Frankfurt (28-Sep-87)

THREE STARS FOR VIDEO QUALITY. AN EASY FOUR AND A HALF FOR AUDIO.
A few general comments first. Excellent quality audio overall. During this film, many heads and hands of fans hinder our view of Mr. D. during a variety of songs and in general the video is pretty shakey and the lighting is pretty dark. Having said that, we must be grateful to our taper regardless, as any footage is better than none. Most of the footage focuses on Dylan with the occasional few snippets of Tom Petty and others. Dylan is clad in some very interesting attire this evening, swathed in a Shroud of Turin-like cape (perhaps to keep out the cold?)and what looks to be a high-school tie for a headband.
As for the performance, overall it is very good, though perhaps not quite as good as his performance at Lucarno, Switzerland.
DISC ONE: The concert opens with a very solid version of LARS and Maggie's Farm which showcases some very nice lead guitar work. The pace of the concert then winds down a little into a nice delicate version of Twist of Fate, followed by a nice grooving Shot of Love. I really like what Dylan has done with this song. Then, perhaps the most surprising song of the night and a personal favourite - Licence to Kill. However, this version seems to lack a certain 'punch' that the original Infidels version has. Whenever I hear the Infidels version it gives me shivers down my spine. What perhaps ruins it is a little too much backup singer overkill....? Then comes a decent version of Thin Man and then the first real gem of the night - a very nice Tomorrow is a Long Time with a great vocal by Dylan accompanied by some touching organ and acoustic guitar strains. This is followed by a lovely harmonica opening to Shelter from the Storm (for all those that say Dylan can't play harmonica - yes there are some such detractors around believe it or not - I dare you to say it again after listening to this or Dylan's harmonica solo on What Can I Do For You? from Saved - possible his best harmonica performance ever). Dylan really puts his heart into this one, maybe because it "is the story of [his] life" (I'm quoting Dylan's very words from his concert at Nurnberg 1978). By this stage, the viewer starts to feel a little motion drunk / queasy from the shakiness of the camera, probably at its worst during You Gotta Serve Somebody. Then possibly the biggest surprise of the night - a very tight version of Clean Cut Kid with some great pianowork (who is that on the piano I wonder?). Knockin' on Heaven's Door is cut about halfway through which melts straight into Rainy Day Women containing very fiery vocals and lead guitar throughout. Disc One closes with the nice punchy reggae sounds of Dead Man, Dead Man. End of Side One. Please change discs.
DISC TWO: This DVD contains some fairly nice footage of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This DVD closes with a relatively nice German documentary on Dylan although some of the computer graphics used throughout are pretty cheesy.
Overall, I would like to give this one more but it's let down by the shakiness and darkness of picture. Four and a half stars for audio but only three for visuals. This one deserves to be in every collection simply because of the great quality of the audio. Huge thanks to johnharding95 for this one!