Dylan Alive Vol. 2 notes: English translation Date: 1999/05/21 Author: Glynne Walley ÊÊPosting History Long ago I said I'd provide a translation of the Japanese liner notes to this, so here goes. Ê I don't think these contain info that hasn't already been posted over the last couple of years here, so this will probably only be of interest to those who get a copy of this.Ê Hopefully, it will be widely available elsewhere as an import.Ê So, clip 'n' save :) Ê If you're not interested, just close your eyes and it'll all be over with soon :) Ê Notes:Ê any quote here is my translation from the Japanese, which was translated from the English.Ê Anybody with the original quote ready at hand is more than welcome to correct me.Ê Also, there were several names I didn't recognize:Ê anything followed by a [?] is one where I'm not sure of the spelling. Ê Ê Interestingly, the lyrics are included in Japanese translation--but not in English.Ê Usually Japanese releases include both.Ê I wonder if this is because Dylan has not allowed the lyrics to the TOOM tracks to be published (except in the songbook). Ê ________________ Ê "I was really happy to make this record with Daniel Lanois.Ê I think we really understand each other.Ê Before the songs were finished, before we started recording, we talked a lot about what kind of sound we wanted the record to have.Ê There's a lot of people who listen to my records and only pay attention to the lyrics, but with this one I want people to listen to the music.Ê Not to analyze the words, but to pay attention to the performances themselves.Ê I want people to feel this record more than to think about it."Ê --Bob Dylan, from the press release for Time Out Of Mind Ê 1.Ê Not Dark Yet from the album Time Out Of Mind Musicians: Bob Dylan:Ê guitar, vocal Daniel Lanois:Ê producer, guitar (Martin, Gretch) Bucky Baxter:Ê pedal steel Robert Britt:Ê guitar (Martin, Fender Stratocaster) Cindy Cashdollar:Ê slide guitar Tony Garnier:Ê bass Auggie Meyers:Ê keyboards (Vox organ, Hammond organ) JIm Dickenson:Ê keyboards (Wurlitzer electric piano) Jim Keltner:Ê drums Brian Blade:Ê drums Recorded at Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, January 1997. Ê "I was born here and I'll die here, against my will...it's not dark yet, but it's getting there," sings the protagonist of this song:Ê he's reached the end of his life and he's looking back over his past.Ê The beautiful melody and atmospheric production are certainly impressive, but listeners will be asking themselves:Ê is the protagonist in this song Dylan himself? Ê Producer/musician Daniel Lanois was born in Quebec, Canada, September 19, 1951.Ê Rolling Stone magazine has praised him as "the greatest record producer to emerge during the '80s."Ê He produced U2 albums with Eno in '84, '87, and '91, which made his name known around the world.Ê In addition, he has produced albums by Peter Gabriel ('86 and '92), Robbie Robertson ('87), the Neville Brothers ('89), Emmylou Harris ('95), Willie Nelson ('98), the Brian Blade Fellowship ('98), and of course Dylan's own Oh Mercy in '89. Also, he has released three solo albums, Acadie ('89), For The Beauty Of Wynona ('93), and Sling Blade OST ('96), plus the video Rocky World ('93). Ê Dylan and Lanois met as a result of Lanois' work on an album by the Neville Brothers which included a cover of Dylan's "With God On Our Side."Ê When Dylan heard this track, he was so impressed that he approached Lanois about producing his album.Ê Lanois, a French Canadian, had been into folk music since his childhood, and so the music he produced tended toward acoustic-based, traditional soundscapes.Ê Most likely this sensibility was something he and Dylan had in common. Ê Speaking of Dylan's new album, Time Out Of Mind, Lanois says, "I think we were able to produce something with a kind of depth we haven't heard for a while.Ê There's a kind of depth in the up-front sounds and the sounds in the background.Ê I think it's artistically very accomplished, but also without losing the sense of humor that runs through the whole thing." Ê Auggie Meyers is a veteran musician who played in the Sir Douglas Quintet in the '70s with Texan Doug Sahm, who himself recorded with Dylan;Ê in the '90s he's been active with the Texas Tornados.Ê He's around roughly the same age as Dylan.Ê He has two solo albums out:Ê Live At The Longneck and My Main Squeeze. Ê JIm Dickenson is a Memphis-based musician and producer who has been a big name on the rock scene for over 30 years.Ê He has produced albums by Ry Cooder, the Replacements, and the Texas Tornados, among others, and as a keyboardist he has recorded with the likes of Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Johnny Cash, and Arlo Guthrie.