 1980 (2) Buffalo, New York. Passable recording or maybe not just quite.

MAY 4, 1980 (2) Syracuse, New York. Suitable taping of the evening. A bit dusty, a bit musty, but still okay.

MAY 7, 1980 (2) Yup another mid level taping, still enjoyable, but...

MAY 8, 1980 (2) Hartford, Connecticut. A middling to poor taping, but I'll still give it a Gentleman's C. The vocals are just too fulled but you get alot of preaching though it is sometimes difficult to make out.

MAY 15, 1980 (2) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In contemporary standards, its a dusty, musty taping - but shit, I still enjoyed it. Strangely, Bob's nightly sermons have a couple of source glitches.

MAY 16, 1980 (2) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvnia. Like much from the tour, a grim taping - lots of audience + distance. You do get 2 pretty good sermons - a real good one just prior to "Solid Rock."

MAY 18, 1980 (2) Akron, Ohio. Great 2 1/2 minute sermon prior to "Slow Train." A very good show with less than perfect sound.

MAY 20, 1980. Columbus, Ohio. Brutal sound quality - for completists.

MAY 21, 1980 (2) Dayton, Ohio An unenlightening taping, but - as always - the material trascends it's limitations.

NOVEMBER 9, 1980 (2) San Francisco, California. Fair to Good recording quality with all of the back up chick singers songs included. Best played at a moderate volume to avoid distortion.

NOVEMBER 10, 1980 (2) THE WARFIELD MASTERS SERIES. San Francisco, CA. Enjoyable full show, apparently cleaned up and reconstituted for our listening pleasure. You get Dylan as well as his various back up singers. Dig it.

NOVEMBER 11, 1980 (2) San Francisco, California. Ohh is that a funk drum + base break during "Serve Somebody" to open the night and don't miss the torrid harp solo during "Wake Up." The rest of the show: Beautiful, touching, exhiliarating, stirring, passionate, thoughtful, daring & memorable.

THE SAME MAN (2) November 12, 1980. A lower level taping that I think the taper raised his mic for certain songs making for an inconsistant recording. Bob was quite verbose that night, the title referring to a little Bob lesson on Leadbelly.

NOVEMBER 13, 1980 (2) San Francisco. Strong recording of the complete show.

FAREWELL BLOOMFIELD. (2) November 15, 1980. Featuring ol' Mike Bloomfield on a couple of tracks - he died shortly thereafter. Bob does a nice intro for him. unusual set list, good not great sound quality, thought Bob was singing quite well.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE ANTICHRIST. November 16, 1980. Also at the Warfield. This time cuddly Jerry Garcia dropped in for a song. No artwork.

NOVEMBER 16, 1980 (2) San Francisco.  Soundboard.

NOVEMBER 17, 1980 (2) At the Warfield again. Good enough audience taping. Keyboards sound a bit tinny and the whole show lacks much texture. However, it grows on you as Bob let's his girlfriends take over the mic for a couple of songs. Nice piano arrangement on "Girl From North Country". Bonus tracks from the previous night don't match provided setlist

NOVEMBER 17, 1980 (2) THE WARFIELD MASTERS SERIES. This is the upgrade and full show.

NOVEMBER 18, 1980 (2) San Francisco. Not a great taping, but it does the job - does include some wonderful stuff.

NOVEMBER 19, 1980 (2) San Francisco. An old friend from the Village stops in to sing "Nobody's Fault" some violinist (not Scarlett) is among it's charms and highlights.

NOVEMBER 21, 1980. (2) Stuck inside the Warfield again (couldn't resist). Nothing special, but still pretty fair. More than acceptable audience taping

NOVEMBER 22, 1980 (2) San Francisco. A weak recording just doesn't do the creator much justice. Gives a long and honest intro to a cover of "Fever" telling the story of being a 12 year old and hearing R & B for the first time.

NOVEMBER 24, 1980 (2) Tucson, Arizona. Fuzzy, low level audience taping at time unlistenable. For completists only.

NOVEMBER 26, 1980 (2) San Diego, California. Like the show on the 29th I am missing the first 2 tracks (wierd), but certainly worth it for a terrific introduction to "Ain't Gonna Go to Hell" given to some newleyweed hotel room crashers. Dylan is down right loqacious taking on a critic for a misinterpretation of "Mary of the Wild Moor." And please don't let me forget the terrific "Hard Rain" to close out the eve.

NOVEMBER 29, 1980 (2) Seattle, Washington. Excellent! A clearly remastered show - superb. Bob' in great spirits and you get clean takes of "Rise Again" & "Mary From the Wild Moor." 1 or 2 songs get clipped, but don't let that prevent you from this gem. Closes out the evening with a tour de force "Think Twice."

RISE AGAIN. November 30, 1980. (2) Promenantly featuring those women backup singers - ugh. Sounds nice and features a number of rarely performed songs.

DECEMBER 2, 1980 (2) Portland, Oregon. One dimensional recording. Flat as a board despite the great performance.

A MUSICAL RETROSPECTIVE. (3) Its the December 3, 1980 show along with bonus tracks taken from about a dozen different show. A few hysterical song introductions make it essential. A bunch of stuff from the Warfield Stand.

DECEMBER 4, 1980 (2) Portland, Oregon. Upfront vocals, but the bad is somewhat deep in the mix a bit too indistinguishable - though it seems to improve towards the end of the show. Complete Gospel show with other vocalists & some of the back catalog mixed in. Highlights: "Hard Rain" and "Ramona" are 2.

CLOVER STUDIO 1981.  Captain Acid's remaster of this material below.

BETWEEN SAVED & SHOT OF LOVE. Studio outtakes from the Spring of 1981 - not Bob's most fertile song writing.

80'S STUDIO WORKING TAPE (2) Mostly a lot of studio noodling and instruments. The man at work.

JUNE 10, 1981 (2) Chicago, Illinois. A nicely played show with its elongated setlist -- quite a few are not on my personal favorite list ("Dead Man Dead Man") but it's always nice to have another live copy of them on my shelf.

JUNE 11, 1981 (2) Clarkston, Michigan. I was frustrated by thie recording. Chat & a muffled sound at various points held me back from really digging this one. A real strong performance that isnt ruined, just not given justice.

SHOOTING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR (2) June 21, 1981. A rare but unessential boot. You get a couple of Carolyn Dennis songs thrown into the night. No stand out out performances here, but not a poor night by any measure.

JUNE 23, 1981 (2) Colombes, France. Not quite there.

JUNE 26, 1981 (2) London. A fine performance of Minnesota Bob and band tackling the greatest back catalog in pop history. Highlight: a sweet arrangement of "Barbara Allen," "and a "Forever Young" with a to die for harp solo.

JUNE 27, 1981 (2) London. Bob's gotta the great voice going thought the taping is a few bubbles above good. Best played softly to avoid any distortion.

JUNE 28, 1981 (2) London. Very good recording and an excellent representation from era.

A BIRD'S NEST IN YOUR HAIR (2) June 29, 1981. Earl's Court, London. Bob generously sharing stage and mike time with his big band. A transitional show from his gospel period back to his older songs.

JUNE 30, 1981 (2) London, England. Ugly - not a very good taping and some horrible performances: "Tambourine Man" is as dreadful as any he has ever done. 1981 is much lauded for Bob's vocal performances, I am minor dissenter and this one is noone idea's of a good catch.

JULY 1, 1981 (2) Earls Court, London. Snuck in a couple of lines from "Here Comes the Sun" into "Girl From North Country" which is kinda cool. Overall, didn't do much for me on this night.

THE DAVE HERMAN INTERVIEW. July 2, 1981. Done in London to promote "Shot of Love" I think this was issued to radio stations as a promotion. Kind of fun to listen in as Bob strums a guitar to the distraction of the interviewer.

GOSPEL INTERVIEWS. Don't know the story of this collection of interviews, no artwork or source info so here's some info: 1. Interview by a South African reporter during the 'Street Legal' tour. Bob's is strumming guitar throughout this low fi intvw 2. Tucson radio station intvw - a strange discussion about a group of atheists who are protesting Zim 3. I think an 11/80 intvw in studio - good one with Bob being verbose 4. KPRI intvw dubbed a 'A journey from Desolation Row to the Gates of Eden' A bob phone intvw interspersed with edited out music. Cool. 6 BBC intvw, Bob doing a phone intvw with Tim Blanckner in June of 1981.

