Bob Dylan - vocals, guitar
Bob Neuwirth - vocals, guitar
Joan Baez - vocals, guitar
Ramblin’ Jack Elliot - vocals, guitar
Roger McGuinn - vocals, guitar
Ronee Blakley - vocals, piano
T-Bone Burnett - guitar
Steven Soles - guitar
Mick Ronson - guitar
David Mansfield - steel guitar, violin, mandolin, dobro
Scarlet Rivera - violin
Rob Stoner - bass
Howie Wyeth - piano, drums
Luther Rix - drums, percussion
Robbie Robertson - guitar
Joni Mitchell - vocals, guitar
Roberta Flack - vocals, piano
Gwen Guthrie - guitar, background vocals
Harry Whittaker - keyboards
Anthony Jackson - bass
Crusher Bennett - percussion
Although some shows on the first leg of the Rolling Thunder Review Tour had higher peaks, this final 1975 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden has become the most legendary. Often noted as one of the greatest Bob Dylan concerts of all time, and with partial high quality audience recordings commonly circulating on bootlegs, it has often served as a standard by which other Rolling Thunder shows are judged. Few people have ever heard the soundboard recordings. Beyond those who attended, few have ever even heard any of the vast quantity of great non-Dylan performances from this concert.
Other than Dylan's controversial 1966 tour, when he first went electric, his legendary Rolling Thunder Review Tour of 1975 is probably the most documented and highly respected of his career. This final night of the '75 leg, when this impressive entourage of musicians, celebrities and guests descended upon Madison Square Garden to raise awareness and funds for the defense of boxer Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, is the most monumental show of that tour.
As was the general format during the 1975 leg of the tour, the show begins with a double dose of Dylan’s close friend and emcee for the shows, Bobby Neuwirth. Backed by Guam (as the core RTR musicians were known) he kicks things off with "Good Love Is Hard To Find" before welcoming everyone to the concert for a performance of "Sleazy."
Following these openers, Neuwirth continues his role as master of ceremonies and one by one introduces some of the core band members, who each do a song of their own. Neuwirth then introduces the remaining members of Guam, before introducing Mick Ronson, guitarist and arranger from David Bowie's legendary Ziggy Stardust band, who plays his original tune "Life On Mars?". Next, Neuwirth invites Nashville songstress and actress Ronee Blakely to the stage, to duet with him on the homage to Hank Williams, "Alabama Dark." Blakely then takes a seat at the piano and leads the band through her own "Need A New Sun Rising."
Neuwirth takes over again on the next two numbers and then, much to the delight of the audience, Joni Mitchell, the first special guest of the evening, takes the stage. After several successful albums in the early ‘70s, Mitchell had retreated into seclusion for sometime, and her brief stint with the Rolling Thunder Review not only signified a welcome return to the stage, but also served as a showcase for new material. Of particular note is "Coyote," which had just been written days before, while on this tour.
At this point in the show, there was a break in the musical performances and several guest speakers took the stage for a 20-minute segment to raise awareness for the plight of Ruben Carter. The highlight of this segment is unquestionably Muhammad Ali, whose spontaneous monologues are both educational and hilarious. His musings regarding his fame versus Dylan's are particularly funny, and Ruben Carter himself even pays the crowd a personal visit, via a phone hookup from prison that is patched through the PA system. Following this segment, amidst shouts and hollers for Dylan, Neuwirth informs the audience they'll have to wait, and he pays homage to his good friend Ramblin' Jack Elliot, with a song that takes his name and serves as a fitting introduction to the man himself. Elliot gets a mini-set of his own and he performs his signature "Muleskinner Blues," followed by the first song he ever heard Woody Guthrie play, "Pretty Boy Floyd." The band joins in for two more as he closes his set with "South Pork West Virginia" followed by "Rich and Ramblin' Boy."
With no fanfare, not even an introduction, Dylan finally joins the existential gypsy caravan on stage. Dylan's choice of material has a distinctive unity and display one of his greatest strengths - a beautiful disregard for professional songwriter polish. This elasticity in his approach to his material is what makes his performances on this tour so immediately engaging, not only for the audience, but for Dylan himself. There's no doubt that Dylan is fully engaged in the material. In stark contrast to the over-hyped Dylan/Band Tour from the previous year, where he often seemed distracted, on this tour his commitment to the moment is palpable at all times.
To end his first set, Dylan brings out violinist Scarlet Rivera, and then performs two of the greatest songs from the recent Desire sessions. Following the intermission, the show continues with something few ever expected to see again, a set of duets by Dylan and Baez. Immediately following, Dylan exits the stage and Joan Baez fronts the band for a six number set.
Baez begins with her original, "Diamonds and Rust," a song based on her relationship with Dylan. Next, she encourages everyone in the house to join in on "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" with her voice soaring above the chorus. The middle of her set focuses on songs reflecting the social issues of the evening, beginning with her "Prison Trilogy" and two older songs from her past, "Joe Hill" (which starts in progress due to a reel change) and the traditional "Long Black Veil." She ends her set with a lovely rendition of the current radio hit, "Please Come To Boston."
At this point, Baez announces that another special guest is in the house and introduces Roberta Flack to the stage. It takes several minutes for Flacks’ band to set up and replace the other musicians onstage, and during this downtime she brings out Martin Luther King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, who is greeted with applause but does not speak.
Once things are in place, Flack and her band perform two Eugene McDaniel numbers. Flack’s beautiful voice and the jazzy accompaniment of her band are greeted with rapturous applause. Following this, the Rolling Thunder Review band return to the stage, with Roger McGuinn in tow, and launch into a fiery rendition of the Byrds’ classic "Eight Miles High," followed by a beautiful full band arrangement of 'Chestnut Mare." Baez returns to the stage and joins McGuinn and company for a rousing rendition of the Band’s "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," a song she would soon take to the top of the charts. Everyone exits the stage and, much to the delight of the audience, Dylan returns to the stage alone, with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica. This is classic Dylan.
The band returns to the stage for the climactic final set of the evening. They begin with a new song, "Oh Sister,' which Dylan dedicates to "all our sisters out there tonight." Then Dylan says, "We're gonna play this song now. This is what this concert, or this show is all about, and this person, he's a beautiful man, and beauty should never be in prison," before launching into a hellacious, eight-minute take of "Hurricane." At the time, this song was perceived as a return to political commentary and protest, taking on an even greater significance for Dylan’s fan base.
They follow with a heartfelt "One More Cup Of Coffee" before performing "Sara," one of the most openly revealing songs of Dylan’s career. In a rare example of straightforwardness, Dylan laments the disintegration of his marriage and, through a series of photographic snapshots in the lyric, reveals himself in an honest manner. Roger McGuinn returns, and he and Dylan trade verses to end the show with "Knockin On Heaven’s Door," before exiting the stage amidst thunderous applause. The entire ensemble returns for an encore and following a brief "Thank You, I said we'd be back" from Dylan, they close this memorable night with everyone singing Woody Guthrie’s "This Land Is Your Land."
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