Toulouse, France (21-Jun-81)

SHOT OF BRILLIANCE!

GENERAL COMMENTS: Great performance from a great, albeit controversial period in Bob's life. Some of the best footage I have seen from this era yet. Sound overall is good but peaks here and there.

SONG-BY-SONG BREAKDOWN
Come on in this house: Only stillshots of the back-up singers for the first half who sound great actually. Some footage of singers is seen in the second half of the song. No sign of Dylan visually or audiowise here - Dylan liked to come out on stage at the conclusion of the first song or so on the '81 and '78 tours (any maybe other ones I don't know of).
Gotta Serve Somebody: Nice bass-pumping version - very similar to the version on Slow Train Coming actually except for the additional (killa) driving guitar power chords and cymbal smashes. Dylan's vocals are unfortunately way too buried in the mix. So far, although pretty poor by today's standards, this is still probably some of the best footage you are likely to see from the '81 tour to date.
I believe in you: Lovely vocal delivery and overall, the original mellow blend of the song has been maintained even though the song has undergone a serious facelift. Still prefer the version with the acoustic slightly better (see The Gospel Years etc.).
Like a Rolling Stone: Oh, no here we go with more stillshots again - shame 'cos the audio sounds mighty fine. Very good although the bass levels seem to peak a bit here. Footage kicks in somewhere after the first verse. Sound cuts out temporarily towards the end but then comes back rather quickly. Overall, lovely version though.
Man gave names to all the animals: Stillshots again for about the first 50 seconds for this great children's song for Christian communities (not being facetious). Fade-in image brings us back to Bobby and our taper takes a little while to settle into a comfortable angle and image of Mr. D but when he does, it remains pretty consistent. He zooms in on the keys - that looks like Billy Preston perhaps? If so, what a choice for a keyboard player. (By the way, if you haven't checked it out already, have a look at Billy Preston's playing on the Concert for George DVD - wicked).
Ballad of a Thin Man: Bob really lets loose and lays into this one. Sounds great as usual - a song I never get sick of. Bob does a lot of gesturing with his hands in this song (pointing / gesticulating mostly) and even plays around with his guitar at one point.
ACOUSTIC
Girl from the North Country: Very emotional and heartfelt version - great. Not quite as good as the Avignon version which would follow four days later but definitely one of the highlights of the concert. The piano playing on this song is simply stunning, to the point where at the end of the song, you don't know whether the audience is applauding Dylan or the pianoman - probably both.
Dead man, dead man:
Dylan: "Does anybody out there speak English?"
French audience: "Yeah"
Dylan: "This is off an album we just did (Shot of Love) - it's called Dead man, dead man, when will you arise...."
Another song off Shot of Love which works really well live. This is the song with the "bird's nest in your hair" line in it which accurately reflects Dylan's hairstyle at the time. Watch Tim Drummond grooving along on his bass here. This is definitely another highlight.
We just disagree: Quite good although the band seems to muff the ending a bit.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door: Personal favorite - here we are treated to a nice reggae version of a timeless song.
Slow Train Comin': Wonderful. Live version seems to have more 'oomph/drive' than the album version. This is an example of one of his songs that 'makes more sense' when it is played live if it doesn't when you hear it first time around. Dylan seems a little peeved at the gospel singers here so he seems to be telling them to sing out more (shakes his head - obviously not happy).
Walking around heaven all day: Not bad but nothing divine about it by any means (sorry, bad pun)
Lenny Bruce: Great version of a great song about one very funny man with a message. One of those classic songs that (according to Dylan) only took him five minutes to write just like it only took Neil Young five minutes to write Mr. Soul (see Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968 for exact quote). Here's the first song we see with Dylan minus the shades.
TUNE-UP
Mr. Tambourine Man: Very similar to the the '78 version (minus the flutes, replaced by organ). Very, very good. Nice way to round off the DVD.
VERDICT: In light of the fact that there is very little decent footage that has survived from this era to the present and given the quality of the audio and the performance, a strong four stars I must say.........
More consistent footage (i.e. less stillshots) would have made this an easy five.
Thx to showtheworld for this one - you are a champion.
Go out & get this one - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.