Bob Dylan/London,UK 2.6.1990 Complete

Bob Dylan, who had been seriously considering retirement at one point after his seemingly glamorous tour with Tom Petty stalled, made a comeback with the Never Ending Tour in 1988. History has shown that by acquiring the best guitarist, GE Smith, he embarked on more active live performances. The three years from 1988 to 1990 could be called the period when Dylan and Smith worked closely together to achieve a brilliant revival. The period from January to February 1990 was the culmination or apex of these three years. Dylan and his band got off to a great start with the legendary public rehearsal gig “TOAD’S PLACE 1990,” the definitive version of which was released by ZION, and performed a wonderful stage for several days. The high evaluation of the album “OH MERCY” released in the fall of the previous year must have been a driving force. This momentum reached its peak when the tour moved to France and the UK. During this period, which was the peak of the tour during GE Smith’s tenure, “FROM GRAND REX TO HAMMERSMITH” was a coupling of the famous sound source and performance from Paris and the final day of the tour. It was recorded on February 8th, the final day of the six consecutive nights at Hammersmith Odeon in London. Indeed, the performance on this day has an unshakable reputation as the best show during GE Smith’s tenure, and is known as a day of honorable performances, with several items having been released in the past. However, considering that all six performances at Hammersmith Odeon were excellent and were highly praised by the British media at the time, it is strange that there are almost no items released on other days at Hammersmith. The only items remaining are “CRITIC’S CHOICE VOL. 1&2”, which was a compilation of the best parts of the 5th and 6th days by the nostalgic Wanted Man (the label founder passed away last January). Certainly, the show on the 8th was outstanding, but the quality of the performances on the other days was generally high, so I wonder if the sound sources on the other days will also be made into items. This thought must have been common to Dylan enthusiasts all over the world. However, this is the first release since “FROM GRAND~”, and yet the release of the sound sources of the shows other than the 8th will finally be realized! After nearly 30 years since the legendary Hammersmith Days 1990, the shows on the 6th and 7th will be released. There is no doubt that enthusiasts all over the world will be delighted by that alone, but what is even more noteworthy is that it uses a uniquely obtained audience recording that was never available among traders. The recording this time was provided by that taper who traveled to the UK to record Eric Clapton’s 1990 Royal Albert Hall performances. He recorded Dylan at Hammersmith in between Clapton’s RAH. By the way, on the 8th, he went to RAH to record “FIRST ORCHESTRA NIGHT”. Regarding the series of Hammersmith performances, good quality audience recordings have been widespread for a long time, and the sound quality with a wide sense of realism has been popular among enthusiasts. In terms of clarity, it seems that such conventional sound sources are superior, but the biggest attraction of this sound source is the on-balance of the sound image centered on Dylan’s voice. The conventional sound source (hereinafter referred to as the existing sound source) had a great appeal in the clarity with plenty of stereo feeling, but on the other hand, the impression that the sound image was deep could not be denied. This was a phenomenon that was consistently seen in the Hammersmith existing sound source in 1990. The first appearance sound source this time has Dylan’s singing voice on all the time, which is a very favorable balance. In addition, the sound source this time has a slight cracking sound from around the middle of the show on both days, but this is also a phenomenon that was generally seen in the existing sound source. In other words, it was the influence of the sound output of the venue rising from the middle of the show. Of course, this sound cracking has been adjusted for this CD release. It is much easier to hear than the original recording state. For those who own “CRITIC’S CHOICE VOL. 1&2” which used a sound source recorded by a different taper, this is a point that we would like you to compare. The biggest reason why the 1990 Hammersmith consecutive performances were highly acclaimed among enthusiasts is that the quality of the performance content was consistently high, and yet the composition of the show every night was extremely different. The experience accumulated in energetic live activities in 1988 and 1989 was beautifully borne out. In short, compared to the 8th, which is the most popular day of the Hammersmith consecutive performances, the content and composition of each day are completely different. Moreover, GE Smith’s skillful guitar handling and the sharp drumming by the drummer at the time, Christopher Parker, are mature. There is no way it can be bad. As for the 6th, it is interesting that the first half is played in succession with sober numbers from the 60s. However, the arrangement of “Masters Of War” is flashy hard rock style, and the straight and aggressive performance that is unique to this band is outstanding. What is noteworthy is that the response to the song “OH MERCY” that was performed in between was very good. Not only was the album highly acclaimed immediately after its release, but it was a hit in the UK, reaching 6th place in the charts. Given that, the good response here was only natural. And “Political World” and “What Was It You Wanted”, which were performed in the first half of the day, are songs from the album that have very few opportunities to be performed live, and as a result, they were valuable performances. Perhaps because of the selection of songs in the first half, the acoustic set in the middle of the show started with “Blowin’ In The Wind”, and the luxurious menu of a parade of famous songs in the key cannot be missed. On the contrary, this song was a valuable performance that was only performed on this day during the period from Paris to Hammersmith. In the second half of the show, the live performance of the reborn version of “Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)” was the best. This song is also famous for having a music video filmed in Japan, but it was from the public rehearsal at Toe’s Place that it started to be performed live. It was reborn from a synth-full 80s arrangement to a more pop and familiar arrangement, which caused a buzz at the time. In fact, the performance here was also the best. And the standard “Like A Rolling Stone”, which was one of the few repertoires performed over consecutive days, was an incandescent performance that made me think that this day was the best of the consecutive Hammersmith performances. In addition, Dylan’s singing voice is closer than the previously recorded source, so the high tension is clearly conveyed. The final touch was a long-awaited performance of the cover “Dark As A Dungeon”, which was featured every day during the Rolling Thunder Revue era, in the encore. The Hammersmith performance on February 6th was also a great performance! Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK 6th February 1990 PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (54:12) 1. Intro. 2. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) 3. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) 4. Ballad Of Hollis Brown 5. Masters Of War 6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again 7. Political World 8. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 9. What Was It You Wanted 10. Blowin’ In The Wind 11. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue 12. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall Disc 2 (41:30) 1. Song To Woody 2. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 3. Everything Is Broken 4. Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love) 5. Man In The Long Black Coat 6. I Shall Be Released 7. Like A Rolling Stone 8. Dark As A Dungeon (Merle Travis) 9. Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar), G. E. Smith (guitar), Tony Garnier (bass), Christopher Parker (drums)