JULY 4, 1981 (2) Birmingham, England. Complete performance with the chick singers warming up the crowd with a couple. A B minus taping - this won't be spending too much time in my player.

JULY 5, 1981 (2) Birmingham, England. Sounding somewhat like it was recorded from a balcony - distant. A good performance from his highness nonetheless. Always a pleasure hearing those '81 pipes.

JULY 8, 1981 (2) Stockholm, Sweden. Tasty recording - quite a treat. With the right feelin' and nice arrangement, this show was on the mark.

IN THE SUMMERTIME. JULY 10, 1981. Has a pretty "Girl From North Country" with a beautiful slow arrangement and nice keyboards.

JULY 12, 1981 (2) Copenhagen, Denmark. A shrill Bob with a bloated band and a few mediocre arrangements. A nice harp solo here and a neat vocal there, but some the somewhat shallow recording does the boot in. The longest band intro this side of Van Morrison (or is that Elvis Presley)

HANGING IN THE BALANCE (2) July 14, 1981, Bad Seorberg, West Germany. Start with some amazing, spectacular, stupendous vocals. Wow man. Wow. However, the instrumentation and arrangements vary from Superb to sub par. I dig it, but still hit the skip button occasionally on multiple listens.

JULY 17, 1981 (2) Loreley, Germany. A superb show especially for this era. An etherial "Girl From the North Country" and a majestic "Ballad of A Thin Man" are the twin highlights. Less than perfect sound, though not problematic

WAITING AT THE GATES OF EDEN (2) July 18, 1981. Mannheim. Audience recording without alot of separation and plenty of distortion. The vocal fireworks are upfront and shine through the muddled sound of the acompanying band. Yikes - a thumping "Maggie's Farm."

JULY 21, 1981 (2) Vienna, Austria. Imprecise audience taping. Bob's singing is a marvel to behold on this generous 25 song set.

JULY 23, 1981 (2) Basel, Switzerland. Substandard taping - at first I thought it was totally useless, but it warmed up a little (just a bit).

JULY 23, 1981 (2)  Basel, Switzerland.  Upgrade.  Um, upgrade of same show.  

JULY 23, 1981 SOUNDCHECK.  Two poorly recording takes of "Let's begin."  Recorded from the bathroom.

AVIGNON. (2) July 25, 1981. France. Lots of highlights, as Bob leads his large gospel-like band in a number of different directions. A good mix of Christian stuff along with other material. A generous 27 songs that night.

OCTOBER 19, 1981 (2) Merillville, Indiana. Passionate performance on this evening. Great vocals and a real nice bootleg. Larry Keegan (?) stops by to help on out "No Money Down" to close out the show.

OCTOBER 21, 1981 (2) Boston, Massachusetts. Long, generous show with some great stage chat from our Bob.

OCTOBER 23, 1981 (2) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thoroughly enjoyable show and a nice era taping.

OCTOBER 27, 1981 (2) East Rutherford, New Jersey. A passable audience taping from a forgotten era - better served elsewhere. Slight digital noise on a track or two, but O.K

NOVEMBER 6, 1981 (2) West Lafayette, Indiana. Okay night, pretty good stuff. He certainly was singing with a spark in his voice.
.
CHILD'S BALOON. (2) November 10, 1981, New Orleans Darn good show. Nice to hear "Man Gave Name" and "Shot of Love" live. Very good sound quality throughout. Still have that often annoying trio of back up singers on a couple of tunes. Missing final track, don't don't miss trading for this one because this is special.

YOU CAN'T KILL AN IDEA (2) November 12, 1981. Has some terrific vocals and at this point Bob was clearly moving his set list away from the Christian stuff. High recommendation.

NOVEMBE 14, 1981 (2) Nashville, Tennesee. A fantastic recording that captures the tour about as well as any other.

OUT OF THE GARDEN (2) November 19, 1981, Sunrise, Florida. Imperfect taping which certainly gets in the way of a terrific Bob. Nice long show with great pacing, singing. Introduced "Hard Rain" as a song that he sung long ago on the street corners. Really swings.

NOVEMBER 21, 1981 (2) Lakeland, Florida. Unacceptable taping. Poor.

PEACE SUNDAY. June 6, 1982. Pasadena, California. The contains the Joan Baez set of 4 tunes (including Diamond & Rust) then the 3 duets with Bob. There are some significant digital flaws on the first couple of Baez tunes - the duets don't have the flaws though the audio quality is weak throughout.

FEBRUARY 16, 1983. Guest appearance at the Rick Danko & Levon Helm show at the Lone Star Cafe in New York city. It's five scratchy tunes from a weak audience taping - lots of delay etc.

ANGEL OF RAIN: 1984 TOUR REHEARSALS (2) Pretty nice collection of stuff. (filed in Misc)

INFIDELS ORIGINAL MIX BY SOWELOVENOIZE. A remix and reimagining.

ROUGH CUTS (2 and an overun of 1 song) The earth shattering outtakes from Infidels including the legendary electric version of "Blind Willie McTell" that gives Clinton Heylin the sweats. Some amazing guitar work from whiz Mark Knopfler who fled the studio after fighting with Bob over song selection and mixes (Mark you were in the right). A masterpiece and proof as to how great Infidels nearly was.

SURVIVING IN A RUTHLESS WORLD (4) Complete (perhaps) collection of all outtakes from Infidels. Love this stuff.

JOKERMAN (2) A nice collection of Infidels outtakes.   Includes Knopler joining Bob for a few songs on February 10, 1986 and Bob going Dire Straits for a couple on February 19, 1986.  

INFIDELS 60-MIN TAPE. 60 More minutes of Infidelds outtake.

CLOCK TAPE 1983.   A leaked collection of Infidels studio stuff.  Lots of noodling and a lot of ambling "Sweetheart Like You.'

COMPLETE RECORDINGS DISC 3 1979-1986. This disc was the final disc of a 3 disc set that contained the previous boot. Contains Infidels studio outtakes along with some live unidentified tracks featuring Mark Knopfler who is introduced. Not sure if the outtakes are any different than rough cuts though I noticed that this "Union Sundown" has a false start not heard on other boots.

PLUGZ REHEARSALS. March/1984. He's toured with the Band, the Dead, Tom Petty and yeah, he played with The Plugz (A West Coast New Wave band I've been assured) for a David Letterman show appearance.

REAL LIVE OUTTAKES 1984. Enjoyable single offering from the hard rockin' and hard livin' Bobby D. Get a nice guest shot from Van Morrison on "Baby Blue" and "Tupelo Honey."

HOW I SPENT THE SUMMER:  AN EARLY SEQUENCE FOR HTE REAL LIVE ALBUM.  A slick reimagine of the polarizing live album.

DIRTY LIES. (2) May 27, 1984 rehearsal stuff. Plenty of fun, though not always the easiest thing to listen to.

MAY 28, 1984 (2) Verona, Italy. A difficult listen - I think it was an awesome performance but a shit taping.

MAY 28, 1984 (2) Verona, Italy. Acceptible recording, Nothing special.

MAY 31, 1984 (2) Hamburg, Germany. Crap sound quality but holy shit - Mick Taylor was on fire. Anybody got a soundboard?

FROM THE MOUTTAINS OF MADRID. Nice collection of tracks from Bob's early summer swing through Europe.

JUNE 2, 1984 (2) Basle, Switzerland. Quite a knockout! A staright rockin' "Maggie" and a shot to the heart "I & I" are 2 high points. To put it simply, an outstanding representation of the Mick Taylor led bad.

THE JOKERMAN HAS LEFT THE STADIUM. (2). June 3, 1984. The sound is pretty good though slightly on the tinny side, but certainly grows on you during the listen. Guest appearances from Carlos Santana and Joan Baez which is cool. +

June 4, 1984 (2) Rotterdam A fair recording & performance. I caught a bit of surface noise, but it's hard to catch unless you listen closely.

