Bob Dylan – Wembley Stadium 1984 (Crystal Cat Records – CC 1114-15)
Disk 1 – Intro / Highway 61 Revisited / Jokerman / All Along The Watchtower / Just Like A Woman / Maggie’s Farm / I And I / Licence To Kill / I’ve Got To Use My Imagination (Greg Sutton) / A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Acoustic) / Tangled Up In Blue (Acoustic) / It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) (Acoustic) / Simple Twist Of Fate / Masters Of War / Ballad Of A Thin Man
Disk 2 – Enough Is Enough / Every Grain Of Sand / Like A Rolling Stone / Mr. Tambourine Man (Acoustic) / Girl From The North Country (Acoustic) / It Ain’t Me Babe (Acoustic) / Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat / It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (Van Morrison) / Tombstone Blues / Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) / The Times They Are A-Changin’ / Blowin’ In The Wind / Knockin’ On Heavens Door
DVD – Interview backstage / Highway 61 Revisited / A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall / Like A Rolling Stone / Mr. Tambourine Man / It Ain’t Me, Babe / Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat / It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue / Tombstone Blues / Señor (Tales Of Yankie Power) / The Times They Are A-Changin’ / Blowin’ In The Wind (78:52)
This fat little package is Crystal Cat’s latest release, a reissue of Empress Valley’s ‘All Roads Lead To Wembley’ triple set however, this one has been remastered to correct some issues with the speed of the recording, reintroduce the missing Greg Sutton track that was missing from the original tape while also utilising a little stabilisation for the video that came with the initial set.
I wrote about the original set here but obviously given the chance to compare the two, I wanted to see how much more different it could be – And it isn’t markably so, but but you will notice. For the CD audio, it’s chunkier, a little less separation to the stereo board is the overall impression impression I got. It manages to flatten out a few spoils on the source too as the feedback squidge early on in ‘I And I’ is certainly a little less evident.
The DVD is still rough copy – a touch of tape transfer makes on to the bottom of the screen. I’ll admit, I don’t see too much difference from the EV version – This video is obviously taken from the same thing as the menu is the same!
I’ll admit to watching the interview more than a couple of times. From the rushes of Dylan stretching and having his make up applied to the very genial conversation that Martha Quinn and Bob have together. It’s a far reaching conversation, maybe Dylan doesn’t reveal too much but then that’s not likely. His personal trivia and pop culture facts before the interview starts are quite fascinating in an effecting sort of way.
The packaging, as we’d expect, is top notch. A big old glossy gatefold, with an image of the ticket on the front, the CDs are beautifully and brightly silkscreened plus there are not one but two booklets inside – The first is a compendium of high quality photos from the gig and the tour, not just Dylan but all the supporting guests from the show too – These are all sided with press, flyers and other promo from the same tour. The second bootleg features an era interview by Kurt Loder, reproduced in full from Rolling Stone magazine.
Late apologies to the few of you who rushed out to buy the original EV release – a year earlier! – but a better job has been made with a little mastering by the CC label. If you’re more of a purist and would prefer less remaster – however gentle – seek out the original EV release if you can.
