Seventeen years ago.
Bob Dylan and his band at the Madison Square Garden Theater, January 20 1998.
Set List:
Absolutely Sweet Marie
Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
Cold Irons Bound
Born In Time
Silvio
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Girl From The North Country
Tangled Up In Blue
Million Miles
Positively 4th Street
‘Til I Fell In Love With You
Highway 61 Revisited
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Love Sick
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
– A Days Of The Crazy-Wild blog post –
On July 12, 1996 Bob Dylan performed at the Stadthalle in Magdeburg,Germany.
Here are four of the songs he performed including a ten minute version of “Positively 4th Street.”
“Positively 4th Street,” Magdeburg,Germany, July 12, 1996:
“It Takes A Lot to Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry,” Magdeburg,Germany, July 12, 1996:
“Ballad Of Hollis Brown,” Magdeburg,Germany, July 12, 1996:
“Gates of Eden,” Magdeburg,Germany, July 12, 1996:
– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post –
So I happened onto this video of Dylan performing “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” in Ferrara, Italy in 1996 and his singing was quite good and the feel of the performance was great. So I started wondering what else there might be from 1996 and I found some very cool videos.
Check these out.
“Visions of Johanna,” Hall Omnisports, Differdange, Luxembourg, June 24, 1996:
“The New New-Minglewood Blues,” Hall Omnisports, Differdange, Luxembourg, June 24, 1996:
“Positively 4th Street,” Tempodrome, Berlin, June 17, 1996:
“Queen Jane Approximately,” Tempodrome, Berlin, June 17, 1996:
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” Ferrara, Italy, July 5, 1996:
“Love Minus Zero / No Limit,” Bob Dylan, House of Blues, Atlanta GA August 4, 1996:
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” House of Blues, Atlanta GA August 4, 1996:
Plus this is very cool from 1990:
“Old Rock ‘n’ Roller,” Stadtpark, Hamburg, Germany July 3, 1990:
– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post –
The other day I posted some recordings from Bob Dylan’s rehearsal at S.I.R. studios in L.A. on January 23, 1976, which took place prior to a Rolling Thunder Revue appearance at the Troubadour.
Since then this recording of “Positively 4th Street” from those same rehearsals showed up on YouTube.
Enjoy!
-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-
Cool version of “Positiely 4th Street” sung and played by Lucinda Williams.
This track is off the 1994 album In Their Own Words.
Thanks for hipping me to this version, Johanna’s Visions!
-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-
Along with “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Positively 4th Street,” “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” was one of the first Bob Dylan songs I heard.
I was 12 years old and could totally relate to the anger and bitterness in Dylan’s voice.
The surreal lyrics, which have always reminded me of Salvador Dali and Picasso’s Cubist period, run through both “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”
And of course the sound on those records was unlike anything else going on at the time.
Bob Dylan first tried recording “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” on July 30, 1965 while working on Highway 61 Revisited with a group of musicians that included Harvey Brooks (bass), Al Kooper (organ) and Michael Bloomfield (guitar).
There were two takes recorded that day, the second of which was mistakenly released as “Positively 4th Street” on September 7, 1965. I bought that single and have long loved that version of the song.
On October 5th, 1965, Dylan and The Hawks rerecorded the song, and that version was released as a single on December 21, 1965.
I’ve included those versions below, but also a number of interesting covers.
Each of these artists — the Hold Steady, Jimi Hendrix, The Vacels and Transvision Vamp — make the song their own.
I think the Transvision Vamp version is quite good, especially if you don’t try and compare it to the Dylan versions,
Bob Dylan (version that was mistakenly released as “Positively 4th Street”):
Bob Dylan and the Hawks:
The Hold Steady:
Jimi Hendrix – Can You please Crawl Out Your Window (1967)
The Vacels
Transvision Vamp – Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window.flv