Completely agree re Supper Club being vastly more valuable and real than Bob's Unplugged. As I wrote about the latter in the Bob Dylan Encyclopedia: "MTV Unplugged™ [album, 1995]
The dreariest, most contemptible, phony, tawdry piece of product ever issued by a great artist, which manages to omit the TV concert’s one fresh and fine performance, ‘I Want You’, but is otherwise an accurate record of the awfulness of the concert itself, in which the performer who had been so numinously ‘unplugged’ in the first place ducked the opportunity to use television to perform, solo, some of the ballad and country-blues material from his most recent studio albums, Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong. That could have been magical. Instead - instead of seizing this moment and really stepping into the arena - we got the usual greatest hits, wretchedly performed in a phoney construct of a ‘live’ concert. This is what happens when Bob Dylan capitulates and lets overpaid coke-head executives, lawyers and PRseholes from the Entertainment Industry tell him what to do.
It's interesting reading—well first, thank you so much for sharing this unique event you know us Bobheads (or Bobcats, as the case may be) would love to know about. But yeah, so it's interesting reading Bob's decision for not releasing it. Funny thing is, it's an in-action portrayal of what we've known about through its effects through many years: his tendency to not release some of his best stuff. One can as easily imagine Bob at the Oh Mercy sessions with his stellar recordings of God Knows, Series of Dreams, and Born in Time going "The band just wasn't tight enough; sorry." Must be a quizzical thing in some artists' minds, the difference between the envisioned and the outcome or something.
Otherwise, yeah, I just hope it gets released sometime. Interesting that the "Bob allowed people to stand up after it wasn't allowed the first show, causing silhouettes on most of the footage" reason I've heard before didn't come up in your conversations with Michael Borofsky didn't come up as the reason for its shelving. Of course, this was 30 years ago too, so who knows if Michael may have forgotten a thing or two too. But yeah, glad for now we at least have the One Too Many Mornings/Queen Jane snippet, and the full Ring Them Bells, on video! Thanks again!
This was fucking amazing. The next best thing to getting it released finally. I remember years and years ago the Bob website streamed (in RealAudio!) Weeping, Delia, Tight Connection, 12Many and Bells and they were so amazing. This was before the bootlegs widely circulated and way before the soundboard showed up. I also remember watching on the Highway61 CD-Rom and copying the Apple files from the disc to my computer to watch lol. Thanks for this, and there's not too many people in Bob circles ole Darkeyez is jealous of but you're one of them lol
Thank you, Ray! Did you see anything to possibly indicate why Dylan would have had reluctance to release? We know the music was exquisite and from excerpts, it seems to have been brilliant video. Was there anything in terms of his image that he may have had doubts about?
I was 21 when the CD-ROM was released, and didn’t even have a CD-ROM with my (first) laptop. My buddy Eric did have one, though, so he kindly let me sit there for hours and “assemble” the Supper Club ticket that unlocked the little bit of footage of the two songs you mention, Ray. That CD was a very fun treat. I gave it away years ago.
And as a side note… my last Dead show was just after the CD was released, and it also happened to be the last time Jerry and Bob saw each other / played together. During the Dead set (which was fairly dire), Jerry had his shit together early enough to do a decent Jack-A-Roe. There is some good close-up footage on YouTube.
I’d love to see the video one day… but the vocal delivery will always dampen my enthusiasm for these shows. Unplugged had the voice… Supper Club had the setlist. Bob never makes it easy 😊
Also
“His last two albums had been all covers—great albums, certainly, but albums that made people wonder if Dylan’s songwriting days were behind him”
Why does Oh Mercy always get overlooked? The songs he wrote at those sessions were fantastic…. Easily as strong as the TOOM sessions.
I write this fully aware that it could get my Dylan Fan License revoked. The Supper Club tapes don't excite me. I'm hearing so-so performances accompanied by inappropriately raucous hooting and cheering. It's like the audience's expectations were so low, they went nuts with surprise over what they were hearing. I don't think the shows were bad, certainly not. But the idea of releasing them as a part of the Bootleg Series makes my eyes roll.
As always, it's all opinion. Reasonable people can disagree.
