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Top 10 Performances from Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration

Jim Beviglia

Updated:

June 6, 2014 2:22 pm

On October 16, 1992, a stunning collection of rock luminaries gathered at Madison Square Garden to fete Bob Dylan on the 30th anniversary of his first album. Coming as it did at a particularly fallow period of Dylan’s career, it felt at the time like a retirement party. Of course, Bob flipped that script with some of the best music of his career in subsequent years and is still rolling strong.

Now released as a deluxe edition on two CD’s and for the first time on DVD and Blu-Ray, Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration comes loaded with wonderful performances from artists, many of whom have passed away since that night, anxious to repay their debt to Dylan for the way that he blew up the boundaries of what popular music could encompass. There is not a clunker in the bunch, but here are the ten finest efforts from that evening.

10. “What Was It You Wanted” by Willie Nelson: Nelson’s deadpan, off-kilter phrasing fits perfectly with this tale of romantic confusion that Bob recorded on Oh Mercy. Few artists can tap into the idiosyncratic nature of Dylan, but Willie certainly makes that short list.

9. “When The Ship Comes In” by The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with special guest Tommy Makem: “Dylan with an Irish accent” is how these folk contemporaries described their performance. They soften Bob’s tale of Biblical comeuppance with their timeless harmonies.

8. “Absolutely Sweet Marie” by George Harrison: It was Harrison’s first live U.S. performance in 18 years, but he is in great voice and nails the sardonic nature of Dylan’s lyrics. George plays an acoustic guitar here, leaving the electric heroics to G.E. Smith and Steve Cropper, who trade off furious licks.

7. “It Ain’t Me Babe” by June Carter Cash & Johnny Cash: This one was a no-brainer, the First Couple of Country doing the he said/she said like so many times before. Dylan sang the song with palpable hurt back on Another Side Of Bob Dylan, but Johnny and June turn it into a joyous declaration of independence.

6. “Just Like A Woman” by Richie Havens: Few interpreters of Dylan’s work have been able to get inside of it and make it their own like Havens. His quick-fingered guitar work on this classic ballad gets the crowd going, but it’s the deep wisdom in his voice that really clinches the deal.

5. “Masters Of War” by Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready: Pearl Jam’s debut album was just a year old when Vedder stepped up to take on Dylan’s most caustic anti-war diatribe. If there were any doubts that he belonged with the best of the best in rock history, this searing vocal performance answered them.

4. “When I Paint My Masterpiece” by The Band: At this point the only original members in the group that fought so many battles with Bob were Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson. That’s was enough. Hudson’s accordion practically builds a gondola right on stage, while the mournful harmonies of Helm and Danko capture the homesickness of the lyrics in moving fashion.

3. “Foot Of Pride” by Lou Reed: Instead of going with one of the well-known anthems like so many of the performers here, Reed pulled out this Bootleg Series tongue-twister, significantly upping the degree of difficulty. Needless to say, he rises to the occasion and gives a reckless, ramshackle effort that hits harder than many of the more respectful tributes of that evening.

2. “License To Kill” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Dylan’s version of this Infidels track was a bit of a misfire, which was a shame because the lyrics are prickly and fascinating. Petty rescues it by turning it into the kind of high-stakes ballad that he does best, complete with Mike Campbell’s impassioned soloing in the closing moments.

1. “Girl From The North Country” by Bob Dylan: The honoree showed all of his buddies how it was done with acoustic guitar and harmonica just like the old days. It’s a mesmerizing effort, making it abundantly clear why everyone was there that night in the first place.

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14 responses to “Top 10 Performances from Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration”

winofine

February 26, 2014

I like your 10. I’d add Wonder, Winter, Clapton and Young for a top 14 in the best tribute concert ever, bar none.

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Write on Music

February 26, 2014

This wasn’t George Harrison’s first live performance in 18 years. He’d been on tour in Japan with Eric Clapton prior to this appearance.