JUNE 6, 1984 (2) Rotterdam, Netherlands. Unessential taping - one dimensional. For this set of ears, I did enjoy the "Blowin in the Wind" singalong to end the night.

STANDING ON THE WATERS (2) June 7, 1984. Actually a better show than I was expecting. One of the better shows from this swing.

JUNE 9, 1984 (2) Gothenburg, Germany. MP3 Sourced. Nice show, albeit imperfect.

JUNE 9, 1984 (2) Wave File Sourced. Also a different taping than the above show and frankly don't know which is better. As to the show, the Vocals on "I and I" and "Thin Man" are the twin highlights while D butchers "Grain of Sand."

JUNE 10, 1984 (2) Copenhagen. A good - but flawed - recording. Bob's vocals are upfront, but the band is just a bit too deep in the mix and could have used a bit more separation. Still would rate it more than passing.

JUNE 11, 1984 (2) Offenbach, West Germany. After the first minute of the first track, the autience taper got his knobs corrected resulting in a pretty good recording. Bob's singing alternates between mundane and then magnficient. Love the Newport 65 esque "Maggie."

JUST THE GIRLS (2) June 13, 1984. West Berlin, Germany. While the upfront vocals are in the proper place, the band just sounds a bit too undestinguished for my tastes.

JUNE 14, 1984 (2) Gotenburg, Sweden. A bit tinny again, but I don't think you can blame the MP3 download for it. Beautiful acoustic "Blowin' in the Wind."

JUNE 16, 1984 (2) Cologne, West Germany. It's a good show, mighty wierd to hear Bob egging the crowd to sing along on "Blowin." Good setlist on this tour - Infidels Rules!!!

JUNE 17, 1984 (2) Nice, France. An excellent recording from a welcome tour for Him. Backed by a rock band again and blasting through those hits it was a welcome return after those big band tours as far as I'm concerned. Now don't give me any crap about it being the best arrangements or anything, this is good stuff.

JUNE 19, 1984 (2) Rome, Italy. One of the better Mick Taylor shows - a fine axe man! Great soung and some great performances.

JUNE 20, 1984 (2) Rome, Italy. A stadium audience taping and just what you would think that would sound like. No much more than book shelf filler.

JUNE 21, 1984 (2) Excellent taping - Superb work.

FROM THE COAST OF BARCELONA (2). June 24, 1984. Solid double set with a couple of bonus tracks featuring Van Morrison on a couple of duets.

MADRID '84  (2)  JUNE 26, 1984.   A Soundboard is unearthed 40 years later. 

SENOR. June 28, 1984, Barcelona, Spain. Sound is strong albeit just a tad on thin side, but one of the better shows from this European tour with Santa helping out on a couple. A serious guitar solo on "Grains of Sand" - is that Mick Taylor? And a nice arrangement on "Heaven's Door."

JUNE 30, 1984 (2). Nantes, France.  A soundboard emerges 40 years later of a previously unreleased show. 

LES TEMPS CHANGENT (2). From the Paris July 1, 1984 show. Enjoyable set with appearnces from Van Morrison on 4 & Carlos Santana on 6 tracks.

JULY 3, 1984 (2) Grenoble. Not hte best taping from these shows, but still okay and probably had its sound reworked somewhere along the way to me. A successful run by Rocking Bobby.

NEWCASTLE. July 5, 1984 (2). Newcastle, England. Solid 24 song set by our hero in the UK.

NEWCASTLE 1984 Soundboard (2), a soundboard emerged in 2023 of above show. 

WHAT'S REAL (2) July 7, 1984. More the Mick Taylor led band with guest appearances by Van Morrison, Eric Clapton & Chrissie Hynde. Bob needs all the help he can get.

JULY 8, 1984 (2) Slane Castle, Slane Ireland. Bono and Van Morrison show to help out. Can't believe it took me so long to get this show.

OVER THE BROKEN GLASS. Half the tracks from the July 8, 1994 gig in Dublin with the balance from the July 1 Paris performance.

DYLAN ON DYLAN RADIO PROGRAM. Interviewed on July 30, 1984 and broadcast on 11/17/84. (2) Really enjoyable interview with a Straight forward Bob speaking with you candor and insight into his career. I was surprised at how open Bob is, not at all evasive.

LIVE AID REHEARSALS. July 12, 1985 at Ron Wood's house. Tough to decifir all of the talk, I feel a little like an evesdropper as Keef, Ronny and Bob chat (About Mick Taylor & Mark Knopfler) and rehearse. Man, wish they had done Dark Eyes.

LIVE AID. Relive how bad those three songs were. Don't worry Bob, only a billion people were watching.

OUTSIDE THE EMPIRE. The Studio outtakes from Empire Burlesque take up one track too many for a single disc. Empire is not my favorite - don't think it's anyone's. Not sure who was clammering for thse but I got 'em.

TEMPEST STORM. More outtakes from Empire with some overlap from the above boot.

IMPORTANT WORDS Outtakes from Down in the Groove & Empire Burlesque. Outtakes are always fun - but not terribly thrilling in this case.

DOWN IN THE DARK (2)  Various outtakes from Infidels, Down in the Groove and more.  

SIDEWALKS, FENCES & walls. A couple of outtakes from the 80's. Better things to come.

EMPIRE BURLESQUE ORIGINAL VERSION. Some kind of original take of the difficult album.

AFTER THE EMPIRE. Studio recordings at the Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, May/October 1985. I bought the glass master boot unearthed in late summer of 2016. I was amped.

THE 1985 REHEARSAL TAPE (2) Took awhile for this to emerge, very good sounding Tom Petty/Heartbreaker rehearsal stuff. A couple of stabs at "Come Together." Excellent material

MOSTLY 86 INTERVIEW COMPILATION (6) Superb collection of interviews with an occassional minor digigtal glich here or there, but not enough. Some immense stuff that I never heard until I got:

VOLUME 1: Martin Bronstein '66, Bert Kleinman & Artie Mogull 7/30/84, Charles Young 9/85

VOLUME 2: Bob Brown Interview (Raw Audio) 9/19/85, 20/20 Broadcast & Bob Brown Interview 9/19/85.

VOLUME 3: 2/22/86, 3/10/86, 3/31/86, 7/7/84 (Entertainment Tonight), 7/8/84 (Martha Quinn, MTV Interview), 11/85, Dylan Acceptance Speech Whitney NY 11/13/85.

VOLUME 4: Chabad Telethon, Ian & Sylvia Message 8/86, Dylan-Marguand Chat 8/17/86 London, Anti-Drug Message 9/86 Wales, With Christopher Sykes 10/17/86, Hamiton Ontario, Bob Signing Autographs 10/86, Juno Awards 11/10/86, Message to Willie Nelson 1/86, George Negus Interview, Award Acceptance Speech 3/31/86.

VOLUME 5: Toby Croswell Phone Interview, Malibu 1/86

VOLUME 6: Press Conf 2/10/86, Brett Whitley Studio Sydney, Australia, Hearts of Fire Press Conference 8/17/86, Rock Report.

SYDNEY AUSTRALIA. FEBRUARY/1986. After the glitch on the opening track, its sails along beautifully. Not sure exactly when and where this came from. Doesn't match up to any of the set lists I found on the net.

FEBRUARY 5, 1986 (3) Wellington, New Zealand. Skip it, terrible sound quality.

FEBRUARY 6, 1986 HOTEL JAM. My version also contains a 5 tune or so soundcheck from August 6, 1986. These are lo fi recordings. The soundcheck is somewhat muffled. The Hotel Jam is at the Park Royal Hotel in Wellington, New Zealnd, with Tom Petty, Stevie Nickcs and Benmont Tench. Much of it is Tench's plinking away with various people chiming in. Low quality, but we got it.

FEBRUARY 7, 1986 (2)  Auckland, New Zealand.

FEBRUARY 10, 1986 (3) Sydney, Australia.

FEBRUARY 12, 1986 (2) Sydney, Australia

FEBRUARY 13, 1986 (2) Sydney, Australia.

FEBRUARY 15, 1986 (2) Adelaide, Australia. Shit sounding recording.

