BOB DYLAN – PORT CHESTER 2017 FIRST NIGHT SOUNDBOARD (2 CD-R)

Description

Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA 13th June 2017 SBD
★First-ever appearance of this soundboard!!

　Recently, a large volume of recordings from the 2010s at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester has been causing a stir among music enthusiasts, and now, incredibly, recordings capturing Dylan’s 2017 performance have been unearthed!

　Of course, this is another solid soundboard recording. It’s mono, but the sound quality is exceptionally clear, just like the previous Port Chester recordings. It’s of such high quality that I wish they would release it as a pressed CD.

　Given Dylan’s notoriously strict approach to video recording, it’s easy to imagine he wouldn’t have even allowed footage to be used in the venue lobby that day. The fact that only the audio recording remains is typical of him. And the sound quality is so good, I have no complaints.

　To begin with, nearly 10 years have passed since the 2017 performance. At the time, fans were ecstatic that the Sinatra-influenced style of the previous years had subsided and Dylan had returned to his traditional style. Looking back now, nearly 10 years later, we realize just how fulfilling that setlist truly was.

　First, the setlist consisted of recent tracks that had been the main focus of his live performances even before the Sinatra era. This was interspersed with the return of classic hits, while still retaining a touch of Sinatra’s signature style. The result was an incredibly well-balanced and unbeatable setlist that could easily be called the best of the 2010s.

　Furthermore, Dylan, who routinely presents his past repertoire with new arrangements, delivers bright and lively performances of songs like “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Desolation Row,” which is particularly appealing when heard on a soundboard recording with exceptionally clear sound quality.

　On the other hand, recent works that were performed even before the Sinatra era have been reborn with new arrangements, which is typical of Dylan. The high-energy performance of “Duquesne Whistle” is still cool and impressive on stage, and “Long and Wasted Years,” which used to be the closing number before the Sinatra era, also sounds cool with its new arrangement.

　These recent songs, which were frequently performed in the 2010s, have almost completely disappeared from the stage of the 2020s.

　In addition to those, the performances of “Stormy Weather” and “Autumn Leaves,” which could be called a legacy of the Sinatra era, along with Dylan’s passionate singing, are now a fond memory.

　And speaking of the band members in 2017, it was a time when the members who built the golden age of Dylan’s stage in recent years, such as Charlie Sexton and drummer George Liseli, were all naturally present, so the solidity of the performance is all the more apparent because it is a superb soundboard recording.

　I can’t help but be amazed that Dylan, even in his 70s, was able to deliver such a high-energy performance. The fact that the actual live performances were longer than they are today makes it even more astonishing.

　This soundboard album from 2017 by Dylan, featuring the clearest possible sound quality, is a truly shocking discovery from the Port Chester recordings that continue to amaze fans worldwide!

Disc:1 (68:24)
1. Things Have Changed
2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
3. Highway 61 Revisited
4. Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
5. I Could Have Told You
6. Pay In Blood
7. Melancholy Mood
8. Duquesne Whistle
9. Stormy Weather
10 Tangled Up In Blue
11. Early Roman Kings
12. Spirit On The Water
13. Love Sick
14. All Or Nothing At All

Disc:2 (38:54)
1. Desolation Row
2. Soon After Midnight
3. That Old Black Magic
4. Long And Wasted Years
5. Autumn Leaves
6. Blowin’ In The Wind
7. Ballad Of A Thin Man

Bob Dylan – vocal, piano
Tony Garnier – bass
George Recile – drums
Stu Kimball – rhythm guitar, maracas
Charlie Sexton on lead guitar
Donnie Herron – violin, banjo, pedal steel, lap steel