Bob Dylan 2001.05.01 in Asheville, NC
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan Subject: Ashville Review From: don freeman dfreem@home.com Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 23:50:56 GMT I was not one of the fortunate few to be at the May Day 2001 Ashville show, but when I listen to the cd of it, I can imagine I am at the concert with a few wet towels wrapped over my ears, sitting on the back of the floor of the Ashville Civic Center. Listening to the opening "Roving Gambler," I can also imagine I am a Sony record executive, listening to the tapes of the show, and planning a live album that captures the current Bob Dylan concert experience. "This Roving Gambler" is as good as any opener I've heard, the "daugher, oh dear daughter" verse working very nicely, and by the poker game, he's hitting a few notes I've never heard before. The instrumental needs work, and some of the phrasing's a little off, but for a live album, it's certainly a good enough to start.. But the idea of releasing the whole Ashville concert stops, for me, with the second song, "Mr. Tambourine Man." Okay, this is a bit better than usual, but singing such a great song in this shlocky manner still doesn't work for me at all. In fact, the performance feels like a minor desecration. "Tambourine Man" is maybe Dylan's first great poetic song, and he should only sing it as if he means it. True, the performance is starting to morph into Dylan's new jazz shlock routine, though for me, that's not a good thing. Mind you, I can sort of see how Dylan fans like this version, and get into the fun of it, and don't feel they have to be purists when it comes to the singing of this song. To recover from "Mr. Tambourine Man," Dylan has to pull out his greatest song , "Visions of Johanna," and this performance works well almost all the way through. There's moments of great singing here, and the whole arrangement is quite strong, and the power of the song does all the rest. Even the three note instrumental moves into some interesting melodiic places. It's a pretty great performance, but it makes the concert peak a bit too soon. "Maggie's Farm" follows, and it rocks, and lyrically it's a fitting concert song, but there's still something a bit tired about it. I think I've heard the song in concert too much. "Where Teardrops Fall," shows Dylan is always capable of writing a pop song, but I never got into this song when it first came out, and I doubt I'm ever going to get into it now. I don't find the singing very strong here at all either. "Stuck Insiide of Mobile" is always nice to hear, and the arrangement seems to have settled down a lot, and it's quite spirited. . Like" Visions of Johanna," the lyrics carry the song, but here, the singing is a bit flat. "John Brown" sounds good, but this song is too one-dimensional for me to want to hear it much. It was a treat when it appeared on "Unplugged," but it's not needed for two live albums in a row. "It Ain't Me, Babe," has a great arrangement, though I've heard it better in concerts a few months back. This version is a bit overblown. Also, that harp solo is pretty interminable, not up to recording standards at all. "The return of Tangled Up in Blue," , is a real treat, and I think it's essential to the current concert experience. This version is as good as any. "Searching For a Soldier's Grave" sounds good to me. Maybe I just have a soft spot for this old timey music, but I'd put this one on the album too. And I know I incure a lot of wrath when I say this, but I really don't much like "Standing in the Doorway." The melody, the tone, and the theme - not of it really moves me. I hate that line, "Don't know if I saw you/ if I would kiss you or kill you/ It probably wouldn't matter to you anyhow." We have to face it, the line is misogynist. Even if it's aimed at either sex, it's not saying much about the sanctity of life. Admittedly, the performance of "Standing in the Doorway" gets stronger as the song goes on, but too much of the singing is hokey. This one is not a keeper for me. And that's where my cd ends, before "Wicked Messenger," "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat" and the eight song encore. So far, I'd say we've got a few good tracks for the concert album, but we're not done yet. Onward to Telluride, Colorado.