FEBRUARY 20, 1986 (2) Melbourne, Australia. Good sound and while bob didn't make the best setlist choices, this is still a nice one. Acoustic material's a bit weak, but the rock numbers rolled. Nice harp solo nearly saved the turgid "Lenny." Gives a 2 minute intro (Storyteller Bob) on "Thin Man."

FEBRUARY 21, 1986 (2) Melbourne, Australia.

FEBRUARY 22, 1986 (2) Melbourne, Australia. Another ugly recording

TRUE CONFESSIONS LIVE. February 24 & 25, 1986. Sydney, Australia. Backed by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Perfect soundboard recording. Wow.

PRECIOUS MEMORIES. Same show as above - I think - to my ear.

LIVE USA FEATURING TOM PETTY. I believe identical to above except with 10 rather than 14 tracks. My ear can't detect any other difference, though the artwork is different.

HARD TO HANDLE. Contain 10 tunes from the commercially released video as well as 5 bonus tracks (one with a glitch). Good stuff, though nothing special.

PRESS CONFERENCE 1986. Contains 2 different press conferences. Sydney, 2/10/86, was recorded by a handheld mike from audience - making it difficult to hear many of the questions. And the 8/17/86 Hearts of Fire Press Conference with Rubert Everett, Fiona and the film's director which is captured quite well. Man does he get asked stupid questions (How would you rewrite "Times They Are Changin'")

MARCH 1, 1986 (2) Brisbane, Australia. Too dang murky to recommend, but acceptable nonetheless - at times poor.

MARCH 5, 1986 (2) Tokyo, Japan.  

MARCH 6, 1986 (2)  Osaka Fu Japan

MARCH 8, 1986 (2) Nagoya, Japan. An excellent aping of a very good tour night. While capable, I think the Petty backed shows just lacked in imagination. I mean ti sound good and all, just not special.

THE LAST TIME IN THE FAR EAST (2) March 10, 1986. Tokyo, Japan. An undistinguished night with the Heartbreakers - some nice moments. This one somewhere between good & worthwhile.

JUNE 9, 1986 (2) Mansfield, Massachusetts. I enjoyed listening to this thing but did so by overlooking its flaws. Sloppy & one dimensional.

JUNE 11, 1986 (3)  Reno, Nevada.  An imperfect recording, but oh does it capture two great artists. 

JUNE 12, 1986 (2)  Sacramento, California.  There's a mono flatness to the sound but that overstates the case.  You get a great set list and the ears do adjust.  It's a full meal.  Highlight:  a nice solo take of "Hard Rain."

JUNE 13, 1986 (2) Berkeley, California. Bob's in a chatty, upbeat mood. Really good breezy show which is well recorded. A rare for '86 "Hattie."

JUNE 14, 1986 (2) Berkeley, California. Solid Petty show - I still think this is a good tour just lacking inspiration, but a pleasure. One just needs to sit back and listen uncritically to enjoy.

JUNE 16, 1986 (3) Costa Mesa, California

JUNE 17, 1986 (2) Costa Mesa, California. Improved Air Remaster. Includes all of the Petty only material squeezed into 2 discs. Get an '86 rare "Song to Woody."

JUNE 18, 1986 (3) Phoenix, Arizona

JUNE 20, 1986 (2) Houston, Texas

JUNE 20, 1986 (2) Huoston, Texas.  With Petty material.

JUNE 21, 1986 (3) Austin, Texas.

JUNE 22, 1986 (3) Dallas, Texas

JUNE 24, 1986 (2)  Indianapolis, Indiana

JUNE 26, 1986 (2) Minneapolis, Minnesota. This soundboard emerged in 2017 and I am thankful. Great show with Bob giving a shout out to his mom and making a hometown reference or two. Great!

JUNE 27, 1986 (2) Another straight ahead Dylan + Petty show which was more of a crowd pleaser than a grand artistic statement. Still a good recording with a little chat here and there. Bob introduces "Let the Good Times Roll" with a story of how he got booed off the stage in his first band when they did it.

LONESONE TOWN. VOLUME 1 & 2 (2). June 29, 1986 in Hoffman Estates,Ilinois with Petty.

JUNE 30, 1986 (3)  Clarkston, Michigan

JULY 1, 1986 (2). Clarkston, Michigan

JULY 2, 1986 (2) Akron, Ohio

RICH FOR POOR (2) July 4, 1986 in Buffalo, New York backed by the Heartbreakers. Just not quite as good as the other discs from this tour.

JULY 6, 1986 (2) Washington, DC

JULY 7, 1986 (2) At RFK Stadium. On a co-headling Tour with the Dead and backed by the Heartbreakers. Must be a record 5 or 6 sentences of stage dialogue. Good sound quality here, no Petty songs - a pretty good set.

JULY 8, 1986 (2) Mansfield, Massachusetts. Taypic era recording and show. This was my first Dylan show, but the obsession didn't begin for anotherr 8 years.

JULY 9, 1986 (2). Mansfield. Mass.  I think this is the one I went to.  My First Dylan show.

JULY 10, 1986. Etta James & Bob Dylan taming always at the Mariott Hotel in Providence. Sloppy fun.

JULY 11, 1986 (4)  Hartford, Connecticut.   A top shelf audience taping.  Wow!  Thoroughly enjoyable from this under appreciated tour. 

JULY 13, 1986 (3) Saratoga Springs, New York. No audience left on this one - so it must have been cleaned a few times - the sound at times a little shrill so turn down the treble. Or maybe just allow the ears to adjust because it does work as the night presses on. Don't miss the snazzy guitar work on the electric "Masters."

JULY 15, 1986 (3) New York City,  Ron Wood stops by.

JULY 16, 1986 (3) New York City

JULY 17, 1986 (4) New York City. Pretty fair recording with just a smidge of chat. I was charged 4 discs on a trade, but it can probably fit on 3.

JULY 20, 1986 (3) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

THE 1986 COMPILATION (4) It's really the July 21, 1986 (East Rutherford, New Jersey) show with a disc and a half of filler. Bob was quite loqacious that night rapping about Bruce Springsteen, Hurricane Carter ("Do You know what they did to him in this state") Rock critics etc etc along with guffaws and chuckles. And oh yeah the music is great!JULY 22, 1986 (3) Mansfield, Massachusetts. My first Dylan show - I didn't get insane for another 8 years. This was a par Petty show, certainly solid

JULY 24, 1986 (2) Bonner Springs, Kansas. Soundboard recording of just Bob stuff. Delightful.

JULY 24, 1986 (3) Bonner Springs, Kansas.  The Complete Soundboard emerges later. 

JULY 26, 1986 (2) Morrison, Colorado.   Nice show at Red Rocks, I think one of the better Petty shows, Bob warm and engaged.

JULY 25, 1986 (3) Morrison, Colorado.  Complete soundboard including a Studio take of "I Shall Be released)

PORTLAND 1986 (3)  July 29, 1986.  Portland, Oregon.  Superb sounding recording with TP and his boys int he band.  Soundboard.

JULY 31, 1986 (3) Tacoma, Washington. Whisper quiet soundboard is quite enjoyable. Bob nearly chatty at times. Thoroughly enjoyed.

AUGUST 1, 1986 (2) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

COME BABY, ROCK ME. August 3, 1986. Actually it's half that show and then bonus tracks from July 4. It's soundboard and it's a superb collection if you want a one discer.

THERE IS A PLACE OF BROKEN DREAMS (3) August 5, 1986 Shoreline. Backed by Tom Petty some of the bonus tracks are from other shows. High quality recording, but inconsistant Dylan performance. Get abunch of rare (did I say rare) tracks ie "Unchain my Heart," "Band of the Hand," "We Had It All." Also you get a bunch of Tom Petty hits all performed well. Incomplete artwork.

AUGUST 6, 1986 (2) Pasa Robles, California. A somewhat sloppy, noisy recording though it still captures the performance. By the finish, the chattering chatters have quieted down somewhat. The Petty tunes get spliced as does Bob's "In the Garden."

HEARTS OF FIRE SESSIONS August 27 & 28, 1986 with Eric Clapton & Ron Wood. Various runthrews - not Bob's most inspired period, but glad to add to my collection. John Hiatt's "The Usual" is catchy enough.

