DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES vol 34

Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 09:12:22 +0500
From:    xyx  
Subject: DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES vol 34

A trio of releases to assess today, among them 2 winners and 1 big loser.
The drought appears over, as 3 OTHER titles are on the street (see separate
DEEP post) and no less than 5 others in the latter stages of gestation.
We can only hope for some '96's to start spewing forth soon, too...

"EXCLUSIVE SERIES '95"   1CD (ES-003)  Various Locations 1995
   Time: 75:00+   Sources: Audience/TV B'Casts   Quality: VG+/Excellent
The second in the exclusive series (where's ES001?) following the excellent
"ES '94" (ES002). Once again, the quality here is outstanding throughout,
despite the wide variety of venues (6 diff for the audience recordings).
The inclusion of the complete and sublime Frank Tribute performance of
"Restless Farewell" makes this disk worth owning, but there are other
killer performances as well. These include IShallBeReleased (Glachau 7/7),
LennyBruce (Berlin 7/4 9:00+), WhereTeardropsFall (Manchester 4/3), Queen
Jane (Frisco 5/23), and a brilliant Masterpiece and AlabamaGetaway from
(Bloomington 10/26). Nice performances but questionable inclusions are a
slow Jokerman (Frisco 5/23) and a ho-hum IfNotForYou (Hamburg 7/2). The
only negative of this disk is that the last 2 trax are from the R&R HOF
gig - Watchtower & ForeverYoung. As fine as they are, they can be found
on at least 3 other releases - ES would have done better to provide us
w/2 other rarely played trax in their place. On a positive note, I
found the quality of these surpassed what was out there already. I would be
remiss to not mention the front color cover - Dylan looks like Bela Lugosi's
"Dracula" with a towel over his head, his fist covering his mouth and a
look of sheer terror on his face. An incredible photo - will the
cameraman please step forward. Overall, a nice set and, although not as
"killer" as "ES '94," highly recommended. Ooooh, that "Restless Farewell."


"DYLAN PLAYS DEAD"  1CD (Razor's Edge-RAZ 022) Meadowlands, NJ 12 Jul 87
  Time: 60+ (approximate)  Source: SoundBoard    Quality: VG
I'll make this short and sweet. IMO, this show blows. Dylan's performance
is lame, tired, boring and full of as much enthusiasm as a post-lobotomy
victim. He does'nt sound good and the Dead are no better. The sound quality,
for a soundboard source, is just pretty good. What could have been the best
track, "TIMES," has the beginning cut. I'm not a Dead-hater, either, this
show just turns me off. The best thing I can say about the quality of the
performance on this CD is that it has a great color cover :-).
Tracks:STrain,MemphisBlues,TomorrowLongTime,HWY61,BabyBlue,ThinMan,JBrown,
WickedMessenger,QueenJane,Chimes,Joey,Watchtower,Times.
For Dylan & Dead shows, much better is the JFK Philly show from 10 July,
available on the 1CD set "MEN OF PEACE" - a much stronger performance, IMO
better track selection AND better quality.

Peace - xyx

Note: the views expressed in THE DEEP are strictly mine. Flames/comments
are always welcome. Disks reviewed here are not available for sale.

Wed, 3 Jul 1996 09:28:54 +0500

On the street but yet to arrive are:
RING THEM BELLS - 1CD of "Oh Mercy" outtakes. Same track listing as "Deeds
 of Mercy" w.t.e.o. additional takes of "Everything is Broken" and "Ring
 Them Bells" and w/out "What Was It..." and the 3 takes of "Series of..."
 (also missing one other track I can't recall). Quality unknown at present.
THE UNRELEASED LIVE ALBUM - 1CD compilation of tracks of Dylan&Dead from
  Foxboro, Philly, Portland, NJ and Anaheim. Said to include a "Silvio"
  outtake also. (What's the point of this? Sounds like a waste of a CD).
   (Note: Both the above are on the Moonlight label)
HARD TO FIND II - 1CD  Based on the track listing, not nearly as compelling
 as volume 1. All live tracks taken from various sources, I'm told. Includes
 3 trax from R&C promo, a couple from "Hard to Handle" and the rest rarely
 played audience cuts like "St Augustine." Does include "RFarewell" '95.

xyx

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