Memory & Fate (Thinman-004/005/006)
Disc 1: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, Pretty Peggy-O, All Along The Watchtower, Tangled Up In Blue, Shooting Star, Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Lot To Cry, Tomorrow Night, Jim Jones, Mr. Tambourine Man
Disc 2: Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right, Cat’s In The Well, I And I, Simple Twist Of Fate, Highway 61 Revisited, What Good Am?, Everything Is Broken, It Ain’t Me Babe
Disc 3: Hard Times (La Coruna – July 9th), I’m Moving On (Utrecht – February 15th), Lenny Bruce (London – February 7th), The Man In Me (Eindhoven – February 17th), It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (Hannover – February 18th), Born In Time (Belfast – February 25th), Boots Of Spanish Leather (Huesca – July 6th), You’re A Big Girl Now (Huesca – July 6th), Little Moses (La Coruna – July 9th), I’ll Remember You (Merida – July 12th), Gates Of Eden (Merida – July 12th)
Memory & Fate is a well thought out package of Dylan’s 1993 Winter Tour Of Europe. The bulk of this collection, the first two of this three disc set, is the complete performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on February 13th. This is the final night of a six-night residency at this venue. Thinman used a very good soundboard tape that emphasizes the vocals. The audience sounds very distant between numbers. Compression is evidently used and it sounds a bit flat. The bonus disc contains excerpts of rarities performed in Europe on the same tour. All come from soundboard recordings of similar quality to the Hammersmith Apollo tape. The line up on this tour is: Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar), Bucky Baxter (pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar), John Jackson (guitar), Tony Garnier (bass), Winston Watson (drums & percussion). Dylan’s performance is hard to describe. Some people say he was in a melancholy mood this evening. His song selection shows this with songs such as “Peggy-O”, “Shooting Star”, “Simple Twist”, and “What Good Am I?” Others say that he’s bored or tired here. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It took me several listenings to understand what Dylan was up to in this show and to appreciate it. Spirits are raised for a rocking version of “Tangled Up In Blue” and “All Along The Watchtower” (both containing great harmonica). “Stuck Inside of Mobile” is fast and countrified with the slide guitar providing a counterpoint to the lead. Whatever one’s opinion of this tour there is always something there to find. Great artists provide that. This title comes with a four-page color glossy insert with several photos from the era. Memory & Fate is another worthy release on Thinman.
