CS production
Volume One:
1. Things Have Changed - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
2. It Ain't Me Babe - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
3. Highway 61 Revisited - Syracuse, June 25, 2017
4. Why Try To Change Me Now - New York, November 24, 2017
5. Summer Days - New York, November 24, 2017
6. Melancholy Mood - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
7. Honest With Me - Uniondale, November 8, 2017
8. Tryin' To Get To Heaven - Uniondale, November 8, 2017
9. Once Upon A Time - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
10. Pay In Blood - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
11. Tangled Up In Blue - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
12. Soon After Midnight - New York, November 24, 2017
13. Early Roman Kings - Saskatoon, July 14, 2017
14. Desolation Row - Winnipeg, July 12, 2017
15. Thunder On The Mountain - Washington, DC, November 14, 2017
16. Autumn Leaves - Upper Darby, November 12, 2017
Volume Two:
1. Things Have Changed - Syracuse, June 25, 2017
2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - Esch-sur-Alzette, April 22, 2017
3. Beyond Here Lies Nothing - Esch-sur-Alzette, April 22, 2017
4. Standing In The Doorway - Stockholm, April 1, 2017
5. Lonesome Day Blues - Dover, June 17, 2017
6. Make You Feel My Love - Saskatoon, July 14, 2017
7. Blind Willie McTell - Dover, June 17, 2017
8. Full Moon & Empty Arms - New York, November 22, 2017
9. It's All Over Now Baby Blue - Dover, June 17, 2017
10. Tangled Up In Blue - Bournemouth, May 4, 2017
11. Stormy Weather - Calgary, July 16, 2017
12. Scarlet Town - Buffalo, November 18, 2017
13. Early Roman Kings - Upper Darby, November 12, 2017
14. Love Sick - Bournemouth, May 4, 2017
15. Learning To Fly - Broomfield, October 21, 2017
2017 was a good year for Bob Dylan's live performances. He managed to play intimate club shows and fun festival sets throughout the year in North America and Europe, developing his setlist significantly from the more static days of the last few years. There were some negative consequences, as the performances are perhaps not quite so tight as they were in 2014 or 2015, but the change overall was one that made a more exciting experience for fans in person and following along at home.
I have compiled the most consistently strong tracks onto Volume One. This tracklist is less exciting than Volume Two, perhaps, but is the more compelling listening experience. Alex Leary's Washington, DC tape is my favorite combination of performance and recording quality, and is well-represented here. Listeners will notice that the bulk of content on this first volume comes from the Fall Tour of North America - this is because Bob Dylan played and sang in a more adventurous fashion on the final tour of the year, altering a number of arrangements quite significantly.
One major change to Bob Dylan's own on-stage work in 2017 was his move to piano for virtually all non-cover performances. While he had been singing many songs center-stage without accompanying himself instrumentally for much of 2013 to 2016, he had moved back to playing piano on "Things Have Changed," "Pay In Blood," "Love Sick," and others. The cover songs were still performed almost exclusively without piano accompaniment.
With regard to Volume Two, the recordings vary much more in quality and ambiance. Crystal Cat turned in a few of the year's more interesting tapes, but their work on delivering clarity came at the consequence of a warmer room sound. Interesting rare performances like "Standing in The Doorway" and "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" are unfortunately a bit thin. The performances are still excellent, though, and I can't imagine its anything that couldn't be overlooked by dedicated fans.
Three of the songs on Volume Two also appear on Volume One, but this is no error or the result of a lack of song diversity. In fact, the three songs are curiosities that should not be missed. "Things Have Changed" is played with a much more intense, dark country flair here. "Tangled Up In Blue" is an intriguing arrangement that exists halfway between the way it had been played from 2013 to 2016 and the new, more easygoing treatment it would receive at 2017's Fall shows. "Early Roman Kings," finally, is representative of the way that the song was played throughout the Autumn Tour - softer in tone than the pounding electric blues of early 2017 but with brief, jazzy instrumental interludes between verses; it also features some new lyrics.
Finally, the second volume ends on a bittersweet note. Bob Dylan's old touring partner and friend, Tom Petty, died on October 2, 2017, and received an on-stage musical tribute at the end of Dylan's show in Broomfield, Colorado. This song had not ever been publicly played by Bob Dylan before, but his delivery and the band's performance is as tight as if they'd been playing it nightly. The only capture of this performance circulating as of December 31, 2017 was a lossy recording from a cell phone. Listeners ought not criticize the sound quality, though, as without the work of this taper we'd not have any document of the night at all; I'm making an exception to my typical lossless-sourced rule to present the moving performance, and I suspect listeners will agree with the decision.
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