COVERING THEM. Various covers from the Petty Tour. You even get a "Happy Birthday" for bass player and Dylan drinking buddy, Howie Epstein.

LIVE THE SILVER WILBURYS. February 17, 1987. Palomino Club, Hollywood, California. An improptu jam with Dylan providing guitar and some backing vocals with George Harrison, John Fogerty, Taj Mahal and Jesse Ed Davis. A gruff, sloppy audience taping, but jeez it would have been fun to have been there.

DYLAN & THE DEAD STUDIO RECORDINGS. SPRING 1987 (2). Rehearsal stuff, low but acceptable sound quality, includes a couple of rarely performed John Wesley Haring tracks. Setlist only.

FRENCH GIRL (3). With this much rehearsal with the Dead you think the tour would have been better. Good sound quality and excellent variety of tunes rehearsed. Like it. Partial artwork.

THE COMPLETE REHEARSALS (So Far...) (6) Courtesy of the Dylan Tree this is the best quality Dylan-Dead Rehearsals. The final disc is #705 of the Grateful Dead Hour which focuses on Postcards of the Hanging, a Dead released that consists of Dylan covers. While there is a general consensus that this was a failed collaboration, damn, some of this material is quite enjoyable. A number of pretty nice arrangements and the sound is killer. However, bottom line is that the Dead needed Dylan more than the other way around.

JERRY GARCIA'S ORIGINAL MIX 1987 (2) Supposidly contains what Jerry wanted to release on the first disc and then someone else's tour highlights on the 2nd.

KNOCKIN' ON FOXBORO'S DOOR. July 4, 1987. At the big football stadium with in Massachusetts, a decent night.

MEN OF PEACE July 10, 1987. JFK Stadium. Philadelphia. Actually a nice performance with Bobby and the Dead sounding pretty good. Enjoyed this one more than I thought I would.

JULY 12, 1987. Dylan and the Dead at Giants Stadium, quite low quality audience taping, for completists only. The pairing just didn' work.

JULY 12, 1987 (3) East Rutherford, NJ Complete show - soundboard - both Bob and The Dead. And shit, it don't sound any better than the shitty audience taping from above. History has been unkind.

THE BALLAD OF BOB & JERRY. Features tracks from July 10 & & 12, 1987 Pretty good sounding disc. B/W Art.

JULY 19, 1987 Again with the former Warlocks now in Eugene, Oregon with decent sound quality.

THE FIFTH STRIKE. July 24, 1987. Oakland, California. Not too bad really. Hey face it, these shows have Dylan backed by the Dead. Clean recording while not making me long for a reunion, this one's okay.

THE FINAL CURTAIN. July 26, 1987. Anaheim, California. Maybe - just maybe these shows got better as they went. While Bob's voice & enthusiasm is noone's idea of being a peak, I kinda like this show. The slow "Simple of Twist" has a nice Garcia solo on it. And damn, a downright enjoyable "Stuck Inside of Mobile," and a sweet "Baby Blue." Best to skip the bloody awful "Serve Somebody." Still a good one to grab from this tour if you want to own one.

THE UNRELEASED LIVE ALBUM. A nice selection from the ill fated tour. While not amazing enough to have me reconsider the Dylan/Dead collaboration, I enjoyed it more than I thought

DANCING IN THE DARK. (2) Rehearsals from 1987 with bonus tracks from the unreleased Christian album. Bob's voice is hoarse, sloppy stuff but still fun. For the hardcore.

TEMPLES IN FLAMES (3) Generous collection from named fall tour with Petty. A hit or miss affair - certainly sounded better and a great pairing. Some smart arrangements and some blase ones. Still in retrospect, a nice chapter in the book.

VISIT TO ISRAEL. September 5, 1987 (2) Somewhat historical, but crap all the same.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1987 Jerusalem, Israel. On a fall swing with Tom Petty again. The sound is a little thin, but not bad - certainly warms up as the ear adjusts. I think this is night #2 of the must discussed, written and disected visit to the Holy Land.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1987 Lisle, Switzerland. Excellent recording...near commercial sound. A nice varied set. Love getting a sweet "Masterpiece" and a snappy "Judas Priest." Even dug "LARS" with its Benmont Tench piano leading the way. This is a good one!

SEPTEMBER 12, 1987 Modena, Italy. Fine/clean recording. "Joey" among it's terrific offerings. Strong, if not spectacular at times.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1987. Torino, Italy. The sound of this disc sounds a little stripped as if it has been remastered a little too well. No audience at all. A couple of turgic clunkers don't help; "Lenny Bruce," "Emotionally Yours" and "Heart of Mine." Ugh.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1987 Dortmund, Germany. An oustanding recording from the Petty tour. Great Bobby vocals all night - even a great "Highway 61" with lots of slide gee-tar and keyboards. Nearly every song in great quality, but a couple for some reason don't sound as good (not remastered?).

SEPTEMBER 16, 1987 West Germany. Somehow, I like it, but probably because of the setlist. There's some cheesy playing at times.

MOLOTOV COCKTAILS. September 17, 1987. East Berlin, East Germany. Good clear sound on an okay night. Nothing stands out, but not bad either.

LIVE September 19, 1987. Rotterdam. At times it seemed a bit hurried, but the sound is good and there is some good stuff here. Not a great tour to say the least. The bonus trax from Letterman are a bit creaky.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1987. Hanover, West Germany. An 2 1/2 minute instrumental begins the show with Dylan needing a couple of songs to loose the froggy in his throat. Get a rare "Chimes of Freedom"

SEPTEMBER 21, 1987 Copenhagen, Norway. A pretty interesting set and eve. Not the best of performances, but still some good fun to be had.

SEPTEMBER 23, 1987. Helsinki, Finland. Back by Petty, but man they sound like the dead on "Tangled." Bob was singing with mighty conviction and we even get some new lyrics on "I Shall Be Released."

SEPTEMBER 26, 1987 Stockholm, Sweden. Certainly a good enough recording & performance. Didn't seem to catch much fire or something, still a pleasant enuf boot to file in my collection.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1987. Frankfort, Germany. Soundboard - clean as a whistle. A superior representation of a night from the Temples in Flames Tour. 14 tunes done well. An overblown arrangement on "Tomorrow is a Long Time" rescued by a brave, powerful & amazing vocals - wow!

SEPTEMBER 29, 1987 Stuttgart, Germany. Highlight: A long sloppy harp intro on "Forever Young" then (wouldn't you know it) he flubbs the opening lyric. Super sound quality and man oh man you even get a magnficient "Chimes of Freedom."

HEARTBREAKER BLUES. September 30, 1987. Kicks off with a turgi "Joey" which is just too complex for Bob to clear his throat. However, gathers steam quickly particuarly with a rewritten "Serve Somebody" and a tender "Don't Think Twice."

OCTOBER 1, 1987. A couple of bad setlist choices don't slow Bob down on this energetic night. Nice taping.

OCTOBER 4, 1987. MIlano, Italy. Steady not special, but we do get a heartbreaker backed take on "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine."

OCTOBER 5, 1987. Locarne, Switzerland. Enjoyed the boot while there really isn't a signature arrangement of song from the tour, it was always enjoyable and there was good playing each night from this crack band. A couple of quick/slight digital errors shouldn't deter you from this one.

OCTOBER 5, 1987 REMASTER. While they didn't get rid of every shout - this remaster is the real deal. I mean even "Dead Man" sounds great. An incredible "Tomorrow" that is nearly acoustic. Great piano in the mix, btw.

FLASHING FOR THE REFUGEES October 8, 1987, Brussels, Belgium. Nice souveneir - a fine clean recording. Old friend Roger McGuinn stops on "Chimes." Enjoyable throughout.

WILD CATHEDRAL EVENING. Single disc culled from October 10, 1987 show in the UK, backed by Petty again. Supposedly difficult to find.

OCTOBER 11, 1987. Birmingham, England. Pretty nice sounding boot - a better than fair night.

CRITICS CHOICE VOL 5 & 6. (2) Culled from the October 14-17, 1987 shows at Wembley Stadium. lots of good stuff and nice sound.

OCTOBER 14, 1987 (2) London. Certainly a well recorded show. Not all together the best performances or arrangements, but I liked it.