Ê He has also recorded an album with his two sons.Ê With Ry Cooder, he is the co-composer of the song "Across the Borderline," which Dylan has sung many times on stage. Ê Dickenson first heard of Dylan in 1961, when his friend Carolyn Hester lent him a tape of Dylan's debut album prior to its release.Ê He became an instant fan.Ê "No matter what I was doing, I would always have been willing to drop it if Dylan called," says Dickenson, so these sessions must have been a long-time fan's dream come true.Ê About these sessions, he says: "Dylan and Lanois recorded it in an odd way, using three bands playing in the studio at once.Ê There was only one bass, but for all the other instruments, there were always several musicians playing at once.Ê Not only that, each musician was playing an instrument that was not their specialty. I think the album's interesting, surprising sound is a result of that." Ê Dickenson has also released two solo albums:Ê A Thousand Footsteps In The Sand and Dixie Fried. Ê Robert Britt is a guitarist active on the country music scene.Ê He has played on an album by Etta Britt [?] and is active as a member of McBride and Ride [?]. Ê Bucky Baxter joined the Never Ending Tour band in 1992, playing pedal steel, lap steel, mandolin, dobro, etc.Ê Before joining Dylan's band, he backed several country rock musicians, such as Steve Earle.Ê After the addition of Baxter, Dylan's sound began to take on more of a country flavor;Ê Baxter also added a keyboard-like fullness to the sound.Ê He has played with Dylan on MTV Unplugged and The Songs Of Jimmie Rodgers.Ê He is presently putting together a solo album. Ê Cindy Cashdollar has worked behind John Herald [?] and Happy Traum, and now she is active in Asleep At The Wheel.Ê She played in Japan in 1998.Ê She has also released two instructional videos detailing her steel guitar western swing technique. Ê Bass player Tony Garnier joined the Never-Ending Tour band in 1989 and has stayed with Bob ever since, making him the longest-serving member of Dylan's backing band.Ê In addition to playing bass, he also functions as bandleader on stage.Ê In other words, his role is to help realize Dylan's musical ideas.Ê Before joining Dylan's band, Garnier had been a member of Asleep At The Wheel, followed by tours with Robert Gordon and Buster Poindexter;Ê he also worked as a studio musician in New York. Ê Drums are basically handled by Jim Keltner and Brian Blade.Ê Keltner and Dylan go back a long way.Ê Since his first appearance with Dylan on the 1971 single "Watching The River Flow," he has gone on to play with Dylan on the albums Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid ('73), Saved ('80), Shot Of Love ('81), Empire Burlesque ('85), Traveling Wilburys Volume 1 ('88), and Traveling Wilburys Volume 3 ('90), as well as drumming in Dylan's tour band for a while. Ê Brian Blade is a 27 year old Louisianan.Ê In jazz circles, he's considered one of the most promising and cutting-edge drummers around.Ê He has played and toured with the likes of Ellis Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and Kenny Garrett.Ê Outside of jazz, he has also backed Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, and Joni Mitchell.Ê In 1998 he formed the six-member Brian Blade Fellowship, which released an eponymous debut album on Blue Note. Ê Ê As an aside, it has been rumored that several promotional videos have been shot for the album Time Out Of Mind, including one for the epic "Highlands," but so far all that have been released are the video for "Not Dark Yet," filmed in a New Orleans club, and Dylan's live performance of "Love Sick" at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Ê The remaining three cuts on this single are important live recordings that see their first official release on this Japanese version.Ê There was a European "Not Dark Yet" CD single released as well, which also included three live recordings, but they were different songs from this release.Ê For the record, the songs on the European version were "Tombstone Blues," "Ballad Of A Thin Man," and "Boots Of Spanish Leather," all taken from the August 3-4, 1996, shows at the House of Blues in Atlanta, Georgia. Ê In the absence of official information from the record company, I will set down the information provided on the internet website www.bobdylan.com . According to the same source, the backing band consists of Larry Campbell (guitar), Bucky Baxter (pedal steel), Tony Garnier (bass), and David Kemper (drums). Ê 2.Ê Boots Of Spanish Leather Live at the SECC Arena, Glasgow (UK), June 21, 1998 Ê The original version of this song is on 1964's The Times They Are A-Changin'.