20 NOVEMBER 1979

20 NOVEMBER 1979

SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM - SANTA MONICA, CA

SETLIST:

MONOLOGUE (Regina Havis)/IF I'VE GOT MY TICKET, LORD/IT'S GONNA RAIN/LOOK UP AND LIVE BY FAITH/HOLD MY HAND, OH LORD/OH FREEDOM/SERVE SOMEBODY/I BELIEVE IN YOU/WHEN YOU GONNA WAKE UP?/WHEN HE RETURNS/MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS/PRECIOUS ANGEL/SLOW TRAIN COMING/COVENANT WOMAN/PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND (Regina Havis, vocals)/GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING/DO RIGHT TO ME BABY/SOLID ROCK/SAVING GRACE/SAVED/WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU/ IN THE GARDEN/BLESSED IS THE NAME/PRESSING ON

COMMENTARY:

This concert contains a number of particularly fine performances, especially on the quieter numbers. By the number of times Dylan addresses the audience, it is clear he is comfortable with the venue. It also appears Dylan has begun to switch gears in his comments to the audience. During the first two weeks of the tour, Dylan simply stated his faith and the certainty he felt regarding the coming Armageddon, with a mixture of humility and defiance. In these concerts, Dylan is beginning to form a rhetorical argument to encourage his audience to consider their own faith.

Over the next two nights, Dylan will attempt to tell a portion of the New Testament story of Peter seeking to defend Jesus in the garden of Gesthemane by way of introduction to "In The Garden." Dylan appears to stress two aspects of this tale. First, he notes Peter's rashness and inability to understand the larger plan Jesus has in mind. Second, he stresses that Jesus is committed to his own fate, that he will not push away the metaphoric cup which is being offered him. Dylan appears to be framing this contrast in an effort to show the audience how lost he feels they are without faith. On the 21^st, he will tell them flat out that they have a choice between faith and unbelief and warning them that they will need faith to survive the coming destruction of this world. Charmingly, Dylan will acknowledge that he has no talent for public speaking, noting Moses' own hesitation addressing Pharoah.

So, we begin to see the evangelist struggling within the artist. In one respect, this tour can be viewed as Dylan's own struggle to reach beyond his own considerable artistic gifts to touch his audience directly and bring them on board what he feels to be the sole road to salvation. I think it's fair to say Dylan will ultimately feel defeated in this struggle, as his attempts to verbalize his message between songs fall short of the tremendous punch he delivers with words and music together. This struggle is mirrored in the tone of his "sermonettes" throughout the tour. As noted earlier, the San Francisco dates are marked by simple statements of faith. Here, a rhetorical case for conversion emerges, wrapped in the metaphor of the Biblical stories themselves, but animated by a generosity of spirit on Dylan's part in his hope to convey his faith. Within a week, Dylan will shift to stories of Biblical prophecy, arguing that the evidence of impending Armageddon is mounting. As Dylan himself will note the following April, these stories are poorly received and dylan alter wonders why he bothered. By May, Dylan has begun "shaking the dust off his feet."

As I note in the Commentary to the 21 November concert, something seems to change within this 48 hour period and something is forever lost in the tone and quality of Dylan's shows henceforward. The initial generosity of spirit and artistic liberation which makes the earliest shows of the tour so powerful, is giving way to something else. It is easy to overstate such things, but I believe the point is borne out by the recordings.

ANNOTATIONS:

MONOLOGUE

"Good Evening. I'm going to tell you a story . . ."

"Old woman, we're gonna have to put you off this train." CROWD: "NO!" (laughter)

IF I'VE GOT MY TICKET, LORD

IT'S GONNA RAIN

DO LORD, REMEMBER ME

LOOK UP AND LIVE BY FAITH

OH FREEDOM

show-stopper in the first three solos: Regina/Helena/Mona Lisa

gorgeous three-part harmonies -- damn nice tambourine playing too

THIS TRAIN

Helena Springs lead

Applause rises as Dylan takes stage

SERVE SOMEBODY

1,2,4,guitar solo,5/3,keys,6, outro

(2) "drugs in your pocket"

(4) "maybe livin' in a dome"

(6) "may be sleepin in a king-sized bed"

Dylan gives swooping phrasing to "it may be the devil or it mayyy beee the lord" on first refrain after stanza 6.

I BELIEVE IN YOU

Dylan stacatto w/ "tears and laughter"

"where I will always beee reeee-newed!"

strong vocal performance even as voice sounds a bit tired
gorgeous understatement on final "cause I believe in you."

EDIT# - clips during applause

Dylan: "Well, there're certain men . . . There's plenty of men like that in this town. There're certain men that seek to lead you astray. (inaudible) always break their promises. But lemme tell you, God don't break his promises"

WHEN YOU GONNA WAKE UP?

