Warszawa Day Blues (Stringman Record SR-024/025)
Stodola, Warszawa, Poland – June 7th, 2008
Disc 1 (57:31): intro., Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Rollin’ And Tumblin’, The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, Lonesome Day Blues, Workingman’s Blues #2, Ballad Of Hollis Brown, Honest With Me, Make You Feel My Love
Disc 2 (57:27): The Levee’s Gonna Break, Beyond The Horizon, Highway 61 Revisited, Ain’t Talkin’, Summer Days, I Shall Be Released, Thunder On The Mountain, Like A Rolling Stone
Warszawa Day Blues contains an excellent audience recording of the June 7th, 2008 Bob Dylan Warsaw show. Featuring the complete two hour concert, it is startling in its clarity, power and detail and ranks among the very best audience tapes from the summer NET that year.
Stringman issue this magnificent tape in the CDR format. Like many of their other titles, it would have been a tremendous silver release. The setlist is one of the most adventurous of the tour. He plays “Love Minus Zero / No Limit” as a free swing number, “Make You Feel My Love” and “I Shall Be Released.”
A good and concise review on the Bob’s Links site states: “Stodola in Warsaw is a small student club, filled to every inch this night with about 2000 exited persons. A really nice place, very good sound, a great audience and a great concert by Bob and his band, all dressed in black, too. Bob’s singing is still very good and I love this band. Tony is as always good, but Denny, George and Donny is getting better and better.
“Maybe Stu is OK too but he is low in the mix on the couple of concerts I have heard. Tweedle Dee was first out and sounded better than usual. 100% good sound from the very beginning. Next up was Love Minus Zero in a completely new arrangement, more electric, almost like a heavy ballad to my ears. Very nice and definitely the highlight of the evening.
“After Rollin’ and Thumblin’, another surprise; Hattie Carroll. Beautiful (up to a ‘whole other level’). Great guitar playing from Denny and a perfect voice from Bob on Lonesome day blues. Workingman’s blues followed and was another highlight. And then Hollis Brown, great as well. But then maybe two more songs to much like Rollin’ and Lonesome Day: Honest With Me and Levee’s Gonna Break, split by a rarely played but nothing exceptional Make You Feel My Love.
“Beyond The Horizon was also different from other versions I have heard. A really slow shuffle-swing. Nice! Highway 61 was good as usual and Ain’t Talkin’ too, but the last one is always very nice to hear. A normal Summer Days followed and then the audience that I felt had longed for some ‘greatest hits’ got a very well sung and performed I Shall Be Released.
“The final with Thunder On The Mountain, and especially Like A Rollin’ Stone went by to the big pleasure of an enthusiastic audience. Another great concert on this very interesting and nice tour was finished. I will not see them again till July 2. in Alicante, Spain, and hope the time in between passes fast.”
The quality of the recording and the setlist makes this one worth seeking out.
2 Comments
Professional CDR simply means it wasn’t burned at home, but under professional standards. But you’re right, they are still high priced for CDRs. I really really wish someone can make us an offer we can’t refuse and press this show onto silver disc…
Nice review, thanks. Yes this Warzawa recording/concert is really really good, one of the best ones from 2008. It deserves a silver CD release, I agree.
I see that this label (as well as other CDR labels) list their releases as “pro CDRs”. What on earth is different between a CDR and a “pro-CDR” ? Nothing, I would guess. The price of this release and other CDR releases should had been 10% of what they’re selling it for. It’s a scam.