Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 15, 2014

The American music industry was in transition in 1962. While the very first tip of the first wave of what would ultimately be called The British Invasion arrived at the tail end of the year when The Tornadoes hit Number One with “Telstar”, for the most part 1962 saw a kind of peculiar mishmash of old style rock ‘n’ roll (“The Twist” by Chubby Checker), the occasional novelty tune (“Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers), and a rather wide assortment of more pop flavored material (“Johnny Angel” by Shelley Fabares) and the still popular though much disparaged easy listening genre (“Stranger on the Shore” by Mr. Acker Bilk, the year’s biggest single, and “The Stripper” by David Rose). One of the more long lasting contributions 1962 made to music was the phenomenal success of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado”, as performed by Stan Getz, which really opened the floodgates to what would be a major Bossa Nova influx by both Brazilian artists (Jobim himself and a few years later his protégé Sergio Mendes) and American artists latching on to the craze (virtually every instrumental and pop vocalist star had at least one Bossa Nova single, and sometimes whole albums, to their credit). It’s notable therefore, that nowhere in 1962’s slate of the highest charting singles is there a folk tune to be found, despite the fact that many ascribe the folk movement of being the biggest thing to hit American music between the classic rock ‘n’ roll era and the onslaught of British acts like The Beatles. In fact, one has to journey clear back to 1958 to find a Number One single by a classic folk act, “Tom Dooley” by The Kingston Trio. And yet in 1962, while acts like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary may not have captured the very top spot on the charts, they continued to be immensely popular, regularly charting in the Top 10 on both the singles and the albums charts. It was into this simmering stew of transition that a shockingly little recognized artist by the name of Bob Dylan entered the big time, when his first, eponymous, album was released by Columbia Records in March of 1962. The album attracted considerable critical acclaim, as well as notice by other artists, but it was not exactly a commercial blockbuster, failing to chart in the United States (interestingly, it did rather well in the United Kingdom), and also failing to produce a hit single. Bob Dylan was seen as a rather tentative beginning for what would become a storied career, but if it didn’t put Dylan on the charts, it at least put him on the map, and within a year he was at least enjoying substantial royalties if not personal sales when his “Blowin’ in the Wind” became one of Peter, Paul & Mary’s most iconic hits.

Of course by 1992, things had changed dramatically. Dylan was an institution and a veritable Who’s Who of music superstars came together to celebrate his 30th anniversary in the music business with this concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While Dylan himself was somewhat in a fallow period during this time, his legend was such that the mere announcement of a tribute sparked not just an almost unprecedented outpouring of interest from talent, but also an overwhelming demand for tickets, with the show ultimately playing to an absolutely packed house.

Probably the biggest selling point of the concert is the immense variety of styles on display. Stevie Wonder and “Blowin’ in the Wind” might seem like odd bedfellows despite Wonder’s own long ago charting version of the tune, but his rendition actually is a liberating anthem of freedom and a perhaps none too subtle allusion to some of the progress made in the Civil Rights movement. Chrissie Hynde is similarly impressive in an almost reverent, gospel tinged performance of “I Shall Be Released”. Dylan has always refused to be pigeonholed, and the sheer substance and potential of his material offers some really unusual reimaginings, like the O’Jays’ version of “Emotionally Yours” or a country-fied “grrrl” power “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash and Shawn Colvin.

While the concert itself is undeniably celebratory, there’s also a bittersweet aspect to watching it now, as evidenced by the “In Memoriam” listing included on the back of the insert booklet. Among the artists performing in 1992 who are no longer with us are such iconic names as Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Richie Havens, Levon Helm, Lou Reed and George Harrison. It’s a joy to see all of these great artists joyful themselves, obviously thrilled to be helping to honor an artist who may have not made a huge initial splash in 1962, but who went on to become one of the all time greats of 20th century popular music.

The disc's set list is comprised of:

• 1. Like a Rolling Stone – John Mellencamp
• 2. Blowin’ in the Wind – Stevie Wonder
• 3. Foot of Pride – Lou Reed
• 4. Masters of War – Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready
• 5. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Tracy Chapman
• 6. It Ain’t Me Babe – June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash
• 7. What Was It You Wanted – Willie Nelson
• 8. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Kris Kristofferson
• 9. Highway 61 Revisited – Johnny Winter
• 10. Seven Days – Ron Wood
• 11. Just Like a Woman – Richie Havens
• 12. When The Ship Comes In – The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with special guest Tommy Makem
• 13. War – Sinead O’Connor
• 14. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues – Neil Young
• 15. All Along the Watchtower – Neil Young
• 16. I Shall Be Released – Chrissie Hynde
• 17. Love Minus Zero/No Limit – Eric Clapton
• 18. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right – Eric Clapton
• 19. Emotionally Yours – The O’Jays
• 20. When I Paint My Masterpiece – The Band
• 21. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere – Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash and Shawn Colvin
• 22. Absolutely Sweet Marie – George Harrison
• 23. License to Kill – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• 24. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• 25. Mr. Tambourine Man – Roger McGuinn
• 26. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) – Bob Dylan
• 27. My Back Pages – Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and George Harrison
• 28. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – Everyone
• 29. Girl From the North Country – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Collection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Columbia Records and Legacy with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer (mostly) in 1.78:1 (some of the archival footage is in 1.33:1—see screenshot 9 for an example). This is a clear and detailed enough looking release when the cameras capture the artists in close-up, but it's relatively soft looking by contemporary standards quite a bit of the time, something that's only exacerbated by the often red or blue lighting scheme. On the plus side, despite the interlaced presentation, there are few if any noticeable combing artifacts, and even the aforementioned stage lighting rarely results in typical live concert bugaboos like posterization. In the more brightly lit segments, colors are accurate looking and nicely saturated. The blue and red lighting schemes tend to make flesh tones take on slightly weird looking casts at times. Softness is most obvious in some of the wide shots (especially those of the audience), where the image lacks little definition and clarity and becomes more like moving blobs of color.

Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The biggest complaint many fans will have with this release is that it only features an LPCM 2.0 track, though one has to remember this was recorded in the Dark Ages of live concert fare, when thoughts of future lossless surround tracks hadn't quite entered the mainstream. Still, it's peculiar that Columbia wouldn't want to go back to what must have been multitrack masters to create a surround track. That said, my job is to actually detail what is here rather than what isn't, and while narrow and occasionally just slightly crowded sounding, the LPCM 2.0 track offers excellent fidelity and some surprising depth. All frequency ranges are reproduced very well, and the mix nicely balances the ambience of the stage performers with the sounds of the massive audience. Yes, a surround track would obviously have been appreciated, and perhaps could have opened up the sound considerably more than what is here, but taken purely on its own merits, there's not much to complain about with regard to the track on the Blu-ray disc.

Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (1080i; 39:06) has tons of great candid footage of many of the stars who performed, including Dylan.


• Bonus Live Performances include:

  Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (John Mellencamp) (480i; 4:19)

  Boots of Spanish Leather (Nancy Griffith with Carolyn Hester) (480i; 6:37)

  Gotta Serve Somebody (Booker T. and the M.G.'s) (480i; 5:18)

Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Collection features some absolutely amazing performances, and if there are perhaps niggling qualms with some aspects of the video and audio presentation here, there is such immediacy and vibrancy in so many of these performances that it's hard to completely throw out the baby with the bath water. With the caveats above kept in mind for those of you who set your personal bars high for concert fare on Blu-ray, Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration comes Recommended.