I’d also add Clapton’s version of “Don’t Think Twice (It’s Alright)” and Neil Young’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower.”

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1. Jim Beviglia
  
  February 27, 2014
  
  I meant to say his first in the U.S. in 18 years.Thanks for catching that.
Geoff Tweaty

February 26, 2014

I was lucky enough to be at this concert. Unmentioned highlights were Clapton’s “Don’t Think Twice”, both of Neil Young’s songs (“Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and “Watchtower”), Johnny Winter’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. No disrespect to Lou Reed but his “Foot of Pride” was not at all well received. Of course, the highlight of the whole show was “My Back Pages” where Roger McGuinn, Petty, Harrison, Clapton, Neil Young, and Dylan each took a verse and Clapton and Neil added fantastic solos. I’ve been to hundreds of concerts, and this ranks as #1.

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Sam Weinberg

February 27, 2014

The best performance — in that it was the bravest and most true — was Sinead O’Connor’s. It was her first appearance since she’d ripped up a photo of the Pope on SNL the week before in a misunderstood attack on the Vatican’s decades of silence about child abuse in Ireland. The boos she received at the Bob Dylan gig, ironically, reminded me of the boos Dylan received at Newport for plugging in. Like Dylan, she refused to be cowed by a hostile and ignorant crowd. Instead, she fought back with a spontaneous, raw and powerful acapella version of Bob Marley’s War. She didn’t silence the crowd — it would be years before the horrific and widespread abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests became a topic for mainstream media outlets — but she did demonstrate what it means to be an artist of integrity who refuses to back down when challenged on their principles. Pure class.

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1. Leggy Mountbatten
  
  February 27, 2014
  
  I disagree. She made the event more about herself than Dylan, and she should have taken a page from Bob’s book and sang the song she was supposed to.
2. Sam Weinberg
  
  February 28, 2014
  
  She tried — there were several false starts — but the crowd was too hostile. Also, “taken a page from Bob’s book and sang the song she was supposed to”. That’s an odd appraisal of a man who spent his life challenging, not following, convention.
3. kwhisperer
  
  February 28, 2014
  
  I have mixed opinions about this. People focus on the picture-ripping on SNL but, even more recently, she’d been in the news for making derogatory comments about Desiree Washington in the Tyson case. That’s what first came to mind when I heard the reaction to her. I also think the audience was quiet enough for her to start when the band started. I don’t think it was about integrity. Still love her, though.
Andrew Holtan

February 27, 2014

I agree about Sinead, but also Lou Reed is right up there. Also interesting to note is the version I Wany You by Sophie Hawkings, which Dylan began performing in her style shortly after this show, I love the way Bob did that 1995-98(?). I think the best tribute Ive been was the Concert for George. Coulnt make one but listened to it in San Fransico on the radio.

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Aristo Kratte

February 28, 2014

Sinead O’Connor, every time I hear that name associated with this concert I think “way to make this about yourself.” Previous posters seem to think she was being booed because she was speaking out about child abuse. She wasn’t. She was being booed because she ripped a picture of the pope on national TV. This was a Dylan tribute concert. Bob always understood the time and place for making a statement and it wasn’t during a tribute to another artist.

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Teach

February 28, 2014

I don’t know how you can leave out the O’Jays performance of Emotionally Yours. I’m not really a fan of theirs, and I am of several of the other artists. But they absolutely nailed this one, with easily the best performance of the entire evening. Reimagining the song as powerful soul ballad was incredibly effective, and raised the song to an entirely new level.

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Bill Jacobs

March 4, 2014

The best ever live recording of a Bob Dylan song – Jimi Hendrix, Like a Rolling Stone, Monterey Pop Festival.

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Darth Rosenberg

April 29, 2014

Sophie B. Hawkins’ version of “I want you” was mesmerizing. I saw it on TV at the time, but they did not include it on the CD and it seems to me it’s also missing on this new edition. Too bad.

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