OCTOBER 15, 1987 London Start with a darn good taping, mix in a couple of poor set list selections, add is some great musicians: what do we end up with?

OCTOBER 16, 1987. London. "LARS" just isn't a good set opener - just not a well constructed evening - and some of the arrangement are a bit limp, but the recording quality is superb and while it seems like a spark, maybe it won't to you.

THE FINAL NIGHT AND MORE. (2) The notes on the cover art say it all, "Recorded live at Wembley Area, London on October 17, 1987, as the final night of the European Temples in Flames tour. This was the best and longest show of the entire tour, all bonus tracks are rare highlights from the same tour." Love it.

GE SMITH AUDITION. November 22, 1987. New York City. Who knows maybe rehearsals too, don't know. Lotta fun though Bobby not on his game. A couple of nice moments though.

GE SMITH AUDITION. Probably same this as above, but has a radio interview with it describing the experience. 

HALLELUJAH EILEEN! ACOUSTIC SONGS PERFORMED IN 1988. (3) Much of these trackms are performed solo which is interesting considering that latter stages of the NET always had full acoustic band takes. Bob is really thrashing that old acoustic on this extensive collection. Strong recommendation.

CRITICS CHOICE. VOLUME 4. Compilation from various locations in the US in 1988. Good.

JUNE 7, 1988 (2) Concord, California. Not quite sure what to make of this concert - the very first of the Never Ending Tour with Neil Young sitting in on guitar for a bunch. Ultimately this night falls short of better GE Smith evening, but still not without some niceties.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY BLUES. (2) June 10, 1988 in Berkeley. Neil Young sat in for the night. Bobby's vocals were a bit groggy.

DRIFTIN' TOO FAR FROM SHORE. June 11, 1988 at the Shoreline in Mountainview (another locale where every show gets booted), Neil Young comes out again on this fine disc.

JUNE 13, 1988 (2) Park City, Utah. A good recording + show from the very early stages of the N.E.T. Some misfires, but not a bad souvenier.

JUNE 15, 1988 (2) Denver, Colorado. No. Sometimes you just have to say no. This is a decent taping with a couple of rarely played tunes "Coffee," "Eileen Aroon" thrown in.

JUNE 17, 1988 (2) St. Louis, Missouri. Retty fair recording of a nice show. Highlight? An unsourced bonus track of "License to Kill" with a killer vocal.

JUNE 18, 1988 (2) East Troy, Michigan. A very, very good taping. A mix of okay songs & crap ones. Liked the electric "Released," but some dreary shit as well: "Sweet Marie," "Stuck Inside," to name two. Good energy throughout, but not always channeled properly, dog.

JUNE 21, 1988 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Subpar taping - a grim affair.

JUNE 22, 1988 Cincinnati, Ohio. Seemed like a good show too bad it was recorded from the men's room.

JUNE 24, 1988 Holmdel, New Jersey. Bob is just trying to rock a bit too hard. Frankly - it's a dreary trudge at times ("Driftin Too Far," "Big Girl"). A decent recording of a poor performance.

JUNE 25, 1988 (2)  Holmdel, New Jersey.  A proper audience recording, maybe its me, ut I'm not grooving the '88 jam these days. 

JUNE 26, 1988. Saratoga Springs, New York. Poor taping along with a pretty lame performance results in an inconsequential addition to my bookshelf. "Back Pages" mangled into a rock tune, ugh.

JUNE 28, 1988 (2) Canadaigua, New York. A wildly uneven show which featured 3 covers. Moments of grace and extraordinary poewr and then some dull clunkers (LARS) as well.

BLOWN OUT ON THE TRAIL. (2) June 30, 1988. Sensational show with bonus tracks from the Neil Young Bridge Benefit that year to boot.

JULY 1, 1988 (2) Wantaugh, New York. Nope. This one stinks. Bob's got a tin ear and while I'm not saying there aren't a few nice moments this is far from a satisfying show. Prime example: a dreadful, hollow, empty, miserable "Baby Blue."

JULY 2, 1988 Mansfield, Massachusetts. A flat taping of a flat night of a set of greatest hits.

JULY 3, 1988 (2) Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Start with an excellent taping and GE Smith with his game face on. Highlights: "Judas Priest" & "Hard Rain." With that said some dull misfires & so so arrangements make for an inconsistant nite.

SUBTERRANEAN PHILADELPHIA BLUES. July 6, 1988. Gruesome taping of an empty show. Skip this one. No art.

JULY 8, 1988.  Montreal, Canada.  Passable audience taping, starts rock but gets better.  You do get one of Dylan's only two live covers of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

JULY 9, 1988.  Ottawa, Canada.  Pretty good recording to my ears.  As I listen 30+ years later, not my favorite era feeling a bit one dimensional. 

JULY 11, 1988.  Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Nice show.  An enjoyable run thru.

JULY 13, 1988 Charlevoix, Michigan. Pretty decent show and a nice enough recording though there is distortion at higher volumes. Excellent representation of this tour, the arrangements are a bit too upbeat - lacking some nuance and texture - sometimes it works and sometimes...

JULY 14, 1988 (2) Hoffman Estates, Illinois. A taping that I'd call acceptable. A charmless boot perhaps due to a performance stuck in mud. Though GE's amazing guitar during "Maggie" the night's final tune nearly saved it.

JULY 15, 1988 (2) Indianapolis, Indiana. Nice era representation with its twin highlights of "John Brown" & a rockin' "Masters" both arriving early in the night.

JULY 17, 1988 (2)  Rochester, Minnesota.  I'll grant you a journeyman taping.  Just doesn't grab me.  

JULY 22, 1988 Nashville, Tennessee. A flawed audience taping, but I'm really taking a shine to the GE Smith era. The singing is with passion and power and the Smith was a fine guitar player who took the music to the right place. There are better recordings, but the performance here is on it.

JULY 24, 1988. Atlanta, Georgia. Messy audience taping that I enjoyed also despite it's audio limitations.

JULY 25, 1988 Atlanta, Georgia. Nice enuf audience taping from this era

MUDPLEX (3). July 26 & 29, 1988. Cagily combines the Mud Island Memphis show with the Starplex Amphitheatre two night later. Think the first show captures a bit better as Bob growls his way through nineteen eighty-eight.

JULY 30, 1988 (2)  Mesa, Arizona.  Okay audience taping.  The band bashes away.  Meh. 

JULY 31, 1988 (2) Costa Mesa, California. Nice show captured with a few shouts and yelps especially during the acoustic material. Good.

AUGUST 2, 1988 (2) Los Angeles, California. Decent audience taping with occasional low chat, bu you have to really listen closely. Music feels a bit wooden & dull to my deaf ears.

AUGUST 3, 1988 (2) At the Greek Theatre in LA. Nice if you like the 1988 version of Bob with takes on "Barbara Allen" and "Driftin' Too Far From Shore."

AUGUST 4, 1988 (2) Los Angeles. A hamstrung performance, but an effective one. Won't pick on the flaws. The Alarm help out on the finale of "Knockin."

CRITICS CHOICE. VOLUME 7. A variety of unusual tracks - mostly from August of 1988 shows.

AUGUST 7, 1988 (2) Santa Barbara, California. A suitable show though nothing really to shout about. A good vocal on "Barbara Allen," but accompanies by some dreadful strumming. An urgent "Ain't Me Babe" bust still a little stiff.

AUGUST 19, 1988.  Portland, Oregon.  Slick recording and a strong, drip performance.  Thoroughly enjoyable as the band was clicking.

AUGUST 20, 1988. George, Washington. Good audience taper and some fairly good performances. Changes the lyrics a bit on "Masters" and flubs the acoustic "It Ain't Me Babe," but I don't mind. Vocals got better, warmer and more musical as the nite wore on.

AUGUST 21, 1988 (2) Vancouver. Acceptable and nice. I don't really have a strong feeling one way or another. Certainly a competent '88 show. Tracy Chapman helps out on "Knockin" High point: A skippy, skat, Happy "Like A Rolling Stone."

