Bob Dylan - Tramps Vol.2 - New York Broadcast 1999 - 2LP - Vinyl

CLASSIC DYLAN BROADCAST FROM 1999

Sometime in 1997, somehow, Bob Dylan was back in the game. After a decade of hit-or-miss releases; six years without releasing a new, original song; and a near-fatal heart infection, Time Out of Mind came out of nowhere with a sound that was both timeless and brand-new, and a resurgence of the language and form that characterized his greatest songwriting. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year and marked an entirely unexpected creative explosion as Dylan neared sixty.

The live shows were getting more consistent, too. For a co-headlining tour with Paul Simon, his band had settled into a line-up (Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton on guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, David Kemper on drums) that would be his most formidable group since the mid-‘60s performances with The Band. Prior to two nights at Madison Square Garden, Dylan booked a last-minute date at a Chelsea nightclub that captured all of this new momentum. It was a magnificent set, leaning surprisingly hard on his ‘60s masterworks (including a miraculous ‘Visions of Johanna’), but also turning a forgotten song like ‘Seeing the Real You at Last’ into a thrilling highlight.

With Elvis Costello joining in for a final take on ‘I Shall Be Released’, the full show remains something of a marvel and is now released on vinyl for the first time on this new two-instalment set.