Completely agree re Supper Club being vastly more valuable and real than Bob's Unplugged. As I wrote about the latter in the Bob Dylan Encyclopedia: "MTV Unplugged™ [album, 1995]
The dreariest, most contemptible, phony, tawdry piece of product ever issued by a great artist, which manages to omit the TV concert’s one fresh and fine performance, ‘I Want You’, but is otherwise an accurate record of the awfulness of the concert itself, in which the performer who had been so numinously ‘unplugged’ in the first place ducked the opportunity to use television to perform, solo, some of the ballad and country-blues material from his most recent studio albums, Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong. That could have been magical. Instead - instead of seizing this moment and really stepping into the arena - we got the usual greatest hits, wretchedly performed in a phoney construct of a ‘live’ concert. This is what happens when Bob Dylan capitulates and lets overpaid coke-head executives, lawyers and PRseholes from the Entertainment Industry tell him what to do.
Thanks for viewing it for all of us, Ray.
Incredible Ray!
HOLY SHIT. What was his address again?
It's interesting reading—well first, thank you so much for sharing this unique event you know us Bobheads (or Bobcats, as the case may be) would love to know about. But yeah, so it's interesting reading Bob's decision for not releasing it. Funny thing is, it's an in-action portrayal of what we've known about through its effects through many years: his tendency to not release some of his best stuff. One can as easily imagine Bob at the Oh Mercy sessions with his stellar recordings of God Knows, Series of Dreams, and Born in Time going "The band just wasn't tight enough; sorry." Must be a quizzical thing in some artists' minds, the difference between the envisioned and the outcome or something.
Otherwise, yeah, I just hope it gets released sometime. Interesting that the "Bob allowed people to stand up after it wasn't allowed the first show, causing silhouettes on most of the footage" reason I've heard before didn't come up in your conversations with Michael Borofsky didn't come up as the reason for its shelving. Of course, this was 30 years ago too, so who knows if Michael may have forgotten a thing or two too. But yeah, glad for now we at least have the One Too Many Mornings/Queen Jane snippet, and the full Ring Them Bells, on video! Thanks again!
His acoustic rendition of Tight Connection just defies words. Gets me every time.
Thank you Ray!!
This was fucking amazing. The next best thing to getting it released finally. I remember years and years ago the Bob website streamed (in RealAudio!) Weeping, Delia, Tight Connection, 12Many and Bells and they were so amazing. This was before the bootlegs widely circulated and way before the soundboard showed up. I also remember watching on the Highway61 CD-Rom and copying the Apple files from the disc to my computer to watch lol. Thanks for this, and there's not too many people in Bob circles ole Darkeyez is jealous of but you're one of them lol
So something Dylan didn't want anyone to see--you ignored his wishes and did it anyway? No wonder he hates the media.
Thank you, Ray! Did you see anything to possibly indicate why Dylan would have had reluctance to release? We know the music was exquisite and from excerpts, it seems to have been brilliant video. Was there anything in terms of his image that he may have had doubts about?
The short attention span comment is hilarious. If he only knew, in 1993, what was coming. Oh man.
i never imagined him going Wiggle Mode at the Supper Club… fascinating…
Agree with the comment/wish that the tapes gave us the great “Oh Mercy” live and complete. Great article.
I was 21 when the CD-ROM was released, and didn’t even have a CD-ROM with my (first) laptop. My buddy Eric did have one, though, so he kindly let me sit there for hours and “assemble” the Supper Club ticket that unlocked the little bit of footage of the two songs you mention, Ray. That CD was a very fun treat. I gave it away years ago.
And as a side note… my last Dead show was just after the CD was released, and it also happened to be the last time Jerry and Bob saw each other / played together. During the Dead set (which was fairly dire), Jerry had his shit together early enough to do a decent Jack-A-Roe. There is some good close-up footage on YouTube.
I’d love to see the video one day… but the vocal delivery will always dampen my enthusiasm for these shows. Unplugged had the voice… Supper Club had the setlist. Bob never makes it easy 😊
Also
“His last two albums had been all covers—great albums, certainly, but albums that made people wonder if Dylan’s songwriting days were behind him”
Why does Oh Mercy always get overlooked? The songs he wrote at those sessions were fantastic…. Easily as strong as the TOOM sessions.
I write this fully aware that it could get my Dylan Fan License revoked. The Supper Club tapes don't excite me. I'm hearing so-so performances accompanied by inappropriately raucous hooting and cheering. It's like the audience's expectations were so low, they went nuts with surprise over what they were hearing. I don't think the shows were bad, certainly not. But the idea of releasing them as a part of the Bootleg Series makes my eyes roll.
As always, it's all opinion. Reasonable people can disagree.