KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON - BOB DYLAN 1994 by Olof Björner

3. CALENDAR

  January        A Carlene Carter CD-single with tracks from the album
                 "Little Love Letters" is released. An extra non-album
                 track is Trust Yourself with background vocals by
                 Dwight Yoakim, Howie Epstein, Joe Romersa, Kevin Welch
                 and Bob Dylan. For once Bob's vocal is quite audible and
                 it is a pretty good version. This session probably dates from
                 January 1993.

  January        Dylan gives Cooper & Lybrand the right to use a recording
                 of The Times They Are A-Changin' done by Ritchie Havens in
                 their commercials. When published it causes great traumatic
                 reactions from fans all over the world.

  January        A *stereo* copy of the promotional Freewheelin' is found in
                 California and sold at auction at a five figure price.

  February 4     Akihiko Yamamoto interviews Dylan in the lobby of Hotel Okura.
                 It is later printed in the April issue of CROSSBEAT.

  February 5     Dylan starts his first tour in Japan since 1986 in Sendai.
                 The surprise opener is Jokerman, not played since the 1984
                 European tour followed by another surprise, If You See Her,
                 Say Hello. The latter being performed last time in Osaka Fu,
                 Japan February 14, 1978. Also included is In The Garden, which
                 had been absent in both 1992 and 1993. Jokerman turned out to
                 be the standard opener during 1994.

  February 16    During the show in Hiroshima a reworked acoustic version of
                 Master of War is performed. A breathtaking version, that Dylan
                 apparently likes and plays regularly during the rest of the
                 year. Masters Of War haven't been played acoustic since April
                 12, 1963 in New York City.

  February 22-25 The Far East Tour ends with three shows in Kuala Lumpur,
                 Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, all "first countries"
                 for Dylan.

  March 23       Dylan makes a surprise performance at The Rhythm and Blues
                 Concert at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. He
                 tries a duet with Trisha Yearwood on Tomorrow Night.

  April 5        An extensive Spring tour starts in Springfield, Illinois.
                 Jokerman is played live for the first time in the US.

  April 6        The show at The Adler Theater in Davenport Iowa contains an
                 acoustic version of Tim Hardin's Lady Came From Baltimore.
                 It is played only twice and proves to be the only live debut
                 1994.

  April 7        A new interview with Dylan is published in St. Louis
                 Post-Dispatch.

  May 8          The Spring tour ends with a show at "The Memphis In May
                 Beale Street Festival".

  May 9-11       Dylan records at least five different tracks at the Ardent
                 Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. All songs are covers.

  May 20-22      Dylan participates in The Great Music Experience, a three day
                 concert in Nara, Japan co-sponsored by UNESCO's World Decade
                 For Cultural Development Project. This is the first of a series
                 of events which will be staged at important and beautiful
                 cultural sites each year until 2000. This year the "western
                 world" artists that joined various artists from Japan included
                 Joni Mitchell, INXS, Ry Cooder, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
                 Dylan performed the same three songs each day: A Hard Rain's
                 A-Gonna Fall, I Shall Be Released and Ring Them Bells. He was
                 backed by the New Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and a backing
                 group with the ubiquitous Jim Keltner on drums and the
                 inevitable Ray Cooper on percussion. Dylan's performance was
                 nothing short of stunning. Made grown men cry, as Q put it.
                 Each concert ended with I Shall Be Released (again!) with all
                 the participating artists on stage. The last day was broadcast
                 live on radio and TV in over 50 countries around the world.

  May 22         Release of STEVIE NICKS: STREET ANGEL, which includes Just Like
                 A Woman on which Dylan plays guitar and harmonica. This track
                 is probably recorded in December 1993.

  July 3         The perennial European tour starts in Paris. For once the
                 opener is not Jokerman, but To Be Alone With You.

  July 16        The Czech President Vaclav Havel with wife attend the show in
                 Prague.

  July 17        The show in Krakow, Poland has to be interrupted after the
                 acoustic set after heavy raining during the entire set.

  July 25        Last show in Europe takes place in Kiel, Germany.

  August 10      After only two weeks rest the next tour starts in Portland,
                 Maine.

  August 14      Dylan plays Woodstock '94 as part of the US Summer Tour.
                 The first electric set is only four songs, making this the
                 only 1994 show without Tangled Up In Blue. The whole show is
                 broadcast on radio and TV all over the world. Highway 61
                 Revisited ends up on the official audio release.

  August 16      Release of the CD box ALLEN GINSBERG: HOLY SOUL, JELLY ROLL -
                 POEMS AND SONGS (1949-1993). The set includes three tracks
                 from the Record Plant session in New York City, November 20,
                 1971: Vomit Express, September On Jessore Road and A Dream.
                 The latter is not previously in circulation. Dylan plays guitar
                 and sings backup vocal. Also included is Airplane Blues from
                 Dylan's own studio in Santa Monica, Rundown Studios, February
                 23, 1982. The released take is the so called "slow version".
                 Dylan plays bass.

