Bob Dylan & Tom Petty.

[aimeeandbeatles]

I thought that subject of the 1986 & 1987 tours would be very good. I hope it does not turn into a bunch of complaining people. So I will red-diamond this so the mods will make sure it goes OK.

So anyways I don't know how many people know. But during 1986 and part of 1987 Bob Dylan toured with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers as his support band. But I will now post more background behind here:
In 1985, there was made a new benefit called Farm Aid. Which was sort of like Live Aid but for farmers. So anyways Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were scheduled to play. And so was Bob Dylan. And Petty's manager and Dylan's manager were partners. And at least one of the Heartbreakers (Benmont Tench) had played with Dylan in the past. So Petty and the Heartbreakers agreed to back for Bob Dylan. So they went to a week-long rehearsal and did a lot of songs. Here's from an article I have:

“We spent a week rehearsing for Farm Aid, and we would play a lot every night. Hours and hours and hours. We did Hank Williams songs, Motown songs (‘I Second That Emotion’). We even played ‘Louie Louie’ one night. And ‘Then He Kissed Me,’ the old Crystals song. When we went to the gig, we only did 20 minutes, so everyone was saying, ‘Boy, it’s a shame we can’t really play for a while.’
“I think Bob’s attracted to the idea of working with a group,” Petty continued. “A handpicked band of good players doesn’t always make a great band. Somebody like him needs a sympathetic unit that understands that music. He told me, ‘This band is like talking to one guy.’”

Oh, and I forgot to say this. I have a video. With both Petty and Dylan's sets at the Farm Aid benefit. Petty seems to be having a blast! Which was missing from Pack Up The Plantation, which was filmed just maybe a month before. I think maybe Petty had a bit of burnout at the time.

So anyways that worked OK. And then Petty & Co. got invited to go on the Australia, New Zealand, and Japan tour with Dylan. So they did that. And at this time nobody was sure it was coming to the U.S. And a home video was made. It was on HBO (Home Box Office). And later released as a VHS called Hard to Handle. I have a copy of the video. It's actually quite nice to watch.

So then that happened. And then they went into the studio to record Dylan's album, which was Knocked Out Loaded. There was a song co-written by Petty and Dylan and recorded with the Heartbreakers. "Got My Mind Made Up." Dylan changed all of Petty's words (the original version was a bit of a generic love song). But anyways also there was recorded another song, Band of the Hand, which was for a movie... I think. But Petty produced that and the Heartbreakers played on it, and I consider it a quasi-Heartbreakers song.
So anyways at the same time Petty and Heartbreakers recorded the album "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)." Which was done extremely quickly compared to some of the albums. Also Jammin' Me was co-written with Dylan. Which led to one review of the album referring to the "Dylanesque Jammin' Me" and me screaming at it "READ THE LINER NOTES DOOFUS!" But that's off-topic.

So they went back on tour in the U.S. And they did the second Farm Aid. But they weren't actually at it. What they did was they filmed the show in Orchard Park, N.Y. and I think it was telecast over. But I have the entire show on a video. Also the Grateful Dead were at some of those shows. I have a list of dates somewhere but I'll look them up on request.

So that was good, they did a lot of shows. And then took a break. Petty sued B.F. Goodrich for using a soundalike in a commercial (he won), released Let Me Up (critically a success but commercially a failure), and got his house burned down. But then a few days later he was on tour. But it was his own tour. The 1987 Rock & Roll Caravan. He had two openers, the Del Fuegos and the Georgia Satellites. And he got a little bit political and talked about trusting condoms more than Ollie North. So that was OK.

And then they went back on tour again, this time with Roger McGuinn, to the middle-east (including Israel) and to Europe. At the very end they went to England to perform some shows at the Wembley. And there they ran into George Harrison and Jeff Lynne, right about to release Cloud 9.... Now, which band had Petty, Dylan, Harrison and Lynne?

So anyways theres your primer. Now I will post some interesting stuff!

