Il 16 ottobre 1992, uno stuolo impressionante di bellissimi nomi del rock mondiale si diedero appuntamento al Madison Square Garden di New York per un evento ripreso in diretta dalle televisioni di un po' tutto il pianeta, e che poi venne fissato su una doppia videocassetta e su un doppio CD: il trentesimo anniversario dell'uscita del primo album di Bob Dylan. Grandi rockstars, amici e non del grande menestrello di Duluth si radunarono per dare vita ad una kermesse gigantesca, che superò abbondantemente le quattro ore, e di cui sui supporti citati sono tratti i momenti migliori. Parlerò del CD, visto che ho quello.
La band di accompagnamento è di tutto rispetto (la Blues Brothers Band con Donald "Duck" Dunn e G. E. Smith tra gli altri). Inizia il tutto John Cougar Mellencamp con due ottime versioni rock-blues di "Like A Rolling Stone" (mai facile fare una ottima versione di questo pezzo, ricordiamocelo, tale è la portata dell'originale), con due coriste con voci da paura, e "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat".
Il live ha anche alcuni punti deboli e uno arriva subito dopo la presentazione di Kris Kristofferson: è una orrenda e chilometrica versione di "Blowin' In The Wind" proposta da un improbabile Stevie Wonder. Ci pensa poi Lou Reed a rimettere in sesto il concerto con una splendida "Foot Of Pride", forse un po' lunga, ma molto vigorosa e ruvida.
Altra grande prova quella di due dei Pearl Jam, il cantante Eddie Vedder e il chitarrista, qui in acustico, Mike McCready, che ripropongono un brano che ancora oggi dopo quarant'anni, è ancora di tragica attualità: "Masters Of War".
Tracy Chapman si presenta pure lei da sola con la chitarra acustica e presenta "The Times They Are A-Changin'", una versione che non mi tocca particolarmente, poi giù il cappello davanti a un grandissimo Johnny Cash che, accompagnato dalla moglie June Carter, fa ascoltare il pezzo il cui testo si vuole sia inciso sulla sua tomba: "It Ain't Me, Babe" (Non sono io, bambina), country allo stato puro.
Il concerto prosegue alla grande con Willie Nelson che fa letteralmente suo uno dei capolavori di "Oh Mercy", è cioè "What Was It You Wanted", con strepitosi inserti di armonica.
Kris Kristofferson, invece, dà l'ennesima prova di essere molto meglio come attore che come cantante country, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" è in una versione piuttosto svogliata e forzata.
Poi il fuoco torna a covare sul palco del Madison: arriva il chitarrista albino Johnny Winter, e qui non ci sono storie, è rock-blues galoppante e tirato allo spasimo, una delle "Highway 61 revisited" più potenti mai sentite.
In gran forma anche Ronnie Wood che si lancia in una "Seven Days" carica di assoli chitarristici degni di lui, canzone che era stata scritta da Bob proprio per Woody (anno 1975).
Poi c'è un momento di pura poesia. Per molti il nome di Ritchie Havens è associato solamente a Woodstock '69, pochi si ricordano che è un grandissimo chitarrista acustico con uno stile inimitabile. e ne dà una tangibile prova con questa emozionante "Just Like A Woman".
Dopo questa emozione, arriva uno dei momenti più scarsi del concerto, una sezione country con i Clancy Brothers e Rosanne Cash con altre due figliole, che lasciano il tempo che trovano.
Dopo la vergognosa contestazione da parte del pubblico a Sinead O'Connor ("rea" alcuni giorni prima di alcune considerazioni poco amichevoli nei confronti di papa Giovanni Paolo II), a cui è stato IMPEDITO di cantare "I Believe In You" (sempre "democratici" questi americani), sale sul palco il grande Neil Young, che dà spettacolo in "Just Like Tom Thumb's blues" e in "All Along The Watchtower", che da allora diventerà uno dei suoi cavalli di battaglia live.
Bella anche la prova di Chrissie Hynde, per una volta orfana dei Pretenders, che canta e suona benissimo "I Shall Be Released", poi c'è uno dei migliori Eric Clapton degli ultimi 20 anni. La sua versione blueseggiante di "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" è eccezionale e prende bene fin dal primo ascolto.
Poco significativi gli O'Jays, come poco significativa è la canzone che interpretano, "Emotionally Yours".
La Band (senza Robertson) sale poi sul palco per suonare un pezzo che era contenuto in "Music from Big Pink", storico album del 1968, ed è una sentita versione di "When I Paint My Masterpiece".
