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Topic: Blood on the Tracks ( NSC) Return to archive Page: 1 2
03-06-04 02:08 AM
Ten Thousand Motels 'Blood on the Tracks' Musicians Reunite

By JEFF BAENEN
MINNEAPOLIS - In late 1974, a studio in south Minneapolis took center stage in Bob Dylan's musical life — the re-recording of half of the songs on his "comeback" album, "Blood on the Tracks."
It was, as those who were there like to quote the song, a simple twist of fate that brought them together to help energize one of Dylan's most critically acclaimed and biggest-selling albums.

"This was a whole bunch of coincidences, beginning in New York ... that conspired to bring together a masterwork," says Kevin Odegard, who played guitar on the Minneapolis sessions.

Nearly 30 years later, those musicians remain largely anonymous and still uncredited on the album sleeve. But that anonymity is about to end.


A new book, "A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of `Blood on the Tracks,'" by Odegard and British rock journalist Andy Gill, hit the shelves in February. The Minneapolis musicians will reunite to perform the album from start to finish March 3 at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. They'll be joined by Eric Weissberg, known for the 1973 hit "Dueling Banjos," who performed on the album's New York sessions.

The following night, the musicians will play and discuss the recording at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.

Don't expect Dylan to be there for the concert, though. He's scheduled to perform that night in St. Louis. He did not respond to an AP request for an interview.

"Blood on the Tracks" came at a crucial time for Dylan, who had returned to Columbia Records after a stint with Asylum. His marriage to Sara Lowndes was breaking up, and the songs on "Blood on the Tracks" are mainly about love and loss.

"This is the meatiest piece of work he has ever done," Odegard says. "He was in a lot of personal anguish."

"Tangled Up in Blue," Dylan's jangly reminiscence about a lover and the 1960s when there was "music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air," is among the songs from the Minneapolis sessions that made the album, and remains a Dylan concert staple.

A lover of folk music, Odegard had recorded two albums in the 1970s when he got a call from his friend and manager — David Zimmerman, Dylan's younger brother. Zimmerman was looking for a rare 1930s Martin guitar, the type favored by singer Joan Baez.

"Right away my antenna went up," Odegard says. He contacted his friend Chris Weber, who owned a guitar store near the University of Minnesota. By coincidence, Weber had received a similar guitar on consignment.

Odegard swore Weber to secrecy — the guitar was for Dylan.

They headed across the Mississippi River on Dec. 27, 1974, to Sound 80, a studio in a working-class neighborhood where guitarist Leo Kottke and singer Cat Stevens had recorded, and where the 1980 hit "Funkytown" was recorded (Sound 80 has since been sold and is now used by Orfield Laboratories Inc. for testing products' acoustical properties).

In walked Dylan, quietly, "just like one of the guys," Odegard says.

"He wasn't ultra-strange and scary and standing in the corner and people walking on tiptoes," Weber remembers. The rock poet — a "curly haired kid," 34 years old at the time — stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Bob Dylan," Weber says.

Weber says he showed Dylan the guitar in a cramped vocal booth, and — at Dylan's invitation — played a couple of his own songs for the songwriter of his generation. Dylan began teaching Weber "Idiot Wind." Weber thought he was just a "fifth wheel" at the session and was about to retreat when Dylan gave him a "funny look" and said, "I need you to play guitar."

"So that's when my heart really jumped out of my chest," Weber says.

Dylan had recorded "Idiot Wind" in New York City that September at sessions overseen by producer Phil Ramone (known for his work with Billy Joel , Paul Simon , Sinead O'Connor (news)). But Dylan sounds venomous as he denounces a former lover in the Minneapolis version of "Idiot Wind" that ended up on the album.

Odegard credits the liveliness of the Minneapolis versions to the rhythm section of drummer Bill Berg and bassist Billy Peterson, known for their jazzy style.

Peterson, who went on to tour with rocker Steve Miller, praises Dylan's spontaneity. After a few rehearsals with musicians who were hearing the songs for the first time, Dylan would quickly record them.