Ê The original is just Dylan and his acoustic guitar, but here he sings it with his full band, backed by guitar, mandolin, bass and drums. Ê Dylan wrote this song when his girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo (the girl with Dylan on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan), went away to Italy. Famously, at the same time, Dylan happened to tour Italy with Odetta, but unfortunately he wasn't able to meet Suze. Ê This song has made frequent appearances in the set list of the Never Ending Tour ever since its inception in 1988.Ê In the last ten years, it has already been sung close to 190 times. Ê 3.Ê Tears Of Rage Live in Madison Square Garden, New York, January 17, 1998 Ê The original version of this song was recorded in 1967 and released in 1975 on the album The Basement Tapes.Ê But since The Band had also recorded it on their 1968 debut album, Music From Big Pink, fans were already familiar with the tune well before the official release of Dylan's version.Ê The tune was cowritten with the late Richard Manuel of The Band, Dylan writing the words and Manuel composing the melody. Ê This tune doesn't show up in the set list very often, having only been performed about 50 times in ten years.Ê Perhaps that's why Dylan begins singing the second verse again when he gets to the third verse. Ê 4.Ê Senor Live at the Plaza Napoleone, Lucca (Italy), July 6, 1998 Ê The original version of this song appears on the 1978 album Street-Legal. Dylan played his first Japanese concerts in February of 1978, and I can remember him playing this song, at that point still unreleased, several times in soundchecks at Budokan. Ê This song was hardly ever performed in the early years of the Never-Ending Tour, but it began to appear occasionally starting in 1994.Ê Incidentally, 1994 was the year Dylan really started playing lead parts on the electric guitar.Ê Dylan's unique syncopated lead style can be heard here, too. Ê Ê Note 1:Ê The official Bob Dylan website www.bobdylan.com Ê In 1997, the official Bob Dylan website was opened.Ê This site, overseen by Dan Levy by request of Sony Music, has become an indispensable source of information for Dylan fans.Ê In addition to news, concert schedules, ticket sales, and merchandising, the site also allows fans to listen to unreleased live performances.Ê There can't be too many sites like that out there.Ê As evidence of that, Yahoo selected bobdylan.com as the best music site.Ê In particular, it is extremely unusual to be able to hear unreleased live songs on an official record company webpage.Ê Since its inception, there have already been nearly 30 recordings that have appeared, so it's worth checking regularly.Ê Just to give you an idea, here are the songs that were up on the website at this writing (March 1999): Ê "Across The Borderline"Ê 11/3/98, Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY "I Believe In You"Ê 11/3/98, Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY "Little Moses" 9/2/92 Historic Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis, MN "The Times We've Known (Les Bons Moments)"Ê 11/1/98 Madison Square Garden, NYC "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" 6/12/98m Stadtpark, Hamburg "Shake Sugaree" 12/1/97 the Roxy, Atlanta, GA "Rank Strangers" 7/5/98, La Scalinata, Rome "Friend Of The Devil" 5/31/98, Frankenstadion, Nurenberg "Newry Highwayman" 6/19/98, Botanic Gardens, Belfast "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" 5/17/66, Free Trade Hall, Manchester "I And I" 7/1/98 Forum, Dijon "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" 6/2/98, Messehalle, Leipzig Ê Ê Note 2:Ê Recent information about Dylan Ê The Never-Ending Tour, which began in 1988, continues today in its 11th year.Ê Already in February Dylan played the American South, while in April he tours Spain and other points in Europe, and in June he plans an American tour with Paul Simon. Ê Fans are waiting for a follow-up to the Grammy-winning Time Out Of Mind, but there has been no word of any new recording.Ê However, January saw the release of the soundtrack to an NBC television miniseries "The Sixties," which included Dylan singing a duet of "Chimes Of Freedom" with Joan Osborne (recorded in December 1998). Ê Dylan was first nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997, and this year will be nominated for the third straight year.Ê Will Dylan become a Nobel Prize recipient? Ê According to information from Sony Music, the three albums "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," "Highway 61 Revisited," and "Oh Mercy" are scheduled for rerelease in the near future in remastered versions with bonus tracks. Ê Heckel Sugano