Stuttgart, Germany (17-Jun-91)

IF YOU DONT BELIEVE THERES A PRICE FOR THIS SWEET PARADISE,
JUST REMIND ME TO SHOW YOU THE SCARS.
These are the words that Bob Dylan wrote in his song Where are you
tonight,that sprung to my mind when watching this painfull car crash
performance.
No doubt he reaped the rewards of being such a big star over the years,but Robert Zimmerman was now showing the scars of playing the part of Bob Dylan for the last 30 years.
In probaly the lowest point of his career,we see him wandering around the stage with a bewildered look on his face like someone in
an old peoples home with Alzheimers disease,not knowing who or what he was supposed to be doing up on that stage and why all those people in the audience were watching him.
I am going to give this dvd 5 stars and before you think that i must also have Alzheimers,let me explain my reason for doing so.
This is a must see dvd for every Dylan fan,as it will make us all
appreciate even more,a man who is the worlds greatest poet who
refused to die in the gutter and when it looked like he was finished,came back and gave us perfomances which no one could think possible after watching this.
The Supper club shows 93,Woodstock 94,the Roseland shows 94.
The magical 95 spring shows,indeed the whole of 95,what about his
performance of Restless Farewell at Frank Sinatras birthday and that duet with Patti Smith.
The great albums Time out of mind,Love and Theft and Modern times.
Then we have the all the great tours starting from the beginning of
1998 right through to the end of 2002,peak years with enough material to listen to and watch,to keep us all happy untill we are all ready for the old peoples home.
So watch this and be glad that Bob decided to keep on keeping on.
Essential viewing for every Bob Dylan fan.
5 Stars.

I needed to watch this. Yes, it was painful, but for me I need to see ALL of Bob even this and his broken trust with the audience. I love him even more. I kept asking to myself what, what what's wrong Bob?!?! Maybe I am off base but perhaps Bob was a tad tipsy. I COULD BE DEAD wrong! Bottom line: Painful but necessary watching.

Wow. I had a certain anticipation cueing this one up, after all there have been some pretty strong words written about it. Seems as if, from my point of view anyway, they were spot on.

For some reason I am reminded of the story on the back cover of John Wesley Harding - The part where one character asks 'How far in do you want to go' (or something) and the other says 'Just far enough to say I've been there'. That is the kind of semi-embarrassed voyeuristic feeling that I have watching this DVD - sort of like I'm watching Dylan doing something that I really have no right to be seeing.

One problem here is the interface between Dylan and the band. Seems like they are suffering from a similiar hangover as Dylan himself. (Perhaps something in the hotel water?) After an absolutely abysmal start to the show which apparantley sees Dylan unable to find the band's key for New Morning, he tries to settle down for Shelter from the Storm. He starts on his own with a respectable groove and a hint of conviction, and then the band comes in and steps all over him. What the hell was up with the guitarist on this show? It seems like one big amphetamine rush for him. The drummer seems to have one beat tonight - heavy.

I guess ultimately the responsibility for his backing band lies with Bobby Himself, but jeez, it would have been nice if he had just a little help from his friends... Clearly Dylan is not without blame for the shinanigans that unfold this night. His vocal efforts are, for greater part, pathetic. Again though, it is hard to tease out whether this is secondary to his apathy or because he is being choked by a backing band that appears to be more interested in establishing their own groove rather than buttressing Bob's efforts.

It is only slightly comforting that Dylan seems to understand how low the quality of work being performed is. Tonight has the feel of a jam session. Bob seems to acknowledge the lack of depth by his multiple, clearly sarcastic comments.

Trail of the Buffalo is a breath of fresh air, primarily beacause it is done with just one other acoustic quitar. Even here, the other guitar steps on what clearly wanted to be a more sensitive, nuanced performance. The annoying campfire background strumming worsens with It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, once again forcing Dylan into cookie cutter vocal delivery. Our Hero was never very good at forcing a square peg into a round hole. The lack of synergy, even downright musical antipathy between Dylan and band is showcased no more strongly than on Tambourine Man and Bob Dylan's Dream. I don't know enough details an facts 'n figures, but whoever this guitar sideman was I hope Bob and he soon parted ways. It is not that he can't play his axe - he clearly knows how - it is that he doesn't seem to know who he is playing with/for.

Negativity aside, the visual quality of this show is quite good. Steady shot, good lighting. The sound is clean, not muddy, although the mix is a little shy in the bass department.

At one point Bob introduces Wiggle Wiggle with some disparaging comment about it coming from his new Album. I think it must have been clear to D at this point, judging by the quality of the work on Under the Red Sky and this show in particular, that he was in need of new direction. Perhaps these were part of the forces that led him to do two albums of traditional, unaccompanied music. Whatever, other personal issues, illness, etc...pushed him further on down the road, it is nice to see that he had the resiliency to bounce back from the artistic doldrums that a place like this night showed him to be in.

I am at a bit of a loss as to how to rate this DVD. Certainly the quality of the performance barely merits a second star. On the other hand, watching this show certainly supplies valuable context if one is trying to piece together the mosaic that is Bob Dylan's long and checkered career. From this latter standpoint, the show is certainly worth viewing, if not actually having (read: coveting).

Well, context aside, the show still sucked. Two stars.

Thanks again to silentype.

Some people added "worst show ever" etiquette to this show and for me it was the best possible reccomendation.
But no, for me this show can`t be bad. Because of shows like this, I`m still interested in Bob Dylan`s music. He always did what he wanted, played his songs on his own way with his own interpretation. He is really enigma. Maybe it`s painfull when you listen something like that if you are fan of Dylan`s studio recordings, but it`s bootleg.

Very funny and weird show, definitely worth 4 stars, not 5 just because of very-shakey-camera-moments. But overall, on technical side, show is good enough (except first 2 minutes) for watching.