This was one of the hardest jobs in making a compilation I’ve ever had.
So many highlights on this tour I don’t even know how I shortened it.
This, to me, is the most underappreciated tour in the last couple of years, but maybe even ever in Bob’s career.
For some reason, this tour gets confused with other tours of this era that were known as “the stable setlist era”.
I’ve heard some long-time compilation makers give up on Bob during this period, calling him boring, that he needs a new band etc.
Well… After this tour, Bob did lose one long-time band member Stu Kimball and replaced him with… nothing. It wasn’t until 2019 in the fall that he changed his band.
Speaking of 2019 fall, often regarded as the best tour in 20 years at least, that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for this tour. This tour established a pattern for every upcoming tour that came after.
Every tour after this one is appreciated.
This tour is swept under the rug for some reason.
I think Rolling Stone, around this time, wrote an article titled “Bob Dylan’s 2018 setlists are getting interesting”. Well… I know somebody did. And this tour was the reason why.
Let’s now go over the set and the reason why I chose these particular performances.
“The Yellow edition”
01. Tryin’ To Get To Heaven (Taipei 8/2/2018)
02. Simple Twist Of Fate (Sydney, 8/19/2018)
03. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Newcastle, 8/22/2018)
04. All Along The Watchtower (Seoul, 7/27/2018)
“The Orange edition”
05. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (Christchurch, 8/28/2018)
06. Make You Feel My Love (Seoul, 7/27/2018)
07. When I Paint My Masterpiece (Auckland, 8/26/2018)
08. Gotta Serve Somebody (Seoul, 7/27/2018)
“The Red edition”
09. Desolation Row (Brisbane, 8/24/2018)
10. Autumn Leaves (Seoul, 7/27/2018)
11. Soon After Midnight (Auckland, 8/26/2018)
12. Long And Wasted Years (Hong Kong, 8/4/2018)
“The Blue edition”
13. Like a Rolling Stone (Christchurch, 8/28/2018)
14. Visions Of Johanna (Sydney, 8/19/2018)
15. All Along The Watchtower (Taipei, 8/2/2018)
4, 6, 8, 10 – unknown taper
1, 15 – unknown taper
12 – Zuozhizhu
2, 14 – Philandjenny
3 – Crystal Cat
9 – Spot
5, 7, 11, 13 – Soomlos
Outtakes:
I’m very sorry I didn’t use anything from Singapore, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne both nights and Sydney first night, or even anything from Wollongong. Heck, even anything from Yuzawa-cho, Niigata, Fuji Rock Festival. but oh well…
The song that carries the title name, Highway 61 Revisited, isn’t even included. I almost included it.
Tangled Up In Blue… almost included it.
Summer Days and Duquesne Whistle… almost included them too.
The final list:
The first performance is a very intimate pub-like atmosphere for Tryin’ To Get To Heaven, that very rarely in the 2017-2019 period, opens with a harmonica solo. This tour might be the only tour where Bob played harp on this song in the years 2017-2019. He played harp on a few shows for this song. There’s many great versions of this song on the tour, so I decided to settle for the most unique one.
Simple Twist Of Fate had 3 great versions on this tour where I was torn of picking the ‘best’ one. I settled for this experimental version where Bob gives it the similar approach to Masterpiece or Don’t Think Twice.
I had to pick one version of 16 for Don’t Think Twice. So I settled for this one. Check the evolution series for all the versions…
All Along The Watchtower with Bob on guitar, which was also an opener. Mic problems, leading to an almost instrumental version of the song. Bob delivers it on guitar though. Not only that, but he sang all the verses.. I think. In a short time.
It Takes a Lot To Laugh in its only tour performance here and on the very last show of the tour. First performance of the song since 2005! One of the best comeback songs of the 2013-2019 period.
Make You Feel My Love was hard to pick, so I settled for a harp-dominated version. Almost picked the Singapore one…
When I Paint My Masterpiece… I had to pick one performance of 16… it was hard.
Same goes for Gotta Serve Somebody…
I had like 5 versions of Desolation Row I couldn’t pick between. So I settled for this one which has some nice piano playing.
Autumn Leaves – only standard to be played on this tour and the last standard to be played ever, as of August 2021.
Soon After Midnight, had like 3 great versions, so I settled for this one.
Long And Wasted Years in its only performance on this tour. Of course I’ll include it.
Same goes for Like a Rolling Stone. only tour performance and first performance since 2016 and only the third performance since 2012. first time becoming the setlist regular since 2012 as well.
Visions Of Johanna – first performance since 2015 and last performance to date (as of 2021)
All Along The Watchtower – second performance, yes, but both performances are very worthy and both different in arrangement.
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