"He was a genius, man," Peterson says. "He captured the creative process. He never belabored it."

"I think we hit a mark because he was just full of feelings and emotions and lyrics were just streaming out of him," says Berg, who grew up in Dylan's hometown of Hibbing and later became a Disney animator.

Dylan held another session with the Minneapolis crew three nights later. In early 1975, "Blood on the Tracks" came out to reviews that hailed it as Dylan's best work in years. Rolling Stone magazine recently named it No. 16 of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It's sold 2 million copies in the United States alone, placing it with "Blonde on Blonde" and "Desire" as among Dylan's biggest-selling studio albums.

But the Minneapolis musicians weren't credited on the initial pressings of the album sleeve, and nobody has bothered to amend the credits since, said Gill, co-author of "A Simple Twist of Fate."

"Hopefully our book will redress the situation ... and accord the musicians their due," he said in an e-mail.

While he's disappointed he's not credited, guitarist Weber says he holds no grudges: "I was honored and pleased that a simple twist of fate came my way."

[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels]
03-06-04 07:59 AM
beavie I've got the 5.1 version of BOTT. The best sounding sacd in the Dylan series. Will always rank in my top ten favorite albums of all time.
03-06-04 08:39 AM
Lazy Bones Probably my favourite Dylan album... Thanks for posting.
03-06-04 09:20 AM
mac_daddy
quote:
Lazy Bones wrote:
Probably my favourite Dylan album... Thanks for posting.

what he said...

Blonde on Blonde is a very close second (for me)
03-06-04 10:33 AM
Lazy Bones Speaking of Dylan, Neil played Tom Thumb in Albuquerque (28/2) the other night (along with Watchtower which he's played every night except for Colorado 29/2). Nothing better than 2 of my favs playing off each other.

Absolutely LOVE the version of Tom Thumb Neil did at "Bobfest" (as Neil put it) - The 30th Anniversary Concert.
03-06-04 03:07 PM
Gazza >Lazy Bones wrote:
Probably my favourite Dylan album...

I'd go further. Probably my favourite album. By anyone.
03-07-04 06:20 PM
Stonesthrow Gazza-- That's quite a statement from a co-moderator of a Rolling Stones web site. It surprises me that anyone other than the Stones would occupy number one on your list. What is it about that album that you like better than any Stones or any other Dylan?


03-07-04 06:33 PM
Gazza Well,just because I co-admin a Stones site doesnt mean that I think everything the Stones do is wonderful and that my entire top 5 or ten albums are Stones records. I've a broad taste in music as I'd say most people have. I happen to like Dylan every bit as much (if not more) as I like the Stones. Springsteen too,in fact. Both mean as much to me on a personal level as the Stones do. Thats always been the case for about the last 25 years.

Also whilst I love the Stones music, I've a lot of serious misgivings about what they stand for these days. There's a lot about the way they've constantly whored themselves and gouged their audience in the last six years to make money they'll never possibly spend that I personally find despicable. However, I still think they're a great live act.

I'd probably put Exile On Main Street in my all time top five albums however, but I think Blood On The Tracks is as close to perfection as you can get.
03-07-04 07:14 PM
T&A got that right, Gazza.

Bob's top 3 albums (61, Blonde & BOTT, in that order for me) top anything the Stones have done and I consider myself a Stones lunatic. But, there are other artists whom I can say that about, frankly. Miles, Coltrane, Ellington. You can be a good Stones fan and still "see the forest for the trees," as it were...
03-07-04 07:30 PM
mac_daddy for me:
Blood on the Tracks
Blonde on Blonde
61 Revisited

(in that order)

but the real intriguing thing for me is that I cannot place Sticky Fingers, Let it Bleed, Exile and Beggars' into order of preference - I love them all equally, and listen to them all the time...

but there is no way I could choose which I prefer the most: one of the Stones albums or one of the Dylan ones I listed...

and since you mentioned the Boss...

