Wednesday 11th February
The songs on “Blood on the Tracks” may have been brought about by personal heartache but it seemed to spur Dylan on. He re-located to Greenwich Village, New York and hooked up with some old friends. He took writing classes and co-wrote several songs with Jacques Levy, his teacher. Dylan’s next album “Desire” was almost as good as “Blood on the Tracks”, the songs were stories in themselves, the mystical “Isis”, the brilliant epic protest song “Hurricane” and the humorous “Romance in Durango”. Dylan had assembled a new band which included Scarlet Rivera on electric violin and Emmy Lou Harris joining him on vocals. The album was a great success and he took the band and a whole army of other players including Joan Baez and Mick Ronson on guitar, on the road in what became known as “The Rolling Thunder Tour”.
Never has Dylan sounded so good, and so far three great albums have appeared from that tour. The first was “Hard Rain” released in 76; then many years later one of the Bootleg Series was devoted to Rolling Thunder. I saw a TV special on BBC2 in 76 – a film of one show and it blew me away, here was Dylan in white face make-up and a big white hat and long hair throwing himself joyfully into songs, old and new, each with different new and brilliant arrangements. And just this year this concert has come out on CD, “Shelter from a Hard Rain” really is wonderful.
Dylan also made a movie during the tour; the surrealistic eight hour long “Clara and Renaldo”.
1978 saw the release of “Street Legal” another very good album with more compelling songs on it; ‘Changing of the Guards’ and ‘Is Your love In Vain’ among the best. He followed this period of great Renaissance with another double live album “At Budokan”, where with a stellar band Dylan had never sounded so majestic.
Dylan had returned and carried on his legacy into the seventies. He was rapidly becoming an icon, the man could do no wrong. Elvis had died a sad death, The Beatles had broken up and Dylan stood imperious. What could possibly go wrong…..Religion.
