Expecting Rain

“Our evil and our good are getting closer together… we’ve become so sophisticated, you can barely tell one from the other.” ~ Alfred Hitchcock

I just came across this quote by Alfred Hitchcock and was reminded of the last lines of Ring Them Bells.

They're breaking down the distance between right and wrong.

^
Boy that's true.
The Supper Club version is primo. (The Supper Club all around is primo)

^Would make an wonderful Official Bootleg Series release...


Ring Them Bells is such a beautiful song. After hearing the recent What Good Am I? I'd love to hear him roll it out for the next leg of this year's tour.

Great track, both versions on TTS (Supper Club and piano only) beat the somewhat spacey album version. To me, this song feels somewhat like a prayer.

For me, this song reached its zenith in that powerhouse year of 1995. The song
had been lived in for awhile at that point and had achieved the grandiosity it was capable of in the year prior at Nara:

http://arthurfromholland.blogspot.com/2 ... -nara.html

Prior to that incredible performance, Bob had selected the song to be part of his famed Supper Club
set and it's an extraordinary rendition...sensitively sung and spiritually attuned, it's a quiet masterpiece...

http://njnnetwork.com/2010/03/ring-them ... bob-dylan/ (For video, scroll down...)

But for my money, these two previous performances were stepping stones which led to this one.
In 1995, Bob had full control of his voice and his band at the time was
just as strong & at the top of their game along with him...
He only did the song 4 times that year and this was the second and easily the best:

Dublin Ireland
April 11 1995
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7gttn8

Thank you for the Ireland link. That indeed is special.

marker, one of these days you or somebody is going to have to compile your list of track talk live recommendations. If not a lengthy comp--at least we'll have the reference list. Prior to listening to this one from Dublin in 1995, my favorite non-Supper Club/Nara version was from Ames, Iowa, in the fall of 2002. But this one's better. Nice show too-always had it, but never had really given it a real listen.

I second this.

Yes, so much good stuff.

Just came across the first live outing of this song from back in 1989.
Perhaps the only time Bob ever performed the song solo on the piano.
well, Chris Parker provides some percussion, but that's it...
It's a deeply moving rendition with a gorgeous reading by Bob.
Listening to this song in this manner makes me really wish he's pull
this out now and try it this way again in 2016:

Poughkeepsie NY
October 20 1989
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/4a3xp6k ... -89%29.mp3

Does anyone still have that hyped Dublin 1995 shows? It's not even on A-Z...

New contender for "best Ring them bells" (besides Supper Club): Slovenia 1999. (Can't believe I missed that one all this time)

Here's a lovely one.
From 2005, this version is very interesting in that Bob does this odd
thing with the audience (and maybe even the band) where after every verse, the band institutes
a holding pattern that stops the song in its tracks and allows everyone to anticipate the next verse or chorus.
It's such a great move on this song (he's done it to lesser effect before ex. Sugar Baby 2009) because that chorus
is so powerful, it explodes here following the third verse. Bob was in great voice in 05 and this might be one of the finer
takes of this song. Denny's two verses of solo are really lovely and strangely, they close out the song wonderfully.
The third of three times he did this song in 2005:

Erfurt Germany
November 6 2005
http://www.mediafire.com/file/57zhuwoth ... -06%29.mp3

And I don't have the whole show, but here's the Dublin 1995 rendition for you, Anr Bjotk:):

Dublin Ireland
April 11 1995
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zmfct8rl4 ... _Bells.mp3

This 31st ever "RING THEM BELLS", which was also the latest performance of this gem to date, was definitely the high point of the entire show, which I witnessed at the front of the stage on that glorious Sunday.

It was only the 8th time Bob pulled this one out in Europe, and only the 2nd time he ever sang it in Germany (after Hannover in May 2000). The version in Erfurt was as good as it gets, with Bob Dylan singing these beautiful lyrics with authority and conviction.

An interesting "coincidence" is that Erfurt is the home of the largest bell cast during the Middle Ages and, at 2.5 m (8 feet) in diamater, it is still the world's largest medieval free-swinging bell.

and time is running backwards,
there's no place to hide

Just noticed that on East Rutherford 1999 he sings

"Ring them bells Sweet Martha
For the poor man’s son
Ring them bells so the world will know
That all is one"

as opposed to Supper Clubs "lord is one" or albums "God is one".

Did Bob have a meeting with non-duality in the winter of 99?

same idea here now... would not step back or away from his heart ohearts ever i reckin

Coincidence? I think not.

I don't think the Oh Mercy version has ever been surpassed as a complete expression of the song. Vocally, several of the live versions may be its equal or even slightly better, but other than the Supper Club, I don't think the live arrangements are much more than adequate. The studio and attention to production bring out nuances the live versions lack. That is true of most of his work, except when the studio production is crap.

Hi,

I love that song, here (Dropbox) is my selection of Ring Them Bells perfomances

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ws7iiy16kz9y ... 6AzNa?dl=0


Hope you find it enjoying,

Saludos,

Ramón

Correct.

The sole performance in 2002 is revitalizing my love for this song.

Ames, Iowa
Oct 29, 2002
http://www.mediafire.com/file/3yhmz6w12 ... k%209.flac

I keep coming back to this gorgeous song. Everything about it is perfect to me, right down to the name of the track. It feels anthemic to me in some ways, almost like The Times They Are A-Changin' even though there are obvious differences. The album version is, as one person put it, sublime. It easily sits with some of the best of Dylan's work.

I know Gordon Lightfoot did a cover of this, as did the Dude. I want to know who came in to Dylan's dressing room back in the early 90s requesting he play it in concert. Who would try to convince him to sing his own song by covering it right in front of him? What an odd way to ask for somebody to sing a song.

Usually, Bob's live versions of songs trump the original studio release, as great as many of them are. But this is one album track that is still number one for me. The production is spare and beautiful, and Bob's singing is right on the money. There's certainly nothing wrong with the various live performances (I'd like to see one myself!), but he's never topped the take on "Oh Mercy".