Darkness on the Edge of Town
Nebraska
Born to Run

(probably in that order, but I listen to Nebraska the most)

as for my opinion of perfection on record, I would have to give that honor to Miles' "Kind of Blue"

_____

is this thread getting hijacked into the best/personal favorite albums of all tme..?
03-07-04 07:35 PM
stonedinaustralia while i love "blood on the tracks" the best version of my fvourite song from the album would have to be the take of "idiot wind" on Hard Rain - you can almost see the vitriol coming out of the speakers - no doubt one of the heaviest things in the history of popular music

"we're idiots, Ronnie, it's a wonder we can even feed ourselves"
03-08-04 09:30 AM
Zeeta What do you Dylan bods think of Desire?

It took me a very long time to get into but I quite enjoy the record now.

I only have Blood on the Tracks - yes definitely one of THE all time best albums, Desire and Blonde on Blonde, what is next Highway 61?
03-08-04 11:00 AM
Gazza I'd certainly put "Desire" in my favourite 6 or 7 Dylan albums. It was also the first Dylan album I ever heard, so it has quite a special place in my affections!


stoned in australia wrote>
>while i love "blood on the tracks" the best version of my fvourite song from the album would have to be the take of "idiot wind" on Hard Rain - you can almost see the vitriol coming out of the speakers - no doubt one of the heaviest things in the history of popular music

Thats actually a contender for my fave Dylan song ever. Not so much the studio version (great though it is) but THAT version from Fort Collins on "Hard Rain". Vitriolic is a good description indeed. Actually, the other two "Blood On the Tracks" songs that are on the 'Hard Rain' album - You're a Big Girl Now (which wasnt included on the TV broadcast) and Shelter From The Storm (which was) are IMO also even superior to the studio versions, even though they're performed and arranged very differently. Bob's ex-wife had turned up just before that show and caught him being overly friendly with another woman, which had led to a heated argument. That might explain the venom in his singing.

For the record, my fave Dylan studio albums (as of today) are:
1) Blood On the Tracks
2) Blonde On Blonde
3) Highway 61 Revisited
4) The Basement Tapes
5) Bringing it All Back Home
6) Street Legal
7) Desire
8) Love & Theft
9) John Wesley Harding
10)Time Out Of Mind
03-08-04 12:47 PM
Nasty Habits I just LOVE Hard Rain -- I think it is THE MOST underrated album in the Dylan canon and would benefit incredibly from a SACD type bonus trackified upgrade -- the versions of "I Pity the Poor Immigrant" and "Deportee" from that show are incredible, as is the impromptu ragged out take of "Hard Rain". The vision of Bob playing that ugly ass white plasic guitar with the slide during Shelter from the Storm on the video is one of those magic Dylan moments. So is the vocal on "One too Many Mornings".

1. Highway 61 Revisited
2. Blonde on Blonde
3. John Wesley Harding
4. The Basement Tapes
5. Love and Theft (good job Bob!)
6. Bringing It All Back Home
7. Blood on the Tracks
8. Desire
9. Hard Rain
10. Another Side of Bob Dylan


Wow, Gazza -- Street Legal! Give me an "in" to that record, man -- I've never been able to suss about half of it. What's your take on Under the Red Sky? I played it yesterday and side two kicked my ass.

03-08-04 03:01 PM
Gazza >I just LOVE Hard Rain -- I think it is THE MOST underrated album in the Dylan canon and would benefit incredibly from a SACD type bonus trackified upgrade --

agree 100%. I also think its one of the most underrated live albums ever.

>the versions of "I Pity the Poor Immigrant" and "Deportee" from that show are incredible, as is the impromptu ragged out take of "Hard Rain". The vision of Bob playing that ugly ass white plasic guitar with the slide during Shelter from the Storm on the video is one of those magic Dylan moments. So is the vocal on "One too Many Mornings".

as youre aware, only about half of the songs on the live album come from the TV special of the same name, taped in Fort Collins. The remaining songs come from Fort Worth. (Youre a big Girl Now is from Ft Collins but wasnt televised). The main stumbling block is that most of the songs you mentioned featured Baez. She doesnt feature on the live album at all. Basically for contractual reasons I remember reading some years ago.