-- At a press conference this happened:

At a recent American press conference, hailed to announce their joint tour, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty stunned journalists by turning up sporting elaborate make-up which would have done Joan Collins proud.
Petty wore a deathly white foundation, heavy duty mascara and lots of baby pink highlighters. Dylan opted for a thick layer of orange-tinted fake tan and ended up looking like a baked bean.
Now this sort of behavior is all very well for chaps like Boy George, but this pair are supposed to be clean-cut, straight-shooting rock'n'roll stars.
"We were stuck backstage for over an hour and we just got bored," drawled Petty.
"So we just let the make-up artists get on with it because we had nothing else to do."

-- At another press conference:

Why is he touring with the Heartbreakers? "We just felt like it," said Dylan. Said Petty: "Money."

Very subtle, Tom!

-- In Australia, Stevie Nicks tagged along.... (it was mentioned that she always seems to show up where Tom was.) But anyways Dylan pulled her on stage. But then Australia threatened to deport her if it happened again. I've got a video of the performance.

-- Dylan and Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch one skipped rehearsal to go see Sammy Davis and Frank Sinatra.

-- At one show.... Well I'll just copy and paste it:

I heard about a show you did with Dylan outside of San Francisco; when the stage was darkened during a break, Bob Dylan fell over. You rushed over, looked down, and reported to your band, “Bob Dylan is dead.”
Did I really say that? [Gives a quizzical look, as if to confirm] I remember that show, what a night! Me and Stan got in a big fight, and I left the stage. Stan was wound-up about something, and he gave me the finger during the show. I just took my guitar and walked off. Left. They didn’t know what to do. And I guess Al Kooper sat in, and they just carried on with Al. I went to my dressing room realty mad, I wouldn’t come out. Then Bob came in and said, “Come on, come back. John Lee Hooker is here and he’s going to play. Come on. Let’s go play with John Lee Hooker.” I was still mad, but I went back to the stage. Then John Lee Hooker came out and kicked our asses. He was just transcendental. I remember Bob walking across the back telling us, “Don’t change chords with John Lee Hooker, he doesn’t change chords.” And Bob fell over. That was some night.

-- At still (another show), it was bassist Howie Epstein's birthday. And they sing Happy Birthday and bring out a cake on stage. I have a video.

-- Mike Campbell: "During one show in Australia, we were supposed to do 'When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky,' and (Dylan) didn't feel like doing it," Campbell remembered. "He turned around to me and said, 'You know the chords for 'All Along the Watchtower,' don't you,' and we'd never rehearsed it. I said, "There's only three, right?' And he said, 'Yeah, Let's go.'"

-- In Egypt, Tom Petty rode a camel.

-- In Israel, Tom Petty supposedly threw a temper tantrum because the kosher hotel they were staying in didn't have bacon and eggs.

-- At one show in Wembley, George Harrison came on stage!

-- And backstage at Wembley (October 1987)....

Was it while touring with Dylan that you heard an advance tape of George Harrison’s Cloud Nine, produced by Jeff Lynne?
tp: Yeah. And I loved it. We played in Birmingham [England] with Bob and then a few weeks later we played London for a few nights. I think we were there for three or four nights in Wembley. On the first night in Birmingham, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne came to visit. And Bob was not feeling well. He was not really around before the show, and then he didn’t want to hang around afterwards too much.
It was funny—that first night we were in London, when we had that great time, a hurricane hit. In London. Completely unannounced and unpredicted by the weather bureau. I always thought that [hurricane] had something to do with changing my life. This literal hurricane.
The Hindus think that when you meet someone and you feel really close to them immediately, that maybe you knew them in a past life. And that was how it was with George. We met each other and instantly became really close. Instantly we became very close. And I remember him saying to me, ‘You know, I’m not going to let you out of my life now.’ And it wasn’t about The Beatles or anything
like that. We really got along well. And shared a sense of humor. And we became very close friends. And Jeff, too.
So we hung out, and one night we really had a nice time, after the gig we hung out for hours with George, and Ringo was there and Derek Taylor [music journalist, former Beatles publicist, and collaborator on George Harrison’s autobiography, I, Me, Mine]. And all of their wives. And we hung out, and we had a lot of laughs. And then the next night was my birthday. I have a photo.
They brought me a little birthday cake. And there’s a photo of me and George and McGuinn and Bob and Mike, and we’re all backstage laughing. And it looks pretty accurate.