  August 21      Concert #600 on the Never-Ending Tour takes place in
                 Columbus, Ohio.

  August 23      Release of the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's NATURAL BORN
                 KILLERS. Dylan sings a song from 1952 called You Belong To Me,
                 written by Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart and Chilton Price.
                 It's an acoustic solo recording that could very well have been
                 recorded at the same time as Good As I Been To You or World
                 Gone Wrong. Unfortunately the soundtrack producer, Trent Reznor
                 from Nine Inch Nails, decided to overdub the last instrumental
                 part of the track with dialogue from the movie.

  August 29      The short US Summer Tour ends in Detroit, Michigan.

  September      Dylan sues Apple Computers for using the name DYLAN (Dynamic
                 LANguage) for a programming language.

  September 16   Columbia Records employees are called to the 20th floor
                 conference room between 12.30 and 1.30 to listen to a selection
                 of tracks from the season's new products. First out is
                 Dignity from Dylan's forthcoming Greatest Hits Vol. III!

  October 1      After a month off the road Dylan resumes the never-ending
                 touring in Ithaca, New York.

  October 9      The last of three shows in Boston Dylan plays two extra
                 encores, the first being Two Soldiers (aka Blue-Eyed Boston
                 Boy). This is the only live performance of a song from
                 World Gone Wrong in 1991.

  October 17     The day before his first concert at The Roseland Ballroom
                 Dylan joins Grateful Dead in The Madison Square Garden for an
                 embarrassing listless version of Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.

  October 20     Seen in the VIP-part of Roseland Ballroom during the last
                 concert are Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. They join Dylan
                 for two extra encores: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 and Highway 61
                 Revisited playing guitars but not singing.

  October 22     The show in Rochester, New York, is interrupted after the
                 first encore, Like A Rolling Stone, due to audience invasion of
                 the stage. Later it turns out that the whole thing was arranged
                 and filmed for an ongoing documentary about Bob Dylan! The
                 same crew that filmed Supper Club is working on this project.
                 They also filmed Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young at Roseland
                 Ballroom in New York.

  October 26     Second take of "the-enthusiastic-audience-has-invaded-the-
                 stage-we-can't-go-on" scene, again after Like A Rolling Stone.

  November 1     Third and last take.

  November 2     Ruth Tyrangiel files a palimony suit against Dylan. She claims
                 to have lived with him between 1974 (!!) and 1993. She also
                 says that she helped Dylan to write some of his songs and that
                 he promised to marry her. Ruth Tyrangiel played "The
                 Girlfriend" in Renaldo & Clara and appears in three scenes.
                 All this is of course very strange, Why has nobody heard of
                 her during all these years? And 1974? Then why wasn't she
                 mentioned in the 1977 divorce? Note though the thanks to
                 "Ruthie" on the Knocked Out Loaded cover (only on the original
                 LP version).

  November 8     Release of Woodstock 94, containing "Highway 61" from Dylan's
                 set.

  November 9     Drawn Blank is published. This book contains almost 100
                 drawings by Dylan, many in pencil and some in charcoal and ink.
                 Also included is a foreword by Dylan dated September 1994.

  November 10    In Jackson, Tennessee Carl Perkins joins Dylan for a third
                 encore and sings Matchbox.

  November 13    This year's last show, in New Orleans, ends with an extra
                 encore, rainy Day Women #12 & 35. This is show #104,
                 making 1994 the year with most concerts since 1978!

  November 15-16 After just two days rest Dylan and his band starts the
                 rehearsals for MTV Unplugged. Dignity is tried at least
                 four times as well as other songs not played during the
                 tour.

  November 15    Release of Greatest Hits Volume 3. Dignity from the Oh Mercy
                 session is included. Brendan O'Brien, who produced Pearl Jam's
                 second album has produced an instrumental backing. Only Dylan's
                 vocal and piano is left from the original recording.

  November 17-18 Taping of MTV Unplugged at Sony Studios in New York City.
                 The band is enhanced with keyboards played to great effect
                 by Brendan O'Brien. For set-lists please refer to section 4.

  November       Release of MIKE SEEGER: THIRD ANNUAL FAREWELL REUNION on
                 Rounder Records. Dylan sings Ballad Of Hollis Brown accompanied
                 by Mike Seeger on banjo. This track is recorded at Grandma's
                 Warehouse in Los Angeles, May 19, 1993.

  December       Release of a three-track CD single containing two versions of
                 Dignity, the album version and a "radio edit" omitting four
                 verses. The third track is A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall from
                 May 22 in Nara, Japan with The New Philharmonic Orchestra.

  December 14    First broadcast of Bob Dylan Unplugged on US MTV. The broadcast
                 version contains 8 songs taken mostly from the second taping
                 session. A notable exception is the exquisite rendition of
                 With God On Our Side in which the verses about World War II and
                 "The Russians" are timely omitted.

  December 24    First broadcast of Bob Dylan Unplugged on MTV Europe. The set
                 is identical to the one shown in US.

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