Bob Dylan/France 7.8.1978 Upgrade

The first release from Bob Dylan’s 1978 world tour is from Paris in 1978. For those who have collected a certain amount of Dylan’s sound sources, many people will recall the July 6th of “BORDER BENEATH THE SUN” when they hear “Paris in 1978”. The same taper was used to record the Rolling Stones’ 1976 and Pink Floyd’s 1977 Paris performances, so the extraordinary quality is understandable. Above all, the clarity is outstanding, and the sound image is also excellent. It is no exaggeration to say that the quality is comparable to Mike Millard, and it is the best among European tapers in the late 1970s. This taper recorded all of Dylan’s 1978 Paris performances, and has long been known among traders as a group of the finest sound sources. Among them, the 6th, 3rd and 4th days have been released as items so far. The most famous 6th is a classic, and the other two days have been released for more than 10 years. In other words, the 5th and the final day 8th have yet to be released. Despite the fact that extremely excellent sound quality stereo audience recordings are available for each day, why have no items been released yet? Rather, wouldn’t it be better to have the Paris sound sources other than the days mentioned above released on CD? It is no exaggeration to say that this was a common wish of enthusiasts all over the world. Such a long-held wish of enthusiasts will come true at the end of 2021. This time, the CD will finally be released on July 8th, the last day of Paris. As I have repeated so far, the sound quality is superb. The freshness is also unusually high, and it is hard to believe that it is from 1978. On top of that, the sound image is close, so even the opening “My Back Pages” instrumental version will make you shiver. The reason why such a high-quality sound source has not been released is probably due to a phenomenon that occurred after the middle of the live performance with a break. First of all, hiss noise occurs in the right channel from the middle of the show onwards, which is quite noticeable when the performance is quiet. In addition, the pitch suddenly rises in the latter half of the 2-minute mark of “Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)”. And above all, the problem of having many cuts between songs is probably the biggest reason why past labels refused to release the album. However, it is now 2021. These problems and other issues can be easily adjusted with the evolution of technology. First of all, the level of hiss noise has been suppressed all at once and has calmed down significantly. Of course, if this were to be eliminated, it would affect the reverberation of the performance, so it has not disappeared completely. However, compared to the original sound source, the level of hiss has dropped all at once, giving it an upper feeling. Especially since the middle of the live performance, there are a series of quiet ballad-style arrangements, so the result of suppressing the hiss is even more significant. Even more troublesome, the problem of “Senor”, which was very difficult to do before, has been properly adjusted. If you listen to it without knowing anything, you may be under the illusion that it was stable from the beginning. As for the cuts between songs, although the sound quality was not good enough, the gaps caused by the cuts were all eliminated by crossfading. Also, in the case of “Masters Of War,” there was a problem with the pitch being slightly out of sync due to a cut between the warm-up sound just before the performance started and after the performance started, but this was also adjusted without any mistakes. It has been reborn as a superb sound source that allows you to surrender yourself to the quality of the sound and performance in total. During the long 1978 tour, this was probably the time when Dylan’s original goal of a “rock entertainer” sound reached its peak. Four months had passed since the official “Budokan” performance, which was the record of the start of the large band, and Dylan was able to sing freely after the band was able to play every song freely. The entertainer concept led to the introduction of a large number of ballad-style singing arrangements, which was a major feature of the 1978 live sound. Therefore, the performance in front of the Parisian audience, who were very enthusiastic when it got exciting, but listened carefully to the quiet songs, would have demonstrated the true value of the original 1978 sound. In the first place, the European tour itself was perfect for the original entertainer concept, and the masterpiece “EARLS COURT 1978”, which captured Dylan’s passionate performance at Earls Court two weeks before Paris, also captured Dylan singing passionately in front of the London audience. At the Earls Court stage in June, the only new songs from the album “STREET LEGAL”, which had not yet been released, were “Baby Stop Crying” and “Senor”, but in Paris, less than two weeks before the album’s release, “True Love Tends To Forget” was introduced first, and on July 5th, “Changing Of The Guards”, which could be said to be the symbol of the album, finally made its stage debut. Therefore, the song performed in the encore on the 8th was the third take of the live performance, but it was the best live version with the tremendous momentum of the performance and Dylan singing at full throttle. The hard and aggressive performances of his later American counterparts are appealing, but the momentum of the early live versions, which exude an entertainer’s ease, is exceptional. Even more appealing are the many masterpieces with slow ballad arrangements, which could be said to be the true expression of an entertainer’s talent. Dylan’s careful singing of songs such as “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “I Want You,” and “Just Like A Woman” is the true essence of the 1978 tour. That is why the second half of the live performance, where these ballad arrangements are abundantly displayed, required careful restoration. Not only did it solve the problems mentioned above, but it also removed all the noise that was scattered throughout. Pavillon de Paris, Paris, France 8th July 1978 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1 (74:46) 1. My Back Pages (Instrumental) 2. She’s Love Crazy 3. Baby Stop Crying 4. Mr. Tambourine Man 5. Shelter From The Storm 6. Love Minus Zero/No Limit 7. Tangled Up In Blue 8. Ballad Of A Thin Man 9. Maggie’s Farm I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) 11. Like A Rolling Stone 12. I Shall Be Released 13. Going, Going, Gone / Interval 14. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 (Instrumental) 15. True Love Tends To Forget 16. Gates Of Eden Disc 2 (73:15) 1. The Man In Me 2. One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below) 3. Blowin’ In The Wind 4. I Want You 5. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power) 6. Masters Of War 7. Just Like A Woman 8. To Ramona 9. All Along The Watchtower 10. All I Really Want To Do 11. Band Introduction 12. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) 13. Forever Young 14. Changing Of The Guards 15. Times They Are A-Changin’ Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar Billy Cross – guitar Alan Pasqua – keyboards Steven Soles – guitar, backing vocals David Mansfield – violin, mandolin Steve Douglas – horns Jerry Scheff – bass Bobbye Hall – percussion Ian Wallace – drums Helena Springs – backing vocals Jo Ann Harris – backing vocals Carolyn Dennis – backing vocals