AUGUST 23, 1988 (2) Calgary. A lifeless affair. It could be the subpar taping or is it a dull Bob or is it both. Again't we hear from Tracy Chapman, but she didn't help much. Lows: a rushed and fucked up "Silvio." High: the electric take on "Released."

AUGUST 24, 1988 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Another undistinguished taping - not entirely without merit. Tracy Chapman again steps in for "Knockin."

AUGUST 31, 1988 Syracuse, New York. Located somewhere betwen okay and alright. A bit of chat, but still an okay taping. Any night with "Every Grain of Sand" is a good night.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 (2) Middleton, New York. Good enuf recording, just not much to write about.

SEPTEMBER 3, 1988.  Manchester, New Hampshire.   I'll overlook a clunky "Visions" as there are number of excellent arrangements.  Nice acoustic "Hattie" is just one of the highlights. 

WANTED MAN. September 4, 1988. At the Lake Compounce Festival in Bristol. Bob blasting off, has a real nice "Subterranean" operner and a crisp "I Shall Be Released." Bob's in pretty good vocals here and doing the harder rock versions, but this was not one of his better era's for inspiration or performance. Missing one track.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1988.  Essex Junction, Vermont.   Dug it!   A well recorded show and strong across the board. 

SEPTEMBER 10, 1988 (2) Stanhope, New Jersey. A good nite's work in the fall.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1988 (2) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Not a bad night - but not a real good one either. Bob sounds a bit rushed and charmless, but I nearly bust a gut during "It Ain't Me Babe" with that classic Dylan snarl in full force.

SEPTEMBER 14, 1988. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Okay taping - one dimentional and a bit flat

SEPTEMBER 16, 1988. Columbia, South Carolina.  Bob and GE bash out the rockers on this good taping.  Caffinated + Thrashy, not my favorite combination. 
.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1988. Charlotte, North Carolina. Decent audience taping, a couple of ugly misses - a painful "Mama You Been On My Mind" is one, a wooden performance.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1988. Knoxville, Tennessee. Don't have a simple answer for this one. GE Smith gots some talent & Bob is blowing both hot and cold. Sound gaulity is quite good.

SEPTEMBER 19,1988 (2)  Charlottesville, Virginia.  Crap recording.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1988.  Tampa, Florida.   Good enough taping to listen, but certainly not a good recording. 

SEPTEMBER 23, 1988.  Miami, Florida.  Not a taping to brag about, but still gets the job done. 

SEPTEMBER 24, 1988 (2)  Gainesville, Florida.   The definition of a poorly recorded show which is listenable.  

SEPTEMBER 25, 1988 (2)  New Orleans, Louisiana.  A hollow, chatty taping, but still listenable I guess. 

OCTOBER 13, 1988 (2) Upper Darby A torrid show captured by an okay taping. Bob & GE were fired up from the get-go. Some it I liked "Big Girl," some of it I hated "Knockin," and I'm not so sure about some others "Silvio" and "Grain of Sand."

OCTOBER 14, 1988 (2)  Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.  Seems like a good energy show with a fun setlist:  John Brown, God On Our Side, Gates of Eden.  C'mon, I'd kill for those.  But LARS was a misfire. 

OCTOBER 16, 1988 (2)  New York City.   Beautiful recording. 

OCTOBER 17, 1988 (2)  New York City.  Bashy at times, but they are working it out in Radio City Music Hall.  I didn't go to this show, but I did once see Devo Halloween night there.  Nice "Gates."

OCTOBER 18, 1988 (2)  New York City. 

RADIO RADIO (2) Contain 14 songs from the Octrober 17 & 19, 1988 shows at Radio City - probably not the complete set. An acceptable audience taping - C+. Not as good as...

STUCK INSIDE OF NEW YORK (2).October 19, 1988. From Radio City Music Hall, nice to get "Gates of Eden," "With God On Our Side," "Subterranean." Stellar.

DEEDS OF MERCY. Oh Mercy outtakes. The naked tracks before Daniel Lanois messed with them (he did mess with them well).

RING THEM BELLS. 15 more Oh Mercy outtakes, some overlap but equally terrific. Worth owning both.

MERCY ON US. Godfather Records take on the Oh Mercy outtakes.

OUTTAKES OF OF MERCY. REMASTER BY CAPTAIN ACID. A 2019 remaster of some outtakes.

MERCY (2) OUTTAKES AND LIVE TRACKS 1989 - 1993 (2)  Enjoyable collection of ephemera. 

FEBRUARY 12, 1989. Los Angeles, California. This is a 3 song Guest appearance at a Greatful Dead concert. Has 5 Dead tunes than the Bobs. A complete washout, friends.

NEVER ENDING TOUR REHEARSALS. (2) May/1989. Bob's voice is shot. Gone. Sounds like he swallowed Oscar the Grouch. However, includes a number of songs not played elsewhere like Buddy Holly's "Everday" and Gordon Lightfoot's "I'm Not Supposed to Care." You get 5 versions of "Shot of Love" and a "Peace in the Valley." Still not to played for your friends who don't like Dylan.

MAY 27, 1989 (2) Anadarum, Sweden. A flawed taping, but still a fair show. Wouldn't want to beat a dead horse, but these 1989 shows aren't among fav's, but this one is certainly passable.

MAY 28, 1989 (2) Stockholm, Sweden. Lackin in musicality - a rundown and sorry performance.

MAY 30, 1989 (2) Helsinki, Finland.

JUNE 3, 1989 (2) Dublin, Ireland. Starts off with a nice energy, but it can't overcome the shrill taping without any real quality or seperation to it. The voice is gone and the acoustic tunes are just freakin' aweful. Sure I like hearing "Gates of Eden" live but this one is simply D.O.A.

JUNE 4, 1989 (2) Dublin, Ireland. A grim listening experience. Bono helps out on the encores, but this one blows.

JUNE 6, 1989 Glasgow, Scotland. An imperfec taping, but GE Smith was in fine kettle that night. A hard chargin show with fireworks large & small. Lotsa of harp playing and 1 of only three takes ever of "Congratulations." A couple of digital skips on 2 tracks.

NO PHOTOGRAPHS PLEASE. June 7, 1989. Inspired performance that the taper just doesn't quite capture. Could use a little more clarity. But man oh man, does Bob spit out the words to "Like A Rolling Stone." Beautiful harp on "One Too Many Mornings." GE Smith was a fine player for Bob during those days.

JUN3 8, 1989 (2) London, England.

ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ITALY. (2). June/1989. Lots of good playing from GE Smith (the former Mr. Gilda Radner) and some rarely played numbers like (Van Zandt's) Poncho & Lefty & "You Don't Know Me."

HUNTED LIKE A CROCODILE. (2) June 10, 1989. Recorded in Den Haag, The Netherlands. Bob was not clicking in 1989, but still like the acoustic stuff as well as a rare take on "The Trail of a Buffalo."

SONG & DANCE MAN LIVE 89. (2) June 11, 1989 in Brussels along with an additional 11 tracks from the June/1989 tour of Europe. Bob just going through the motions here, sounding groggy and uninspired. Pretty good sound quality, just no magic.

IN THE GARDEN OF FREJUS (2) June 13, 1989. Frenus, France. A frustrating and disappointing listen. This guy is just struggling with the material. A solid recording of an aimless Bob. Ringo sits in for "61" and "LARS." Frickin butchers "Spanish Boots" and turns "Gates of Eden" into a dull roar.

JUNE 15, 1989 (2) Madrid, Spain. Not much here except for a rare (only?) take of "Buckets of Rain." Lo fidelity.

JUNE 16, 1989 (2) Barcelona, Spain. Some interesting guitar work and a harp solo on "Big Girl" an early set highlight. Good for '89 as I seemed to overlook this night's flaws and enjoyed its treasures. A sensation "Mornings" as well as a nice drivin' "Maggie's" by the way.

JUNE 17, 1989 (2) San Sebastian, Spain. The taping's a bit on the shrill/treble side, but Bobby's got that piss 'n vinegar vocal swagger going on. Ends "In the Garden" with a minute or two of "You Really Got Me" riff - I swear. A minor flaw on the final track.

