Through The Years LIVE Vol. 2

I don't hand out five star reviews very often or very easily, but I'm doing so on this stellar project.

I watched TTY Live Vol. 1 and enjoyed it, more or less. It felt like an interesting hodgepodge, quality viewing, but less so to me than entire shows. But on this second volume, Vygi has really outdone himself.

The video quality is consistently brilliant (well, save for "Hazel", which is still enthralling as a historical document, as noted by the previous reviewer), the audio is great, and most impressive to me, many of the performances are culled from semi-obscure sources.

It may just be my particular collection, but it seemed to me that many of the standouts on TTYL2 were from shows I'd never seen, nor heard much about. The Essex Junction 1988 "One Too Many Mornings" is a perfect example. My mind was blown-- I couldn't believe there actually IS footage from 1988 that is this close and watchable, and with excellent sound as well. Or consider "Love Sick" from New Haven, CT in 1999. That's a show I have seen, but Vygi is wise to include it, because it's fairly obscure, but absolutely outstanding.

This disc is what the compilation medium should be-- a sampler that has made me want to go out and find about a dozen new shows for my collection. While TTYL1 is enjoyable, it's TTYL2 that is a rock-solid addition to essential Dylan DVDs.

Absolutely, unquestionably, five stars.

Sometimes you put in a Bob DVD and the adrenaline rush begins right away - it doesn't happen always or even frequently because so often audience shot Bob video is just that audience shot, but sometimes the person filming gets everything just right not to mention things go the filmer's way; not too many heads - people around him or her are quiet - they have good equipment and are close enough that the distance factor isn't a problem and this DVD captures so many of those adrenaline moments - sure Hazel from The Last Waltz isn't the clearest but come on it sounds TERRIFIC plus that is most certainly Bob (gotta love that hat and the wild hair!!!) and The Band down there and man unlike the actual film of this concert which is an EVENT in and of itself (yes I love it obviously) the way this camera person is shooting well the angle is a strikingly strange one and really does captures the real intimacy between these players - I loved it I really did and it doesn't let up nope just keeps going as Bob in many different fashion statements over the years and through the mud knocks us down over and over and over and over and over again - find someone who has this and beg, plead, do whatever is necessary to have them make a copy for you because if you want to know why Bob is the exemplary performer he is and how it is he's still out there heading for another joint well slip this DVD in and you will be left in awe and delighted and amused and truly left wanting - needing and yes desiring MORE!!!!!! I truly can not wait for VOLUME THREE AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

finally i got this wonderful DVD. first of all i must say that i haven't seen the volume 1, so i was unaware of how good this series was. and it's simply amazing.

the image quality is really great in almost every song, and in some cases it's the greatest quality you can imagine for an audience recording. the audio quality is not far behind, although it varies, but it is really good.

maybe some of the performances are not the best around, but you forget about that when you see how Bob and the band(s) are enjoying themselves playing them.

there's so many highlights on this DVD that it's imposible to choose one above the rest. you will get a beautyfully sung "What Can I Do For You", an amazing "One Too Many Mornings", the rare "Peace In The Valley", a great filmed "It Ain't Me Babe".....and so on.

and finally, a special mention to "Hazel". yes, this song has the worst picture quality of this set, but it's such a great performance and such a "rare" recording that it doesn't matter how bad the picture quality is, just enjoy this unique recording.

thanks to Robin (stoked) for sending this to me....but i have a problem, after watching this DVD now i NEED all the DVDs from which this songs are taken from ;-D

I finally got a chance to watch this DVD, and I loved it. Hazel was a bit fuzzy, but it's always hard to believe that people were actually at that show. It seems so mythical on The Last Waltz DVD. This was awesome and it was great to see the Band. Dylan did a cool vocal version of What Can I Do For You, along with the usual great harp solo. His vocals were dead-on for John Brown, and the accoustic One Too Many Mornings was worth the price of admission!