If you look closer at that National guitar that Bob was playing lead on in that show, you might notice that the body of it is shaped like a map of the USA. Maybe it was Bob's nod to the bicentenary.

>"Street Legal" -Give me an "in" to that record, man -- I've never been able to suss about half of it.

Well,the thing is to make sure you get the remastered version of the CD. The mix on the original album and original pressings of the CD are a mess. Way too muddy.

Yeah, a lot of the lyrics are often opaque. Theres a LOT of religious symbolism in it (same with John Wesley Harding, I guess). They sound (looking at it with the benefit of hindsight)like the writings of a man disillusioned with relationships with women and looking to find something "higher". A few months after it came out, Dylan converted to Christianity. There's a lot of amazing songs in it, such as "Senor", "Where are you tonight" and "Changing Of The Guards" - the latter of which contains one of my favourite Dylan lines ever "Where the angels voices whisper/to the ghosts of previous times". And no,I dont know what it means either. I just think its a glorious lyric....

> What's your take on Under the Red Sky? I played it yesterday and side two kicked my ass.

Its hit and miss. I think some of it is very forgettable ("Wiggle Wiggle" - Good GOD,Bob!) but theres a few gems (the title track - which is apparently about his hometown of Hibbing - and "Born In Time"). If you can track down the bootleg "The Third One Now - Genuine Bootleg Series III" theres a cracking alternate version of 'Handy dandy' and a simply breathtaking version of "TV Talking Song" on it.
03-08-04 03:11 PM
West 8 I like Desire very much,but 61 is my favorite. Speaking of Dylan, I just rented this movie called Masked and Anonymous with Dylan in it. Has anyone seen it yet??
03-08-04 03:14 PM
Gazza yeah - I got it delivered last week from the US. Its not available in Europe until May.

I dont think it'll appeal to too many people outside those of us who are Dylan fanatics.
03-08-04 05:31 PM
Ctiger2 I saw the BOTT show last Wed in Mpls -> 3/3/04. It was pretty neat. The music was overall pretty good. It was however missing something... Hmmm, what could that have been? Something that made more than good music...something special.
03-08-04 06:33 PM
stonedinaustralia gazza and nasty - i concur whoelheartedly with your views re Hard Rain

would love to see a re-issue including the unreleased tracks from the TV special

one track not mentioned that i also love is the duet with Joan Baez on "Railroad Boy"
03-09-04 10:55 AM
Nasty Habits SIA --

Forgot all about Railroad Boy! Love that guitar figure Joan Baez plays and how Dylan sets the tempo too fast for her to play it right!

Ok, Gazza, I'm good with "Changing of the Guard" and "Seρor" and esp. "Where Are You Tonight" and would extend my appreciation to "New Pony" and "Baby Please Stop Crying" despite the never ending slightly off tune backup singers (truth to tell I think I would be fine with this record if they were there 50% less of the time), but what I don't get are "No Time to Think" or "Is Your Love In Vain". Help a brother out!

You heard that version of "Born in Time" from the Oh Mercy sessions on GBS#2? Far superior to the album take. As is "TV Talkin' Song". I like the words to "Handy Dandy" so much I'll take either version. And "Wiggle Wiggle" is GREAT! Wiggle like a big fat snake!

03-09-04 12:09 PM
Lazy Bones Seeing this thread continues to grow with the Dylan fans of Rocks Off, I wanted to share this picture I came across of the rear, CD cover of the newest (CD/DVD) boot from Wild Wolf / Scorpio (WW 81203). Isn't that a great pic of Bob?!

Thought I'd share...