JUNE 19, 1989 (2) Milano. He either changed the lyrics to "Silvio" or just made up some new ones as he went. It's a wan, tired almost lethargic Bob playing a hit laden set. Bob tried to cut loose vocally at times, he just didn't seemed to succeed with that battle within himself on this eve.

JUNE 20, 1989 (2) Rome, Italy. Holy Grail. A wildly inconsistant show. I grooved to "Stuck Inside" + "Simple" but the acoustic numbers all blew chow.

JUNE 22, 1989 (2) Livorno. Where to begin? Let's just say it's all pretty much not working. The recording quality is acceptable, yet thin and empty. The performances are yuck - a lifeless thud.

JUNE 28, 1989 (2) Athens, Greece. A difficult listen, not that sound quality is bad, there are just horrible performances, dreadful drumming and all around uninspired shit. But hey, Van Morrison stopped in for "Crazy Love" and "Stoned Me," but it still doesn't save this night.

JULY 1, 1989 (2) Peoria, Illinois. A plain Jane.

JULY 2, 1989 (2). Hoffman Estates, Illinois

JULY 3, 1989 (2)  Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  A determined yet ragged performance.  Interesting covers:  "Early Morning Rain, " "In the Pines," and "When Do you leave Heaven."

JULY 5, 1989 (2) Rochester Hills, Michigan

JULY 6, 1989 (2) Rochester, Michigan. I think the desire wasa there but the voice failed him on Van Morrison's "It Stoned Me." In toto, I think some good energy just not well played.

JULY 9, 1989 (2) Cuyahooga Falls, Ohio

JULY 11, 1989 (2) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mundane. Though there are some great vocal flourishes, it just don't cut it.

JULY 12, 1989.  Allentown, Pennsylvania

ORCHARD BEACH. July 15, 1989. Enjoyable single disc featuring a couple of tunes he has long abandoned.

JULY 16, 1989 Bristol, Connecticut A subpar taping & show.

JULY 19, 1989 (2) Columbia, South Carolina. Not much to say, a bland recording from a bland era.

JULY 21, 1989 (2) Holmdel, New Jersey.  Meh. 

JULY 25, 1989 (2) Canandaigua, New York. Nope. Nada. Yucky. Besides the one-off of Dolinda Morgan's "Confidential" and a rare Eddy Arnold "You Don't Know Me" there ain't much here.

JULY 29, 1989 (2) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

JULY 29, 1989 (2) Maple, Ontario, Canada.  Nice capture, man.  Great setlist.  Not sure I ever hear "Hey La La" as a cover ever before. and then "Gates of Eden, "Tears of Rage" too.  Gee thanks. 

JULY 30, 1989 (2) Ottawa, Canada. Bob, a bit adrift, with a band in limbo and everyone just incapable of finding the soul of the material. That might be a bit overstating this one as it's a pretty good recording and certainly far from a bad night era-wise.

JULY 31, 1989 (2) Joliette, QC

AUGUST 5, 1989 (2) Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ug-Ugly, crap sound quality makes it difficult to determine how crapp the performance was.

AUGUST 6, 1989 (2). Columbus, Ohio

AUGUST 8, 1989 (2) Toledo, Ohio. Bob had his vocal button pushed ON during this very very good performance.

AUGUST 13, 1989 (2) Charlotte, North Carolina. Acceptable, though imperfect audience recording of a stone tired Bob. Does have a rare take on "Man of Constant Sorrow," a dreadful "It's Alright Ma." Thud!

AUGUST 15, 1989 (2) Atlanta, Georgia. Dull roar. Ug. Shoot the drummer! Dreadful, no direction home.

HOT AUGUST NIGHT   August 16, 1989 (2)  Atlanta, Georgia

AUGUST 19, 1989 (2) Springfield. A coarse voiced Bob - not just lacking musicality, but incapable of converying much of anything vocally. You do get a crude stab at the covers of "The Harder They Come" and "One Irish Rover."

AUGUST 20, 1989 (2) Nashville, Tennessee

AUGUST 22, 1989 (2)  Bonner Springs, Kansas

AUGUST 23, 1989 (2) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

AUGUST 25, 1989 (2) New Orleans, Louisiana 

AUGUST 26, 1989 (2) Houston, Texas

AUGUST 27, 1989 (2)  Dallas, Texas     Nice recording and all in all it's quite strong.  Bob is trying a lot of things and alot of the them work with a miss here or there.   Feels good. 

SEPTEMBER 3, 1989 (2)  Berkely, California

SEPTEMBER 5, 1985 (2). Santa Babara, California

SEPTEMBER 6, 1989 (2) San Diego, California. Opens and absolutely butchers "Visions" and it goes downhill from there. Some of the worst acoustic performances of his career. Ugh.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1989 (2) Costa Mesa, California. From the legendary Microphone of Mike Millard comes another somewhat uneven show.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1989 (2)  Los Angeles, California.  A good taping, but not a lot of spark.  There are some interesting moments.

SHINING AT THE BEACON. October 10, 1989. New York City. A passing grade for this audience taping - but that ain't saying much. Sure glad he doesn't open shows with "Seeing the Real You" anymore.

OCTOBER 10, 1989 SOUNDCHECKS.   Horrid sound quality, recorded from the Street.

OCTOBER 11, 1989 (2) The Beacon, New York City

THAT DIFFICUT THIRD NIGHT October 12, 1989, New York City. Perhaps that title should encompass the entire year. There are hints of musicality in Bob's voice if you try real hard - and some moments and songs work as this is a pretty good example of this representative work. A dreadful "Dead Man" and sloppy "Man of Peace."

OCTOBER 13, 1989 BEACON SOUNDCHECKS.   Low quality to say the least

OCTOBER 15, 1989 (2) Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

OCTOBER 18, 1989 (2) Washington, DC

OCTOBER 20, 1989 (2) Poughkeepsie, New York

OCTOBER 22, 1989 (2) Kingston, Rhode Island

OCTOBER 23, 1989 (2) A difficult night - lumbering arrangements, bored vocals and no inspiration - the music just falls from the speakers like a musty old banana peel.

OCTOBER 24, 1989 (2) Boston, Massachusetts. Awful. Want to clear the room?

OCTOBER 25, 1989 (2) Boston, Massachusetts. Everything just was screwed on tight enough during this night. Bob was just stumbling along missing the right tone with both his singing and the band.

OCTOBER 27, 1989 (2) Troy, New York. Just doesn't do the material justice - no musicality to some of the great songs & melodies ever written. BTW a nice enuf recording & an acceptable show I guess. Worthwhile if only to get Piano Bob banging on the keys for "Disease."

OCTOBER 31, 1989 (2) Chicago, Illinois

NOVEMBER 1, 1989 (2) Ann Arbor, Michigan. A subpar taping capturing, yup, a subpar show, but I'd love to see the same setlist performanced by the 21st century Bob.

NOVEMBER 2, 1989 (2) Cleveland, Ohio

NOVEMBER 4, 1989 (2) Indiana, Pennsylvania.  Nice taping, but no magic here.  

NOVEMBER 6, 1989 (2) Blacksburg, Virginia.   Shit recording. 

NOVEMBER 7, 1989. Norfolk, Virginia. Incomplete show - only the have the first 7 tunes, missing the final 9. A bit of a dirge anyway, though you do get the one off traditional ballad, "When First Unto this Country."

NOVEMBER 8, 1989 (2) Durham, North Carolina. Subpar audience taping of a subpar Bob. Hard to tell due the taping quality, but it just doesn't have much to speak for it. OK, I will say the GE Smith led band played quite well, but better captured elsewhere.

NOVEMBER 10, 1989 (2) Atlanta, Georgia. For completists only - 'nuff said.

NOVEMER 12, 1989 (2) Orlando, Florida

NOVEMBER 13, 1989 (2)  Miami, Florida.   A misfire across the board.  I still some enjoyable but that's me. 

NOVEMBER 14, 1989 (2) Tampa, Florida

NOVEMBER 15, 1989 (2) Tampa, Florida

GOLDEN VANITY. 18 rarely performed folk songs recorded from 1988-1992.

20/20 VISION. (2) Compilation covering 1989-1991. Don't you have to own Bob butchering "The Harder They Come," I know I do. Bob's voice is gruff, but still an enjoyable set.