Bob Dylan - Berkeley 1988 (2020)

A 1988 tour in which Bob Dylan, who had been released in recent years, gave a resurgence of screams, although it was very popular for enthusiasts. This time, after a long time of release, the Ultra Audience Album captures the early stages of the tour with superb sound quality. The beginning of this tour was part of the 88 year tour, where the quality of the performance was high on average, and it was fun for Dylan to stand on stage with his own renewal and the lively performance of the new band. A time when it can’t be helped. In addition, there was a surprise that Neil Young participated as a guest guitarist in the three shows since the tour started.

The reason why he decided to go on to Dylan’s stage in succession was not revealed, but Neil also ended the straying Geffen record era and was about to return to Furusu Ripley’s record and try to regain himself. It’s interesting to note that the two legends were strangely resurrected at the same time, and that they could co-star on stage.

Among the three shows that Neil Young joined, the best items were released on Concord on June 7 and Mountain View on 11th, but I was not blessed with CD items 10 Berkeley of the day. Ironically, it was the two-disc “SAN FRANCISCO BAY BLUES” that recorded Berkeley’s show that was the earliest to realize the record from the 1988 tour where Neil participated in the LP era. However, only the items dropped from this LP were released in the CD era. This is also in the early 1990s, and it is natural that maniacs didn’t take it seriously even at that time.
However, no new items have appeared since then. Audience recordings with much higher sound quality than the previous LP (with the exception of “different recording than bootleg “SAN FRANCISCO BAY BLUES”) are also widely distributed among traders by transfer from the master tape. It wasn’t strange, considering that. It’s been almost 30 years (!) since the release of the usual LP, and now it’s hard to work on the situation that new items don’t appear, and finally the best version is released.

▽ At the time of this release, the original recording was the audience recording that lightly surpasses the sound quality of the above-mentioned LP. This sound quality is just amazing. It’s a sound image that is on even for free, and it’s almost like a sound board as Dylan’s singing voice approaches. It’s such a high quality 88th year audience recording that has been overlooked. In fact, the sound quality was so high that there was no need to equalize it at the time of release. Even in 1988, when it was a mass production year of a famous performance, it was too attractive to be able to hear the performance of the early tour that was full of momentum with a sound quality like a sound board.
According to the opening “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, not only the bands such as GE Smith who is the protagonist of this tour but also Dylan fully opened the engine. Riding on this momentum, the songs that have never been related to the stage repertoire such as “Joey” and “Absolutely Sweet Marie” are performed with plenty of momentum. This is 1988.
Furthermore, “San Francisco Bay Blues” has appeared in the acoustic corner where only Dylan and GE Smith, who have been highly acclaimed since then, are playing only two people. A folk cover played by Paul and Clapton in “Unplugged” appearances. The Dylan version is also 88 years old, and there is a track record that Neil Young’s performance with Bridge Benefit was released on the sound board in the past, but this performance and Dylan’s song are definitely better here. ..
Then, when the acoustic part ends, the band Neil Young appears. I think the first song he played was the blues-like selection “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry”. In fact, Neil also played the guitar solo to the fullest, and the audience was also very excited. When this became “Like A Rolling Stones”, Dylan shouted too vigorously, as if inspired by his guitar.

Lastly, the 88 year tour takes less time to play on stage than the Dylan tours up until then, and there is usually space to put in a bonus track. I will. All are rare repertoires from the August leg, two months after Berkeley, but first of all, “Seeing The Real You At Last” in LA. From that time, this song was praised as “a song that is perfect for a band on the 1988 tour,” but it was played only so many times, and the take of the day will be the first CD.
The next “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)” is an R&B cover that was unveiled in 1986. It is familiar to enthusiasts. However, the bonus version this time was a rare acoustic version that was shown at Carlsbad in 1988. This is the last live performance to date, and it has been released before because it is rare, but due to its accurate pitch and improved sound quality, it is unmatched by past items.
Finally, “She’s About A Mover” is the representative song of Doug Therm, who had been associated with Dylan since the 1960s, and the theme of the Therm himself jumped into the stage at Edmonton in Canada. Dylan himself will sing this song in memory after Zam died, but this is a very valuable take that Zam himself sang with Dylan and the band in the background. Moreover, the tune is suitable for the 88 band, and it is recorded from a rare audience recording that is not readily available among traders. In this way, in addition to the finest sound source of the main part, if the precious performance is added to the bonus and it is too luxurious, this is definitely a masterpiece representing the 1988 tour. Maniah, thank you for waiting.

Tracklist
Disc 1 (50:58)
1. Intro
2. Subterranean Homesick Blues
3. Joey
4. Absolutely Sweet Marie
5. Watching The River Flow
6. Tangled Up In Blue
7. Masters Of War
8. San Francisco Bay Blues
9. Boots Of Spanish Leather
10. Lakes Of Pontchartrain

Disc 2 (57:54)
1. The Times They Are A-Changin’
2. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (with Neil Young)
3. In The Garden (with Neil Young)
4. Gates Of Eden (with Neil Young)
5. Like A Rolling Stone (with Neil Young)
6. Applause
7. Rank Strangers To Me
8. Everybody’s Movin'(with Neil Young)
9. Maggie’s Farm (with Neil Young)

Bonus Tracks
Greek Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, USA 3rd August 1988
10. Seeing The Real You At Last
Sammis Pavilion, Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, CA, USA 6th August 1988
11. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)
Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AB, Canada 24th August 1988
12. She’s About A Mover (Doug Sahm on lead vocal)