1992 Sampler

D591 1992 SAMPLER

As the DVDylan catalogue creeps ever closer to 1,000 entries, its core currency continues to be audience-shot live footage, often enhanced with a dubbed-on, separately recorded audio track, and it must be said that the best of it is wonderfully good - not just richly satisfying entertainment for the here and now but also (equally important) a precious historical record. But, complete concerts aside, there are also other ways to present this live material. We’re familiar with Through The Years compilations themed around the progressive evolution (shedding off one more layer of skin...) of the artist’s career. Though I’ve not yet come across it, it would be possible (desirable?) to recreate live versions of certain albums such as H61R, Oh Mercy, TOOM or L&T, giving a unity of material but variety (i.e. different tours/years/bands) of performer. Or, as here, one may gather together tracks or clips from one tour or year to give performer unity in a Retrospective/Greatest Hits type package (see D177, D291 or D603 for well-wrought examples). But with this last method in particular, success depends critically on choosing cuts that are either the best around or at least otherwise unavailable, or what’s the point? So, on that basis, how does “1992 Sampler” D591 shape up?

Well, we start with the best first, a Thunder Bay Me Babe (also available on D694 and D712) - close, steady, well-shot film over scuzzy four-star sound: a fine take of a fine reading. You might be tantalised by seeing Sydney Des Row next up on the menu, for this was a performance of some notoriety, in which, according to eye-witnesses, D “broke down” part-way through the song and, “overcome by emotion”, had to retire to the back of the stage to regroup. Indeed, if you listen to an audio recording, on the line “they’ll kill him with self-confidence” you’ll hear his voice catch, then, after "he was famous long ago” in the next verse, collapse altogether. The band then plough on without him until he gamely returns to give a tentative closing stanza before an extended play-out brings to an end both the tune and his ordeal. What makes this stranger still is that the same thing had happened in the same song in Melbourne just nine days before. It has been speculated that D’s distress related to the recent suicide of a former girlfriend (an American living in Sydney) called Carol Lopez. True or not, that’s no-one’s business but his. All the same, you’d be forgiven for wanting to see what the pictures tell. But the video here cuts into the song just as D begins the last verse and we get all of that and the play-out only. Footage is dark, close, steady but too late! Worse, through all of the succeeding Me Babe, D remains completely out of shot (with the taper appearing to mistake JJ for Bob). And double worse, through all eleven minutes of this Sydney sojourn, sound is dead in one channel, making for a miserable listening experience.

The most remarkable thing about the Luleå pro-shot footage is not its content - too brief and unremarkable to merit a second look - but its very existence. This show was the first of eleven in Europe during June and July of 1992 and if, beforehand, you’d asked 50,000 random Europeans to name Bob’s opening town or city it’s fairly certain that Luleå, Sweden would have found no takers. Just have a look at the map and see where it is. By my reckoning, it must be, at around 60 miles below the Arctic Circle, the most northerly gig he’s ever played. Must have reminded him of Minnesota - trees, wind, lakes, iron ore, lots of empty country. Talk about taking it to the people. In so many ways D’s a one-off - unique, without peer - and I daresay Luleåns fondly recall even now the day Bob came to town. Oh, and some Swedish TV producer can’t tell his H61 from his Thin Man...

The bulk of this DVD, from Dunkirk, is (to judge from the screenshots) separately available on D416.su. Between the recurring glitchy bits, the 42 minute, close, steady, unobstructed, nicely-coloured, hand-held (?) film we see here looks very good (see last screenshot). Audio, too, is enjoyable, though somewhat hissy during the acoustic LMZ/Briar pairing. But D looks tired and out-of-sorts, going on wasted, and not too much really excites. Four songs - Big Girl, a plodding What Good, LMZ and Hard Rain - are less than complete and Maggie’s is just a 30 second fragment. This take of its rare cover, Green Briar Shore, also features on D596 and (in notably better quality) D533, whilst the song’s previous and only other known performance (from Gothenburg two nights before) was also filmed and circulates on D064. Having said all that, it’s a slight and not especially memorable little thing (though Her eyes were lovin' blue is a winning line). And finally, in case you should wonder about the unearthly screeching that soars and swoops through the verses of Hard Rain, that’s Cesar Diaz on dobro. Bucky's night off?

THANKS Black Cat
STARS D591 is a bit like the DVD equivalent of Knocked Out Loaded - one great track plus too much iffy filler. Three.