The Scorpio Label has been working overtime for months now and as part of the latest batch of titles are two Bob Dylan stereo soundboards, Denver 1988 and this one from Holmdel, New Jersey on June 24, 1988. The band during this leg of the Never Ending Tour is absolutely smoking, featuring former David Bowie Guitarist and Saturday Night Live band leader, G.E. Smith, Kenny Aaronson on Bass and Christopher Parker on drums.
It's a pretty rough start for Bob as he seemingly forgets the first verse of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and basically seems distracted for the first couple of songs. In fact, Bob seems a bit off for most of the performance - only to hit a groove during his solo acoustic numbers of "Boots Of Spanish Leather" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"...just in time to serve up a great version of "Silvio". Careful with the volume as you get to "Silvio"! The bass gets a surge in the recording here and will blow you right out of the room. The remainder of the show seems pretty automatic but solid, without question. The high-level caliber of playing with this line-up, the great setlist, and the sweet recording make this title - and the companion double-disc "Denver 1988" - recommended listens. I want to mention that these recordings have been the subject of underground discussions, citing the fact that both the Denver tape and this Holmdel tape were sourced from "lossy" file transfers (e.g. mp3), tainting the enthusiasm around their arrival to market. Well, I used to be of that rather snobby mindset when I was heavy into trading several years ago and I'm putting it on the record for any would be collectors thinking about picking either of these '88 soundboards up, don't even hesitate. These two examples and the Robert Plant & Allison Krauss Merriweather Pavillon tape are all winning productions that are very enjoyable. Not sure what the type of file transfer used may have been, but it isn't mp3, there is none of the common digital shrilling that is associated with those types of transfers to disc.
While this isn't Bob Dylan's most stellar performance, it certainly isn't even close to bad and one should rest assured that this disc has some great music spread throughout. The packaging is very basic but adequate and attractively presented, utilizing period live shots effectively. The tape itself is obviously pretty kick-ass but uneven in spots, as I've mentioned. Not much else to say except thanks to Scorpio for continuing to jump on some nice source tapes and using good judgement...and oh yeah, thanks to Lincoln Park Mark too!