Anche George Harrison non manca in questa kermesse e si produce in una buona "Absolutely Sweet Marie". Tocca poi a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (che già avevano accompagnato Dylan nel tour del 1986) con due pezzi non troppo rilevanti, "License To Kill", che pure è una bella canzone dell'album "Infidels", ma qui un po' troppo moscia, e "Rainy Day Women # 12&35" (mai piaciuta).
Ma il vero punto debole di questo concerto, spiace dirlo, è stato proprio lui, Bob Dylan. Probabilmente ubriaco e chiaramente fuori fase, si è avventurato sul palco per suonare due pezzi di cui uno non è nemmeno stato passato sul CD ("Song to Woody"), tanto è stato basso il livello della sua esibizione, e uno appena decente, "It's All Right Ma (I'm only bleeding)" (anche perché cantando questo pezzo è quasi impossibile stonare). Stava riuscendo anche a rovinare la jam session finale con tutti gli artisti sul palco che suonavano e cantavano (a modo loro, bene) "My Back Pages" e "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", ma qui si è perlomeno potuto intervenire in studio per correggere e cancellare le evidenti stonature di Bob. Può capitare di non essere in forma una sera, ma che succeda proprio quando tutti i tuoi amici ti onorano e ti festeggiano, è abbastanza grave. Senza offesa, Bob, tornerò a vederti.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Like a Rolling Stone (06:53)
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Ah,you've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You say you never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Ah, you never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Ah, princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel
Ah, how does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
02 Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (04:20)
Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Yes, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, you must tell me, baby
How your head feels under somethin' like that
Under your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, you look so pretty in it
Honey, can I jump on it sometime?
Yes, I just wanna see
If it's really that expensive kind
You know it balances on your head
Just like a mattress balances
On a bottle of wine
Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, if you wanna see the sun rise
Honey, I know where
We'll go out and see it sometime
We'll both just sit there and stare
Me with my belt
Wrapped around my head
And you just sittin' there
In your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, I asked the doctor if I could see you
It's bad for your health, he said
Yes, I disobeyed his orders
I came to see you
But I found him there instead
You know, I don't mind him cheatin' on me
But I sure wish he'd take that off his head
Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, I see you got a new boyfriend
No, I never seen him before
Well, I saw you
Makin' love with him
You forgot to close the garage door
You might think he loves you for your money
But I know what he really loves you for
It's your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
04 Blowin' in the Wind (08:53)
How many roads must a man walk down,
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must the white dove sail,
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes'n how many times must the cannonballs fly,
Before they are forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes'n how many years can a mountain exist,
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes'n how many years can some people exist,
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes'n how many times can a man turn his head,
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Yes'n how many times must a man look up,
Before he can see the sky?
Yes'n how many ears must one man have,
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes'n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
05 Foot of Pride (08:47)
Like the lion tears the flesh off of a man
So can a woman who passes herself off as a male
They sang "Danny Boy" at his funeral and the Lord's Prayer
Preacher talking 'bout Christ betrayed
It's like the earth just opened and swallowed him up
He reached too high, was thrown back to the ground
You know what they say about bein' nice to the right people on the way up
Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin' down
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
Hear ya got a brother named James, don't forget faces or names
Sunken cheeks and his blood is mixed
He looked straight into the sun and said revenge is mine
But he drinks, and drinks can be fixed
Sing me one more song, about ya love me to the moon and the stranger
And your fall by the sword love affair with Erroll Flynn
in these times of compassion when conformity's in fashion
Say one more stupid thing to me before the final nail is driven in.
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
There's a retired businessman named Red, cast down from heaven and he's out of his head
He feeds off of everyone that he can touch
He said he only deals in cash or sells tickets to a plane crash
He's not somebody that you play around with much
Miss Delilah is his, a Philistine is what she is
She'll do wondrous works with your fate
Feed you coconut bread, spice buns in your bed
If you don't mind sleepin' with your head face down in a grave.