Heres the pics:

Spoiler :

So to discuss? I can post more later. And I have more pictures.

 

[Skwink]

Bob Dylan is pretty boss.

 

[Abaddon]

I wonder what Bob Dylan will release next?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Bob Dylan is pretty boss.

That was very quick. Either youre a very fast reader or you skimmed it.

I will post more information about what I know if people request it.

Something interesting I found is that Let Me Up (the album recorded during the Dylan tour). At the time it was very critically acclaimed that even I was surprised. But now, everyone seems to write it off as a mess. I'm thinking maybe the next album, Full Moon Fever, or maybe the Wilburys even, might've influenced that a bit. That doesn't make sense does it?

By the way, if anyone ever gets a chance to see Hard to Handle, watch Benmont -- he's quite obviously having a blast!

 

[nonconformist]

Dylan's been going downhill for years. His Christmas album was an abomination. Especially for someone nominally Jewish.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

This thread, is about, the tour (and things around that). Not Dylan in general. OK?

 

[nonconformist]

Noone's ever heard of this tour, so this thread is pretty much old yeller, and I'm that stupid child with the shotgun

 

[Skwink]

Dylan's been going downhill for years. His Christmas album was an abomination. Especially for someone nominally Jewish.

In for one enjoyed it. You probably have to really like Dylan to like it.

 

[sophie]

Dylan's great. I loved his stuff in The Last Waltz and Concert for Bangladesh. The Band was definitely his best backing band.

I agree though, his latest stuff has been less than stellar.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Dylan's great. I loved his stuff in The Last Waltz and Concert for Bangladesh. The Band was definitely his best backing band.

I agree though, his latest stuff has been less than stellar.

The Last Waltz is fantastic . Up there with Stop Making Sense for concert movies .

 

[sophie]

The Last Waltz is fantastic . Up there with Stop Making Sense for concert movies .

If you go to Wolfgang's Vault, they have the full unabridged concert sb. It is totally worth checking out!

 

[Cynovolans]

Sounds like an awesome tour, do you know any videos from youtube of it you can post?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Sounds like an awesome tour, do you know any videos from youtube of it you can post?

Well AFAIK there's no existing video of the 1987 tour. But theres quite a few from 1986 and of course 1985's Farm Aid.. As for YouTube, search "bob dylan farm aid 1985" and "dylan petty 1986" -- I'd post links but with my luck it'd be taken down real fast.

 

[nonconformist]

Wasn't Last Waltz with The Band?

 

[sophie]

Wasn't Last Waltz with The Band?

It was the Band's official "Retirement from touring". They decided to put on one last grandiose concert and for it they assembled, what can only be called "The Justice League of Music".

The concert featured:
The Band
Paul Butterfield
Muddy Waters
Eric Clapton
Neil Young
Joni Mitchell
Neil Diamond
Van Morrison
Neil Diamond
Ringo Starr

and several others that I can't remember off the top of my head.

And on top of all this, the concert was made into a documentary directed by Martin Scorcese.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I will make an interesting observation. More than once, music critics have mentioned that Petty's mini-sets (during the shows, Dylan would go off-stage and let Petty do a few songs) were better than Dylan's. Although I wonder if they're saying that just to get a reaction

 

[sophie]

No one really takes music critics seriously.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

No, I just found it very interesting.

I am watching the 1986-07-21 video (East Rutherford, the one where they sing "Happy Birthday"). Heres a screencap of the cake. Which is not a lie.

 

[_random_]

Dylan's been going downhill for years. His Christmas album was an abomination. Especially for someone nominally Jewish.

He never renounced Christianity after converting, although by all accounts he's grown less devout post-Shot of Love. That doesn't mean the album sucked less of course. Still, Highway 61 Revisited remains one of the greatest albums of all time, no matter what, so you can't deny that he once possessed genius.

 

[Skwink]

He never renounced Christianity after converting, although by all accounts he's grown less devout post-Shot of Love. That doesn't mean the album sucked less of course. Still, Highway 61 Revisited remains one of the greatest albums of all time, no matter what, so you can't deny that he once possessed genius.

I could listen to Highway 61 Revisited all day.