03-09-04 12:21 PM
Zeeta Yes good photo, cheers - bar the 'tashe though obviously!
03-09-04 01:50 PM
Gazza >what I don't get are "No Time to Think" or "Is Your Love In Vain". Help a brother out!

I'm not sure what there is to 'get' on "Is your love in vain", Nasty! A straightforward (by Bob's standards) love song. About the least complex song on the whole album. "No Time To Think" is supposed to be a bit "the world's fucked up" apocalyptic I think, although it goes on forever and Bob's showing us that he was given a very effective rhyming dictionary as a birthday present.
03-09-04 07:33 PM
stonedinaustralia
quote:
Nasty Habits wrote:
Love that guitar figure Joan Baez plays and how Dylan sets the tempo too fast for her to play it right!






yes nasty, it's not really acknowledged that much but Joan is quite a player...correct me if i'm wrong but i think i recall her playing some pretty cool stuff in "Don't Look Back" as well
03-10-04 12:48 PM
Ten Thousand Motels
quote:
Ctiger2 wrote:
I saw the BOTT show last Wed in Mpls -> 3/3/04. It was pretty neat. The music was overall pretty good. It was however missing something... Hmmm, what could that have been? Something that made more than good music...something special.



What was that?
03-10-04 01:05 PM
Nasty Habits
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:


yes nasty, it's not really acknowledged that much but Joan is quite a player...correct me if i'm wrong but i think i recall her playing some pretty cool stuff in "Don't Look Back" as well



She's pretty much the butt of all the jokes in Don't Look Back -- I seem to remember her playing "Love is a Four Letter Word" in a hotel room while Bob is writing something (probably Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues or something) on a typewriter. She also sings like a opera singer while Dylan and Neuwirth cringe on the floor and eats a ton of food (I used to watch the movie with a old goilfriend psych major who would point out all the various and sundry instances of Joan's sexual frustration resplendent in every frame). I vastly prefer her stronger, more intense and interesting 70s take on her Dylan fixation to her more desperate, clinging 60s personality. Her versions of "Diamonds and Rust" from '76 are stunning. I always thought it was typical Dylan self-flaggelation and obsession to let her sing a not entirely flattering song about him in the middle of his own concert!
03-12-04 04:36 PM
Ten Thousand Motels Nashville Skyline
Slow Train Coming


These 2 records, IMO, show Dylan at his rebellious best.

03-12-04 07:14 PM
TheSavageYoungXyzzy Gazza! Finally, someone else who enjoys Street Legal!

Man, have you heard the live version of "Changing Of The Guards" from Seattle on the '78 tour? Smoking. He sings like a man possessed (he probably was... by the Holy Spirit... Slow Train Coming was already in the works by then, wasn't it?).

I always thought it was very much an "I'm cut adrift" album, almost a "where do you go?" after Blood On The Tracks resulted in a few more years of marriage. He'd really lost everything at that point, even the outlet for writing songs, and Rolling Thunder was over, and he couldn't do another Blood, so he did this instead, and it didn't give him what he was looking for, so he converted.

As for Hard Rain, sorry to say, but the original LP just ain't for me. Haven't heard the boot, but I don't think anything tops the version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" on Live '75.

My top ten list goes like this:

1. Bringing It All Back Home
2. Highway 61 Revisited
3. Love And Theft
4. Blood On The Tracks
5. Blonde On Blonde
6. Time Out Of Mind
7. John Wesley Harding
8. Street Legal
9. Desire
10. Nashville Skyline

-tSYX --- Peace will come with tranquility and splendor...
03-12-04 07:36 PM
Ten Thousand Motels 1.Saved
2 Shot of Love
3 Slow Train Coming
03-12-04 09:12 PM
Nasty Habits
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
1.Saved
2 Shot of Love
3 Slow Train Coming



You know, God doesn't like liars.


Hey tsyx - it took me a long time to really settle into Hard Rain. Figure maybe you have that to look forward to when you get to 30.

You do present an excellent argument with "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", though, so in response I offer "Shelter from the Storm".



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