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
Well they'll choose a man for you to meet tonight
You'll play the fool and learn how to walk through doors
How to enter into the gates of paradise
No, how to carry a burden too heavy to be yours
Yeah, from the stage they'll be tryin' to get water outta rocks
A whore will pass the hat, collect a hundred grand and say thanks
They like to take all this money from sin, build big universities to study in
Sing "Amazing Grace" all the way to the Swiss banks
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
They got some beautiful people out there, man
They can be a terror to your mind and show you how to hold your tongue
They got mystery written all over their forehead
They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young
They don't believe in mercy
Judgment on them is something that you'll never see
They can exalt you up or bring you down main route
Turn you into anything that they want you to be
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
Yes, I guess I loved him too
I can still see him in my mind climbin' that hill
Did he make it to the top, well he probably did and dropped
Struck down by the strength of the will
Ain't nothin' left here partner, just the dust of a plague that has left this whole town afraid
From now on, this'll be where you're from
Let the dead bury the dead. Your time will come
Let hot iron blow as he raised the shade
Well, there ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no goin' back
06 Masters of War (05:06)
Come, you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just-a want you to know
I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly
Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water that runs down my drain
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
While the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
While young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies and is buried in the mud
You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatenin' my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood that runs in your veins
How much do I know
A-to talk out of turn?
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness?
Do you think that it could?
An' I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
An' I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket
On a pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your death bed
And I'll stand over your grave till I'm sure that you're dead
07 The Times They Are A-Changin' (03:01)
Come gather around people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled,
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
08 It Ain't Me, Babe (03:50)
Go away from my window
Leave at your own chosen speed
I'm not the one you want babe
I'm not the one you need
You say you're lookin' for someone
who's never weak but always strong
to protect you and defend you
whether you are right or wrong
Someone to open each and every door
But it ain't me, babe
no, no, no it ain't me, babe
it ain't me youre lookin' for, babe
Go lightly from the ledge, babe
Go lightly on the ground
I'm not the one you want, babe
I will only let you down
You say you're lookin' for someone
who'll promise never to part
someone to close his eyes for you
someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you and more
But it ain't me, babe
no, no, no it ain't me, babe
it ain't me you're lookin' for, babe
Go melt back in the night
Everything inside is made of stone
there's nothing in here moving
And anyway, I'm not alone
you say you're lookin' for someone
who'll pick you up each time you fall
to gather flowers constantly
and to come each time you call
a lover for your life and nothing more
But it ain't me babe
no, no no it aint me babe
it ain't me your'e lookin' for babe
09 What Was It You Wanted (05:47)
What was it you wanted?
Tell me again so I'll know.
What's happening in there,
What's going on in your show.
What was it you wanted,
Could you say it again?
I'll be back in a minute
You can get it together by then.
What was it you wanted
You can tell me, I'm back,
We can start it all over
Get it back on the track,
You got my attention,
Go ahead, speak.
What was it you wanted
When you were kissing my cheek?
Was there somebody looking
When you give me that kiss
Someone there in the shadows
Someone that I might have missed?
Is there something you needed,
Something I don't understand.
What was it you wanted,
Do I have it here in my hand?
Whatever you wanted
Slipped out of my mind,
Would you remind me again
If you'd be so kind.
Has the record been breaking,
Did the needle just skip,
Is there somebody waitin',
Was there a slip of the lip?
What was it you wanted
I ain't keepin' score
Are you the same person
That was here before?
Is it something important?
Maybe not.
What was it you wanted?
Tell me again I forgot.
Whatever you wanted
What could it be
Did somebody tell you
That you could get it from me,
Is it something that comes natural
Is it easy to say,
Why do you want it,
Who are you anyway?
Is the scenery changing,
Am I getting it wrong,
Is the whole thing going backwards,
Are they playing our song?
Where were you when it started
Do you want it for free
What was it you wanted
Are you talking to me?
11 Highway 61 Revisited (05:05)
Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son,"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No," Abe say, "What?;"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run;"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard where can I go
Howard said there's only one place I know
Sam said tell me quick man I got to run
0l' Howard just pointed with his gun
And said that way down on Highway 61.
Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61.
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she said is much too white
He said come here and step into the light he says hmm you're right
Let me tell the second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61.
Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored
Tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes, I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61.
13 Just Like a Woman (05:50)
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Queen Mary, she's my friend
Yes, I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
That Baby can't be blessed
Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
She takes just like a woman, yes,
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
It was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that--
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
But when we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
15 You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (03:52)
Clouds so swift
Rain won't lift
Gate won't close
Railings froze
Get your mind off wintertime
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
I don't care
How many letters they sent
Morning came and morning went
Pick up your money
And pack up your tent
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
Buy me a flute
And a gun that shoots
Tailgates and substitutes
Strap yourself
To the tree with roots
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
Genghis Khan
He could not keep
All his kings
Supplied with sleep
We'll climb that hill no matter how steep
When we get up to it
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
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