In 1978,
Bob Dylan was in a tough spot. His divorce from Sarah Lowndes was finalized in 1977; the following January, his Rolling Thunder film Renaldo and Clara appeared to caustic, hostile reviews, as did the live
Hard Rain. In June,
Street Legal appeared to (mostly) hostile reviews.
Bob Dylan at Budokan, released in August, was sourced from his first tour of Japan. It charted at 13 in the U.S. and four in the U.K., but was critically savaged for the big band, horns, backing singers, and radical catalog rearrangements.
The Complete Budokan 1978 reveals a partial reason for the criticism: Lack of context.
At Budokan offered 22 cherrypicked tracks, and this four-disc set presents two complete concerts from February 29 and March 1. It includes an additional 31 songs.
Each night's show commences in review style, with the band playing a
Dylan-less "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" with
Steve Douglas' saxophone taking the vocal melody. It's followed by a swaggering read of
Roland James' "Repossession Blues" that hasn't been performed since (nor has the scorching read of
Buddy Guy's and
Junior Wells' "Love Her with Feeling"). While many numbers resemble their studio versions -- "Mr. Tambourine Man," with
Billy Cross' guitar leading before
Douglas' flute appears in the margins, and "Shelter from the Storm," which is re-presented as uptempo reggae -- "Girl from the North Country" is bathed in
Alan Pasqua's Hammond B-3 and soft tenor sax, as
Dylan's vocals reach tenderly across time.
Street Legal's "Is Your Love in Vain?" is vulnerable; its live performance reveals what his protagonist is actually asking. It's followed by emotionally wrought versions of "Going, Going Gone" and "I Shall Be Released." "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" is ragged as hell, with the five-voice chorus buoying
Dylan's vocal atop choogling guitar and a honking sax above the groove. "You're a Big Girl Now" is offered as slow, loungey R&B, and it works.
Dylan's wholesale rapprochement with his catalog is more defined than on
Hard Rain. The February show delivers a bouncy pop version of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" with flute, saxophone, organ, and violin. "Maggie's Farm" is a burning, percussion-driven exercise framed by sawing violin, gospelized backing vocals, and
Dylan testifying in the lyrics. Both versions of "All Along the Watchtower" with
Douglas' flute are startling. "I Want You" is slower, minimally performed with flute, organ, electric guitar, and
Dylan's desperate, brokenhearted vocal. Both versions of "Like a Rolling Stone" reveal a philosophic
Dylan, while "I Threw It All Away" is poignant, filled with regret and remorse. The package offers a raw, kinetic, uncharacteristically open performance in pristine sound. The accompanying booklet contains liner essays from journalist
Edna Gunderson, co-producers
Heckel Sugano and
Tetsuya Shigano, and photos from
Hirosuke Katsuyama and
Koh Hasebe.
The Complete Budokan 1978 essentially reveals that
Dylan was setting the record straight about his music at the time while opening a gauzy curtain on the artist at life's crossroads. This missing link is a monumental addition to
Dylan's discography. ~ Thom Jurek
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