DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES vol 63

Subject: DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES vol 63
From: xyx
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 18:55:08 -0400

 There's plenty of grapevine activity 'round these parts, with talk
of the hearing-impaired WolfTraps, redone Basement's, Hurricane
Knights and even some PureHeat from the Spring, not to mention one
to give the legendary SOUL a scare as best of '96...............
that would be the astounding Magdeburg performance, supposedly
gearing up to hit the streets very soon as "Eyes of the Idol." With
some inspired violin-backed tracks as filler, could SOUL be
supplanted from its long-time perch atop the 96's? Stay tuned.............

LUCKY NOT TO BE DESTROYED  2CD (Lucky LR 005/6)  Antibes, France
     (Pinede de Juan-Les-Pins),  12 July 1992
Tracks: 18  Times:  55/55    Source: Audience    Quality: Very Good
  Hmmmmm, where to start. An interesting show, to say the least,
made more interesting as it's the last one of the Euro summer tour
and they sound like they're playing together for the first time! Bob
bobs and weaves his way through an 18 song set with much difficulty,
his raspy growl worse for wear as he navigates through an oft-times
out of tune and off-key performance by the band. I'm sure he's as guilty
as them but thank god for guilty pleasures. I can't help but wonder
while listening to this for the 4th time through whether or not these
guys were rousted from a night of drunken debauchery, dragged to the
stage and forced to play w/out a tune-up. Maybe they thought the
previous gig was the last of the tour and celebrated a bit prematurely.
Anyway, they got through it (with much difficulty) and Lucky gives us
a nice quality peek at went went down. JJ does his best Hendrix
impression on the exclusive "Hey Joe" opener, and he and Bucky
virtually hold things together during those parts of the show that
seemed destined to fall apart.  I'llBeYourBaby is done w/bravado in
a rollicking country style, DRow is a charming but organized mess,
and Bob butchers many a line throughout the show.
The acoustic sets fare a bit better than the electric portions of the
show, with Bob's "To Ramona" and "It Ain't Me Babe" the clear
standouts. Let me say that  the performance of "...Tom Thumb's
Blues" is easily the worst I've heard and perhaps has the worst
drumming of all time. I won't  mention names but the drummer
was gone soon after. Bob sings like he's running out of breath and
the harmonica, around his neck, he blows it a little TOO free. Skeleton
keys FULL of rain, it seems. Still, for all the negatives, I'm cuing it
up another time. It's got a certain charm, a sweetness, it's got life to
it. It breathes, raspy and phlegmy and inconsistently, but it hacks on
nonetheless. "Goin' down the road feelin' bad" is an apt line for this
gig. It was'nt dark yet but it was getting there. Five years (and
then some) down the line since this show..........listening to it and
hearing him now makes you  realize how far he's come back.  Maybe
that's why I like it, for the perspective it  provides.

WASHINGTON 1994  2CD  (Amsterdam AMS 729)   Warner Theater,
    Washington, DC  30 Oct 1994  + filler 31 Oct 1994
Tracks: 20   Time: 74/78    Source: Audience   Quality: Very Good
  I can still remember Bob's lips folded back throughout this show,
baring those incisors like a wild dog ready to pounce on some
unsuspecting prey. What a performance!! Hearing it again in better
quality than my average tape brings the memories flooding back.
Three songs in particular standout above the rest as supreme
renditions: 4th  Street, Desolation Row & Every Grain of Sand.
I can't recall a show where Bob's phrasing was so varied and
pronounced, so playful and yet so biting.  He bullies through 4th St.
like a runaway freight train rolling through the hills, emphasizing
the last words of lines like "I know you're dissatisfied with your
position and your playeeeeaaaaace...." so effectively, until the last
2 lines where he slows things down to a crawl, which gives even
more venom to "...what a drag it is to see you." So different than the
slower, classic Europe '96 versions but almost as pleasing. The vocal
on DRow is just as good, with Bob stretching the vowels and kicking
up his voice a notch, singing high and singing low, just a wonderfully
playful performance with great accompaniment by all. The killer,
though, is Every Grain, a roller coaster rendition with the vocal done
softly one moment and exuding strength and volume the
next, "...like every leaf that trembles, like every grain of saaaaaaaaa
aaaand."  I can still see his choppers from the 2nd row, fully
exposed as he sings out "...in the hour of my deepest need" Wow!
Everything meshed that night and it comes through loud and clear
on this nice Japanese set. From start to finish, an inspired
performance by all, particularly Mr. Dylan, who's singing was sublime
THROUGHOUT!  October 94 was a great month, no??
Setlist: Jokerman/JustLike/Watchtower/RedSky/Tangled/4thSt/TMan/
DRow/Think2x/GodKnows/EveryGrain/Maggie's/ThinMan/AintMebabe/
filler 10/31:ManInMe/Hattie/Masters/H61/phenomenal DiseaseOf
Conceit/LARS.

xyx

1995 1996 1997 1998 T-list CDs