Bob Dylan 980404 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, River Plate Stadium
Here are some translated excerpts from the review of the April 4 show by Clarin, a Buenos Aires daily. Because of my own poor Spanish, and the difficulty of translating Argentine slang, I've smoothed it over a bit to make it flow. (My apologies to the writer, Marcelo Panozzo, for my brutal translation of his words. If you're ever in Toronto, Sr. Panozzo, the máte is on me.) I guess I should have consulted Ed! Hope this is interesting... Mike Lewis, Toronto PS The address for this article is www.clarin.com.ar/diario/98-04-06/c-00601d.htm >From Clarin Digital, April 6 The great taste of the encounter by Marcelo Panozzo For those who love Argentine records, this past Saturday we entered rock history. At 23:13 on April 4, 1998, Bob Dylan (the most important singer-songwriter of the 20th century) and The Rolling Stones (the rock band that marked with fire the past decades) shared the stage at River Plate Stadium for a splendid version of Like a Rolling Stone (Como una piedra que ruida), the Dylan's classic from 1965. So it happened: seven minutes of history before 65,000 people who celebrated the encounter giving the most heartfelt and warm ovation that the stadium has ever seen. (the writer then states that the Stones were playing LARS on the smaller stage set up across the bridge, but on this night it was the Dylan who set the rhythm.) "Dylan -- God knows if he was afraid of the bridges of Babylon or something else -- didn't cross over to the island and appeared on the main stage, walking, guitar in hand and played and sang the song in his rhythm while Mick Jagger signaled to his friends to slow down the speed and play at the same speed. The word to define everything is: beautiful. Dylan went off tempo and Jagger tried to put the house in order; Dylan was behind everyone and Richards treating him with reverence; Jagger playing the harmonica and the three guitarists (Richards, Ron Wood and Dylan) playing together shoulder-to-shoulder; Dylan singing with Jagger on the part of the song where it says "cuando no tienes nada, no tienes nada que perder" with smiles in better synchronization than the voices. (the writer then goes on to give some basic Dylan history, talking about eh old folk days and the Newport performance...he then says Like a Rolling Stone was recorded by the Stones on their Stripped album and that the joint performance on Saturday was better than anything else in the show by either the Stones or Dylan) A 20.25, five minutes ahead of schedule, Dylan and his four musicians stepped onstage, taking a small place on the left side of the giant stage. The lights were dim and the music wasn't very loud. (Some words to the effect that he's not in the business of spectacles, as are the Stones) It started in the same way as Newport three decades ago: the first song was Maggie's Farm (La granja de Maggie), the caustic song included on the disc Bringing it All Back Home (recorded as well in the incredible Dylan year of 1965). From then on, one could see the spirit was different than the three shows Dylan played at the beginning of the decade at Estadio Obras: there was a world between the darkness of that moment, with its somber repertoire and distorted versions, and the luminous show of Saturday, filled with classics recreated in notable form. The 98 model Dylan, a Grammy winner with a new album in his pocket which has received brilliant reviews everywhere, regaled a respectful audience with a series of great songs: Lay Lady Lay (RecuŽstate, muchacha, recuŽstate), Just Like a Woman (Como una mujer), Mr. Tambourine Man, Tangled Up in Blue (Envuelto en tristeza), Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (Varado en Mobile otra vez con los Blues de Memphis), I Shall Be Released (SerŽ liberado) y Highway 61 (Autopista 61). A dream team of the songs that every Dylan fan dreams of, in various formats, from souped-up rock to acoustic guitar..long electric mantras, all in Dylan's voice, an instrument of popular North American music. -end- My apologies again to Spanish speakers everywhere!
