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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Standing In The Doorway: Unreleased Live Recordings, Spring 2004


Standing In The Doorway: Live Recordings, Spring 2004

Tombstone Blues - March 10
Ring Them Bells - April 3
If Not For You - April 9
Bye And Bye - April 3
Cold Irons Bound - March 10
Tears Of Rage - April 7
Dignity - April 3
Man In The Long Black Coat - March 17
Floater (Too Much To Ask) - March 19
Under The Red Sky - March 17
Drifter's Escape - March 19
Shooting Star - March 10
Standing In The Doorway - April 3

Bonus Tracks
Get Out Of Denver - March 16
Girl From The North Country - March 10
Hazel - April 2
Lonesome Day Blues - March 24
Tell Me That It Isn't True - March 26
Unbelievable - April 9

Download Link

Welcome back,

My goodness, what a list of songs! Dylan really dug deep into his catalog for the 2004 Spring Tour, and I think that's really what distinguishes it from the other fantastic tours of this era.

His 1989-1997 output is extremely well-represented in this set, accounting for a full 7 of the 13 songs included. Among the others are a unique cascading arrangement of "If Not For You," a slow-burning "Standing In The Doorway," and possibly definitive renditions of "Tombstone Blues," "Bye & Bye," "Floater (Too Much To Ask)" and "Drifter's Escape." The close listener will also find that "Tears Of Rage" has picked up some new lyrics hewing the the "Love & Theft" style of postmodern pastiche. Dylan's has "never been to Strawberry Fields" or "Penny Lane," though he's "been down in the Willow Garden and ridden on the Hellbound Train." I love it.

Unfortunately, not all songs could fit, and fine performances of "Girl From The North Country," "Tell Me That It Isn't True" and "Lonesome Day Blues" were narrowly edged out. Some notable recordings of the tour, "Get Out Of Denver," "Hazel" and "Unbelievable" in particular, did not stand up to the level of quality found in the thirteen tracks that made it to the compilation. They are included as bonus tracks for those who are interested.

In fact, much in the same way that The Red Rose & The Briar informed my 1988 collection, the fantastic House on Fire, Debts Unpaid was the source of a handful of these songs. It's an ideal 3-CD overview of the tour, and I recommend it unreservedly.

I hope this new compilation is up to the usual standards, and brings you some warmth in these winter months. Fans of Freddy Koella will be especially pleased, as his remarkable guitar work is all over this record.

If you find the songs compelling, you will surely appreciate their original studio recordings, which can be purchased from Sony at the following links:


Next week's release will be a compilation well-regarded in some circles. It consists of studio outtakes and notable live appearances from 1999 to 2012*, and has been expanded slightly from its earlier incarnation. I hope you all enjoy it as much as the folks at Expecting Rain have in the past. Until then, keep yourselves healthy and listen to some good tunes.

-CS

*Don't get too excited for outtakes - very few exist from this time frame, and all on my CD have been in circulation elsewhere already. I've just tidied them up and strung them together for maximum coherence.

3 comments:

  1. Hi, fantastic blog!
    I have a problem as I can download only the first 3 tracks (apparently the problem is in the 4th)
    Anyway this is the opportunity to thank you for such a labour of love

    ReplyDelete
  2. No problems here. You're doing a great job of finding some really great stuff from some rather challenging years!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey now! New to this blog. Really appreciate your efforts. Listening to One More Night v2 first. Great sound, setlists and liner notes. Keep on truckin'!

    ReplyDelete