Infinity Goes Up On Trial 003

For many of us this material, although obviously not of the same quality of 1990's and 2000 era video, is an invaluable glimpse into this phase of Dylan's career.
Of course these are 8mm film clips, shot by amateurs, and transfered to digital format over 25 and in some cases 30 years later. It would be silly to expect top notch footage.
For those of us too young to have seen these tours, or who's Bobsessions drive us to search beyond Hard Rain or the Gospel Years proshot films from these historic tours, this DVD assembles much of the audience footage we have...
Many thanks to the filmers, author, and DVDylan.com.

And even though you changed your headline after i wrote this, no, this DVD is not 'Some Kind of Joke', Jim50.

D574 TANGLED UP IN EUGH

In May 1980 D closed out the third and last leg of the Gospel Tour – 18 shows in 21 days across seven north-eastern states. During several of these shows, audience 8mm cine film was shot and the first chapter of this DVD presents a 42-minute montage of snippets of this film spliced together into a crude retrospective. There are no complete songs - clips vary in length from 15 seconds to about three minutes, although the longer pieces are splice-jobs rather than continuous excerpts from individual songs. In all, 28 songs figure, with several titles duplicated. The compiler appears particularly smitten by D's passionate harmonica playing in What Can I Do For You, which features no less than five times. Other repeats are Saved (4), Pressing On / Precious Angel / Ain't Gonna Go To Hell (3) and I Believe In You / Solid Rock (2). Film quality is good (very briefly) through mediocre (most) to gone (yellow blobs moving in a green matrix, rather like a 2D musical lava lamp – and, no, I'm not joking). Sound is poor throughout. Without the very wonderful D001.sf and D187, this footage would probably be revered as valuable archive material. As things stand, it's not worth the disc it's copied on.

Thought that was bad? D's art is essentially an aural one (i.e. one you appreciate with your ears). Can you imagine, then, enjoying silent footage of anything he's ever done? I've tried and can't – all the same, that's exactly what you're served up next: pictures supposedly from Fort Collins '76 (look like Clearwater to me, but, really, who cares?) with no soundtrack and, for the most-part, such poor image definition that what's on the screen could equally well be man, monkey, moose or Mickey Mouse. There's more of the same from St. Louis 1978 – 15 long minutes in all. Point a rolling camera, mike off, down at the carpet, give it the odd jiggle now and then and you'll end up with film every bit as riveting as this. Call it Bob's Axminster Period, send it out - you might even get people to watch it. Infinity Up On Trial? Verdict, guilty; sentence, death (by boredom).

The rest of D574 features 1984 tour footage. After a snippet concerning Bob's Newcastle gig from BBC Breakfast News (1:25, including a short live Jokerman clip, also included on D027.asu and elsewhere), we move on to Verona for more audience-shot cine film. This comes in two packages, each running 17 minutes, shot on 28 and 29 May respectively. Pictures throughout are watchable – steady and unobstructed - but not close and not clean. Sound is poor. Song fragments run from below a minute (I & I, Pill-Box Hat and others) to over four (H61, Tombstone Blues). Wind on each night features D plus Carlos Santana.

Last and best on this dog of a DVD is a 28 minute compilation of 8mm footage from Rotterdam (performance again separately available - see D401.su). After what's gone before, image quality here is a delight. That's not to say perfect – far from it. Like all this old stuff, its sharpness is gone. But it's close-filmed, steady, unobstructed and – well-lit D on black - pleases the eye, as, in nifty straw hat and scarf, does the singer himself. Sadly, the ears fare less well. On the electric numbers, sound is painfully bad. But the stand-out here is an almost complete Tangled (6:00, few snips) in a fascinating hybrid version halfway between the Wembley / Real Live re-write and the BOTT original - plainly a work very much in-progress. For good measure, there then follows another longish acoustic favourite – It Ain't Me, Babe (4:20) – though for much of this D stands from the waist up in deep shadow, and the sound is still dirt poor. And even if he didn't, and even if it wasn't, this sorry collection of sweepings from the back of the back of the bus would remain too much of nothing just the same.

Don't be fooled by the screenshots - D574 is awful. No stars. Avoid.