Shelter From The Storm Vol. 2 (Thinman-016/17)
Kongresshalle, Warsaw, Poland – July 19th, 1994
Disc 1: Jokerman, Just Like A Woman, All Along The Watchtower, You’re A Big Girl Now, Tangled Up In Blue, Under The Red Sky, Mama You Been On My Mind (acoustic w/band), Masters Of War (acoustic w/band), Love Minus Zero/No Limit (acoustic w/band), God Knows, In The Garden
Disc 2: Maggie’s Farm, Ballad Of A Thin Man, It Ain’t Me Babe (acoustic w/band), Blowin’ In The Wind (acoustic w/band). Bonus tracks: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Freileichtbühne Peissnitz, Halle, Germany – July 23rd, 1994). I And I (Schwarzl Freizeitzentrum, Graz, Austria – July 14th, 1994). Shooting Star (Stravinsky Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland – July 12th, 1994). Lay Lady Lay (Sportovni Hala, Prague, Czech Republic – July 16th, 1994). One Too Many Mornings (Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Germany – July 24th, 1994)
Shelter From The Storm Vol. 2 documents Dylan’s Warsaw show following his Poland debut in Krakow. Just like the first Shelter From The Storm, this is sourced by an excellent, powerful, complete, stereo audience recording (most likely taped by the same people). The only minor flaw is some tape flutter in “It Ain’t Me Babe” which lasts for several seconds. Thankfully they were spared the torrential rainstorm and are able to play a complete show to an appreciative but confused Polish audience.The show begins like many of the others on this tour with the triptych “Jokerman”, “Just Like A Woman”, and “All Along The Watchtower”. “Tangled Up In Blue” is played in the hard rock arrangement as in the tour in 1993 with a great harp solo and the track also shows off the inventive drumming of Winston Watson. “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” is accompanied by Dylan himself stroking the chords and imitating the flutes from 1978 after each line which is very interesting.
Dylan and the band receive a tepid response during the set. After “Maggie’s Farm” the tape continues to record the audience’s reaction. One of the tapers says, “The audience is really more confused…They’re not too excited and I can see why.” Since this was only his second appearance in this country they weren’t expecting the re-arrangements we all expect for each tour. Perhaps only the final encore “Blowin’ In The Wind” is played “straight” and it receives the biggest response of the evening.The second disc contains filler all of excellent quality and has many highlights from the rest of Dylan’s tour around Europe that summer. There is an emotional version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” from the home of Lutheran Pietism in Halle. Hopefully someday Thinman will release these other shows in full, but as it is Shelter From The Storm Vol. 2 is a great companion to the first volume and we have a good set covering his first visit to the Eastern Europe after the fall of communism. (GS)