Dylan fulfilled his desire to be like Elvis that he mentioned in Chronicles Vol. 1 with a great Peace in the Valley. He was having a blast on I Want You, smiles everywhere, wild strumming. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues featured Dylan just holding the mic center stage with incredibly focused vocals. We got great guitar solos by Larry on I and I and Love Sick, and by Charlie on Blind Willie McTell. And of course, Bob was no slouch on the guitar either, especially on Simple Twist and Love Sick. And if you think it's possible to have a great, growling vocal, it's there on Jokerman. Bob's having so much fun on many of these performances. It's a priceless collection. Many thanks to all the tapers and Vygi.

This compilation is a useful "sampler platter." If you see something you like, you can try to get the show it's from. The sound quality of every song is excellent. The only tune I would have left off is the Last Waltz performance of "Hazel." Although the live version is better than the "Planet Waves" take, the footage is too distant and fuzzy to sustain one's interest. I really enjoyed "What Can I Do For You." It's sung in a way I've never heard before. During "All Along the Watchtower" the camera zooms in painfully close to Bob's indescribably sorrowful face, which appears ready to slip right off his skull. He looks like the living exception to the old saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Mercifully, this song is followed by a spirited performance of "Jokerman" from the next year. The manic energy and joy he conveys makes you wonder if he discovered the fountain of youth.
The one bit of constructive criticism I have about this DVD is that there are too many slow songs strung together in a row. Bob, like other performers, alternates slow tempo tunes with faster ones. You can link two or more fast songs with each other but two or more slow songs in succession will put people to sleep.
Thank you Vygi for making this disc. I am looking forward to future volumes.

As with the first volume of this the quality varies but a great sampler none the less. There are some really good performances that have good sound and are filmed nicely. Some of the highlights for me are “Maggie’s Farm” which has excellent sound; “Hazel” from The Last Waltz concert is ironically probably the best sound but the worst picture quality. JLAW has good sound and Bob really seems to be into “I Want You”. “It Ain’t Me Babe” is really of the highest quality for an audience filmed concert as is “Everything is Broken”. There is, I think, a rare version of “Hey Joe” and “Tom Thumb’s Blues” where he is sans guitar. The film of “All Along The Watchtower” is hard to watch, too many heads bobbing and swaying around although the performance itself is really good. Again this is a good sampler to help hone in on the videos you like the best and also shows just how much he’s aged and how his voice has changed; for better or worse is a personal preference.

Thanks again to nappyrags for sharing!

I got this DVD last tuesday through my first Dylan-tree-experience (thanx again, mzduck! ) and it´s been in my DVD-player for three days in row. Right now I´m far too excited to write a review - let me just share how much I enjoyed every single performance on this compilation.
The picture and sound quality is pristine and the selection of songs is taking you on a wonderful warp through time and space. I watched it on a video projector with a 5.1 system with a bunch of friends and it just blew us away. There are some moments on this disc that come very close to attending a concert ( I WANT YOU and the marvellous TOM THUMB`S BLUES ). Never being too much a friend of audience videos this sweet thang really got my and it left me longing for TTY live part 1. Cheers to Vygi and thanks to everybody who was involved. It´s intense!

A true labour of love this is, maybe even "better" than the first volume of the series (one would like to have some new superlatives here - when "TTY live # 1" is already the best, this could be the "bestest") ... Again it provides a huge journey in time and place through Dylan´s live performances from the early ´80s to the present. One becomes aware of the many different aspects of his presence on stage and is thrown deeply into the rolling waves of his performing art. Each song/track opens up a different treasure vault. To highlight single performances seems rather futile to me, since each can provide you with that strong and splendid insight into Dylan´s art at work (even though it´s too hard not to point to an incredibly intimate "Just Like a Woman" from Rotterdam 1984 or a truly wild and fiery "I Want You" from the last London show in 1990). Again most of the tracks have received special audio treatment - the original video camera sound has been exchanged with a far superior one which could hardly be better. It´s nothing but a rewarding pleasure to watch and listen to this DVD.