Philadelphia, PA (16-Dec-95)

a one song review:

the Patti Smith duet from the 16th is a must have, get it on this DVD or on one of the several compilations which include it. Patti's double take after the second refrain is priceless, looks like she's thinking 'is this really happening? did he really just gaze at me like that? is this for real?'
honestly, this performance is one of the most emotional, moving, and beautiful that i've seen on any Dylan DVD.

This DVD is really pleasant to watch. There is the typical detritus to wade through: Occasional glitches in video quality, rolling seas of heads and a couple of cuts, but these problems are minor and eminently forgivable. They are worth enduring so that we can get a very palatable portion of top shelve Dylan.

Bob presents paricularly well on this video. He seems to be focused and aligned with both the moment and the legacy which he leaves even as he moves through the moment. He does not appear rushed nor does does he let down his energy level. Tonight I get a sense that the band, hot, tasty, and refined as they are, are more of a backdrop to provide texture to Dylan's work. Particularly the acoustic portion: Tambourine Man, Masters of War, Love Minus Zero, and Dark Eyes (w/Patti Smith) shine. It is nice to see the command he demonstrates over these songs - there is no sense of a hack covering his own tunes, rather they sound alive - like they are floating and he is breathing new life into them. This is particularly true of his encore rendition of Hard Rain. This one would stand up to any rendition out there on record. Just a lovely reading. He knows it, and so do we.

Patti Smith delivers a reverent and impassioned performance. Dylan is clearly moved by it, which we don't get a chance to see that often.

Technical concerns nearly drove me to downgrade to four stars here, but then again, the sound is clean and you can always just close your eyes and enjoy.

Five stars - thanks to silentype