Bob Dylan - Paris 1978 Final Night (2021)

Bob Dylan has been released since the 1978 World Tour in Paris in 1978. If you are a maniac who has collected Dylan’s sound source to some extent, you may think of Paris in 1978 as July 6th of “BORDER BENEATH THE SUN”. A sound source with the same taper as the recording of the Rolling Stones’ 1976 and Pink Floyd’s 1977 Paris performances. Above all, the clearness is outstanding, and the degree of turning on the sound image is also wonderful. It is no exaggeration to say that it is comparable to Mike Millard, and its high quality is the best in the European taper in the latter half of the 70’s.

This taper recorded all of Dylan’s 1978 Paris performance, and has been popular among traders as a group of superb sound sources for a long time. Among them, the last 6 days, and 3rd and 4th have been released as items so far. The most famous 6th is a classic, and more than 10 years have passed since its release on the other two days. In other words, it is the 5th and the 8th of the last day that have not been released yet. Why aren’t the items released even though each has a very good stereo audience recording in circulation? Rather, could you make a sloppy CD of the Paris sound source other than the days mentioned above … It is no exaggeration to say that this was a common wish of enthusiasts all over the world.

Such enthusiasts’ long-standing feelings will come true at the end of 2021. This time, the press CD will finally be made on July 8th, the last day of Paris. The sound quality is superb as I have repeated so far. The freshness is also extraordinarily high, and it is hard to believe that it was from 1978. On top of that, the sound image is close, so even if the opening “My Back Pages” instrumental version starts, it will make you thrilled.
The reason why the sound source boasting such quality has not been released is probably due to the phenomenon that occurred after the middle of the live with a break. First of all, hiss noise is generated on the right channel from the middle stage onward, and if this is a quiet performance, it will be quite noticeable. In addition to that, the pitch suddenly rises in the latter half of the 2nd minute of “Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)”. And above all, the problem of many cuts between songs seems to be the biggest factor that made past labels refuse to release.
However, it’s 2021 now. These problems can be easily adjusted by the evolution of technology. First of all, the level of hiss noise was suppressed at once and it became much calmer. Of course, if this is erased, it will affect the lingering sound of the performance, so it is not completely gone. However, the upper feeling that the level of hiss dropped at a stretch compared to the original sound source. Especially after the middle of the live, the ballad-like quiet arrangement of songs continues, so the result of suppressing hiss is even greater.
The problem of “Senor”, which was more troublesome than that and was very difficult before, is also adjusted exactly. If you listen to it without knowing anything, you may think that it was stable from the beginning. And although it’s hard to say that the sound quality is uncomfortable with regard to the cut between songs, all the blanks created by the cut are eliminated by crossfade. Also, “Masters Of War” included the problem that the warm-up sound just before the start of the performance and the cut occurred between the start of the performance, and the pitch was slightly out of order. .. It has been reborn as a superb sound source that can be entrusted to the sound quality and good performance in total.

During the long-term 1978 tour, it was around this time that Dylan’s original goal of a “rock entertainer” sound reached its peak. Four months have passed since the official “Budokan”, which was the record for the start of the big band, and the band has been able to play every song freely, and Dylan is also singing freely. A major feature of the 1978 live sound was the introduction of a large number of ballad-style singing arrangements based on the entertainer-like concept.
Therefore, while being very enthusiastic when it was exciting, the performance in front of the audience in Paris, who listened to the quiet songs properly, would have demonstrated the true value of the original 1978 sound. In the first place, the European tour itself is perfect for the original entertainer concept, and Dylan sings enthusiastically in front of the London audience even in the masterpiece “EARLS COURT 1978” that captured the enthusiastic performance at Earl’s Court two weeks before Paris. Was captured.

At the stage of Earl’s Court in June, the only new songs from the album “STREET LEGAL” before the release were “Baby Stop Crying” and “Senor”, but from Paris, which is less than two weeks before the album release, “True” “Love Tends To Forget” was released, and on July 5th, “Changing Of The Guards”, which can be said to be the symbol of the album, finally made its stage debut. Therefore, the song that was performed at the encore on the 8th will be the third take of the live performance, but the best live version is the performance with tremendous momentum and Dylan singing with the engine fully open. Hard and aggressive performances like the later Americans are also attractive, but the momentum of the early live version with entertainer leeway is exceptional.
What is even more appealing is the number of masterpieces with slow ballad arrangements that can be said to be the entertainer’s true essence. The appearance of Dylan singing songs such as “Blowin’In The Wind”, “I Want You” and “Just Like A Woman” is the true value of the 1978 tour. For that reason, a careful restoration was required in the latter half of the live when these ballad arrangements were fully shown. Not only did we solve many of the problems mentioned above, but we also removed all the noise that was scattered everywhere. The final day of the Paris performance, which has been well-established for sound quality and performance among maniacs, is finally released in a form suitable for a limited press CD!

Tracklist
Disc 1 (74:46)
1. My Back Pages (Instrumental)
2. She’s Love Crazy
3. Baby Stop Crying
4. Mr. Tambourine Man
5. Shelter From The Storm
6. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
7. Tangled Up In Blue
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man
9. Maggie’s Farm
10. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
11. Like A Rolling Stone
12. I Shall Be Released
13. Going, Going, Gone / Interval
14. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 (Instrumental)
15. True Love Tends To Forget
16. Gates Of Eden

Disc 2 (73:15)
1. The Man In Me
2. One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
3. Blowin’ In The Wind
4. I Want You
5. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
6. Masters Of War
7. Just Like A Woman
8. To Ramona
9. All Along The Watchtower
10. All I Really Want To Do
11. Band Introduction
12. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
13. Forever Young
14. Changing Of The Guards
15. The Times They Are A-Changin’


Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar
Billy Cross – guitar
Alan Pasqua – keyboards
Steven Soles – guitar, backing vocals
David Mansfield – violin, mandolin
Steve Douglas – horns
Jerry Scheff – bass
Bobbye Hall – percussion
Ian Wallace – drums
Helena Springs – backing vocals
Jo Ann Harris – backing vocals
Carolyn Dennis – backing vocals