Enough Is Enough: The Best of the Rehearsal Tapes, 1971 - 1989
John Hardy - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Little Queen of Spades - Never-Ending Tour Rehearsals, 1989
You're A Big Girl, Now - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
Stop Now - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Why Do I Have To Choose? - European Tour Rehearsals, 1984
If You See Her, Say Hello - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
Walking Down The Line - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Don't Keep Me Waiting Too Long - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
The French Girl - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Enough Is Enough - European Tour Rehearsals, 1984
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
If Not For You - Concert For Bangladesh Rehearsal, 1971
Stealin' - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Ballad Of A Thin Man - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
Shelter From The Storm - European Tour Rehearsals, 1984
Tomorrow Is A Long Time - World Tour Rehearsals, 1978
The Ballad Of Ira Hayes - Grateful Dead Rehearsals, 1987
Isis - Rolling Thunder Revue II Rehearsals, 1976
Lossless Links:
MP3 Link:
This compilation has taken some time to assemble, as I reviewed the available rehearsal tapes from 1971 to 1989. As far as I know, none exist prior to or after this point, excluding sound checks. The one exception, 1994's MTV Unplugged rehearsals, will be the subject of a later release.
The tracks were judged by sound quality and performance, which prevented the inclusion of many 1976 tracks for the former reason and 1987/89 tracks for the latter. Still, a couple of performances from those sessions are included here. 1976's "Isis," in particular, is a fascinating look at a direction the song never took in concert. There's a looseness about many of the songs on this collection that invites the listener to sing along, and enjoy a peek behind the scenes.
None of this will be new to the collector, but to the novice some of these songs may not have been heard before. Dylan's 1987 takes on many of the songs of his youth are enjoyable, if slight, and are more pleasant to my ears than the tour which followed. Similarly, Dylan's voice on the 1978 rehearsals sounds strikingly similar to his Rolling Thunder vocals; this would swiftly pass away once the long tour began.
I hope you find something new or interesting in these tracks - rehearsals are not meant to be heard by anyone other than those present, and lack the polish or energy that make a studio or live recording compelling. Still, there can be art found even in these hidden moments. Set this one up to play, and see what you find.
If you enjoy these tracks, I encourage you to check out the official recordings of the tours or live performances to which they relate:
The Concert For Bangladesh (1971)
Hard Rain (Rolling Thunder II, 1976)
At Budokan (1978 World Tour)
Real live (European Tour, 1984)
Dylan & The Dead (Grateful Dead Tour, 1987)
Next week, you will receive this blog's first taste of the "Never-Ending Tour," with a live collection focusing on Bob Dylan's 1988 tour. Until then, keep yourself healthy and listen to some good tunes.
-CS
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi CWS, if this post is as good as last week I'm flying in hog heaven again. I like Dylan and have enjoyed his work since the sixties as a kid, but your posts have filled in the gaps I never managed to hear or collect. The back waters of Britland were a poor source of good sounds pre web. Thanks for all the time and effort you've put into your site.
ReplyDeleteFinally had time to catch up with your recent additions. Fantastic stuff as usual. Im even trying to enjoy the Temples In Flames compilation ! Belated Congratulations on your wedding !
ReplyDelete"The Bob Dylan Project’s goal is to present, in an accessible way, from a database, every available piece of information related to the Music of Bob Dylan.
ReplyDeleteEvery Album, every Song, all the great Artists and all the Documented stories streaming on Spotify, Deezer, SoundCloud and YouTube. Over 100,000 links.
All the relevant information at the Album, Song, Artist and Document level because we link to the available source reference material from Wikipedia, the Bob Dylan website, Untold Dylan, Haiku 61, Daniel Martin, Every Song, Expecting Rain, All Dylan, Dylan Chords, Steve Hoffman, Commentaries, MusicBrainz, Positively Dylan, Second Hand Songs etc. as well as the actual music.
So when you are ready and if you are interested in accessing a comprehensive anthology on this topic, then you can find the links to all the relevant information plus Bob Dylan’s recorded versions and many other related versions inside Bob Dylan’s Music Box at: http://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/3524/Enough-Is-Enough
This post is designed to link the music to a broader audience..."