Not many of the songs Dylan has played on his "Neverending Tour" have been performed so few times as "Series of Dreams." He's played it in concert only 10 times, all of them in early 1994 except for one lone appearance in Vienna VA, on September 8, 1993.
Most of the rest were during Dylan's February 1994 Far East tour where it made the setlist at half of the 14 dates including six of 11 shows in Japan plus one in Singapore.
Dylan played it two more times that spring in Davenport, IA, and Rockford, IL, on April 6 and 12, for a total of just three US performances ever.
And then that was that.
I was lucky enough to hear Dylan perform it live at three of those Japanese shows - and captured it at all three as well. I picked this version from Hiroshima 2/16 to debut first because it's one of the two best and the closest shot. I plan to upload the other two some day soon as well.
"Series of Dreams" is a fascinating little gem and to my ears, anyway, sounds a bit different from anything else Dylan has ever released.
Originally recorded in March 1989 for the album "Oh Mercy," producer Daniel Lanois said it was his pick for the opening track. Many critics who heard it later agreed that "Series of Dreams" should have been and would have been one of the album's standouts.
But in the sort of move that is hardly unfamiliar to dedicated fans, Dylan decided to leave it off the album.
A remixed version with added overdubs was included on "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991" when the set came out a couple of years later in January 1991. That version also featured on "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 in 1994."
An alternate take, also recorded at the March 23, 1989 "Oh Mercy" sessions, was released in 2008 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006.
Dylan released a video for the song as well to accompany its original Bootleg Series debut. It was nominated in 1991 for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
The song's lyrics and imagery, fragmented and vivid, do a superb job of evoking what so many memorable dreams feel like - especially the ones that haunt you for a while.
Musically, the song is driven by its pounding percussion, making it a great pick for this particular version of Dylan's backing band. As you'll hear - and see - Winston Watson does full justice to the central percussive sound that powers this live version just as it does the original recording.
Check out Watson's eyes during the final 30-40 seconds of the song's big finish, with their intense focus on Dylan every few seconds, who's turned around to face him, interspersed now and then with glances at Tony Garnier on bass, and a few personal expressions of bliss. It's a great look at what it's like for musicians to play behind Dylan.
16 сен 2024
