DAYS OF ‘49 BOB DYLAN 1990 by Olof Björner A SUMMARY OF RECORDING & CONCERT ACTIVITIES , RELEASES , TAPES & BOOKS . © 2001 by Olof Björner All Rights Reserved. This text may be reproduced, re-transmitted, redistributed and otherwise propagated at will, provided that this notice remains intact and in place. Days of ‘49 — Bob Dylan 1990 CONTENTS 1 A SHORT SUBJECTIVE RETROSPECTIVE.......................................................................................................... 3 2 THE YEAR AT A GLANCE ....................................................................................................................................... 3 3 CALENDAR .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 4 RECORDINGS ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 5 NEW TAPES ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 6 UNDER THE RED SKY .............................................................................................................................................. 9 7 THE NEVER-ENDING TOUR: THIRD YEAR ........................................................................................................ 9 7.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 7.2 THE MUSICIANS ................................................................................................................................................... 10 7.3 THE SHOW ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 7.4 THE FASTBREAK TOUR ........................................................................................................................................ 11 7.4.1 The dates......................................................................................................................................................... 11 7.4.2 The songs ........................................................................................................................................................ 12 7.4.3 Statistics.......................................................................................................................................................... 16 7.4.4 Comments ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 7.5 SPRING TOUR OF NORTH AMERICA ...................................................................................................................... 18 7.5.1 The dates......................................................................................................................................................... 18 7.5.2 The songs ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 7.5.3 Statistics.......................................................................................................................................................... 22 7.5.4 Comments ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 7.6 SUMMER FESTIVAL TOUR OF EUROPE .................................................................................................................. 24 7.6.1 The dates......................................................................................................................................................... 24 7.6.2 The songs ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 7.6.3 Statistics.......................................................................................................................................................... 27 7.6.4 Comments ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 7.7 LATE SUMMER TOUR OF NORTH AMERICA .......................................................................................................... 29 7.7.1 The dates......................................................................................................................................................... 29 7.7.2 The songs ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 7.7.3 Statistics.......................................................................................................................................................... 38 7.7.4 Comments ....................................................................................................................................................... 38 7.8 1990 US FALL TOUR ............................................................................................................................................ 40 7.8.1 The dates......................................................................................................................................................... 40 7.8.2 The songs ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 7.8.3 Statistics.......................................................................................................................................................... 49 7.8.4 Comments ....................................................................................................................................................... 49 7.9 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................................ 51 7.9.1 Show statistics ................................................................................................................................................ 51 7.9.2 Album statistics ............................................................................................................................................... 52 7.9.3 Song statistics ................................................................................................................................................. 53 8 SONGS 1990 ................................................................................................................................................................ 58 9 SOURCES ................................................................................................................................................................... 58 10 SUGGESTED READINGS ........................................................................................................................................ 59 10.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................... 59 10.2 ARTICLE COMPILATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 59 10.3 ARTICLES ............................................................................................................................................................. 59 11 APPENDIX: SET-LISTS ........................................................................................................................................... 60 Days of ‘49 — Bob Dylan 1990 page 3 1 A SHORT SUBJECTIVE RETROSPECTIVE 92 shows on three continents, two albums, two videos and a couple of guest appearances says it all! The busiest man in show business. Unfortunately it seemed that quality was sacrificed for quantity. The new record was for many people not only surprisingly different, both musically and lyrically, but also very disappointing artistically. The promotional video made for Unbelievable is virtually impossible to distinguish from the usual worthless MTV output. The shows, finally, were very uneven, from the wonderful run in Paris and London in January-February and the magnificent set of shows, mostly in Canada, in May-June to the rather bleak late summer tour with "live auditioning" with a number of different guitarists. The year ended with Dylan on the road with a band where G. E. Smith had been replaced by two guitarists, none of which could or would play lead guitar! 2 THE YEAR AT A GLANCE Days of ‘49 — Bob Dylan 1990 page 4 3 CALENDAR Early January Under The Red Sky recording sessions in Los Angeles with Stevie Ray Vaughan results in four songs. 12 January Toad's Place, New Haven, Connecticut. 4 hours. Many covers, first time songs, requests taken with a smile. This is really a long public rehearsal and no acoustic set is included. 14 January Another semi rehearsal show, this time at the Recreation Hall, Penn State, State College in Pennsylvania. Again all electric. Before performing Wiggle Wiggle Dylan says "this is from