1,2,3,6,organ/guitar solos,5,8,7,organ/guitar,9,outro chorus

(2) "Henry Kissinger's got you tiiiiiiied up into knots" (vibrato)

(6) "gurus to guide your ev-er-y move"

very strong vocals again, tight second guitar solo

WHEN HE RETURNS

nice inversion on "wilderneeeeeesssssssssssss"

big cheer on second "until he returns"

big cheer on "conccceeeeeeeeaaaaaaaallll"

"he is un-con-cerned"

MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS

"think I'll call it a cow" (pig)

"think I'll call it a (worm?)" (snake)

PRECIOUS ANGEL

first chorus Dylan: "shine your light . . . on me"

"and they say aaaaaalllllllllll is well."

second chorus, Dylan only "shine your light" w/ backing completing chorus and Dylan syncopates "on me"

Tackett's fill after second chorus breaks down at transition

third chorus Dylan: "Shine your light, shine your light on me"

CROWD: "Everybody must get stoned!" (Keltner gives this a drum roll)

Dylan: "Well, we have a lot of people that believe a lot of things. That's what America's called, isn't it, the Land of Many, Many Different Opinions. (inaudible) too proud of opinions. Alright, anyway . ." CROWD: "Bob Dylan rocks (sucks?)! many more shouts and Dylan counts them in

SLOW TRAIN COMING

very tight second guitar solo

swooping third guitar solo

syncopated backing singers on end: "coming/coming/coming"

EDIT# - clips applause and end of Disc One

COVENANT WOMAN

CROWD: "How many roads!"

(1) "I know I can trust you to stay the way you are."

Chorus consistent all three times: "and to you, always, so grateful I will forever be"

Dylan: "Thank you. Ah, we're gonna ask Helena to come out here and sing a song for you, uh, um, Helena's gonna sing a sing for you called "What Are You Doing With Your Heart?" . . . CROWD: "Hey, turn the lights out!" "Let the fans talk!" We've got another song we're gonna do instead. (inaudible) "Shut up over there!" (Applause) It's a thing called "What Love I'm Feeling(?)" with Mona and Terry."

WHAT LOVE I'M FEELING(?) (Performed by trio w/ Terry Young)

CROWD: "(inaudible) Bob Dylan!" "Have some class!"

GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING

Very strong performance, but a very abrupt end, with Tackett missing the final beat.

DO RIGHT TO ME BABY

1,2,3,keyboards solo,4

(2) "bury/be buried, marry/already married//recommend/be recommended, defend/don't need to be defended"

(3) " (?)/sighed(?) to, lie/lied to// amuse/be amused, use/be used"

(4) "believe in nobody/who won't be saved, betray/be betrayed //miss/be missed, faith/not even a scientist"

SOLID ROCK

can hear Drummond count in: "one, two, three, four"

(2) "everybody's expecting a false peace to come"

Dylan pushes tempo and crowds the chorus after second stanza

Dylan waits two full measures following guitar solo to begin "it's the ways of the flesh," bass begins after firat full measure, but everyone's on beat.

Another confused measure preceding "won't let go and can't let go" outro

SAVING GRACE

strong applause after Dylan's first guitar solo and at end

CROWD (near taper): "Play the harp!"
SAVED

Dylan noodles on guitar and sings largely to own accompaniment until chorus, then band kicks in.

(1) "By his light I've been delivered, by his spirit I've been healed."

(2) "By his truth I can be upright, by his faith I am secure//By his power I've been lifted, by his word I do endure"

piano solo runs into Dylan's third stanza

(3) "Nobody to rescue me, nobody would dare, from this burden I've been lifted, by his mercy I've been spared."

EDIT# - during applause

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU

very smooth performance, very nice harp solos, all cadences worked out

(1) "opened up a door that couldn't be shut and opened it up so wide/ filled up a hunger that had always been denied"
(2) "He gets wise in his own eyes and he's made to believe in a lie"

(2) "Well, you've done it all and there's no more left to do."

(3) "Whaaateeevvverrrrrr pleeeeeases you, won't you teeeeeeellll it to my heart."

(3) "Well, I don't deserve it, but I sure done make it through."

Dylan beginning to extend last harp solo beyond measure.

Very strong applause at end

Dylan: "You know when Jesus was in the Garden, when they came to get him; Peter, who was one of his, one of his men there with him, he was always saying things when there wasn't-- when he didn't know what to say he'd always say it. Anyway, Peter took out his sword and he cut this man's ear off when he came in to get Jesus; and Jesus says "Hold it Peter." He said, "Ah, if, Don't you think that if I pray to my father, he would give me twelve legions of angels to take care of this matter. This cup that I, that's coming to me, I must drink it." Anyway, I just give you an idea of, of Peter. Peter's the man that he said, "Upon this, upon you Peter, you, this rock, I will found my church." Anyway, he was always saying things like that. (laughter, applause) But when Jesus did go to the cross, he did defeat the devil. We know this -- (loud cheers) We know this is true and we believe it and we stand on that faith."

IN THE GARDEN

Drum beats very pronounced in second stanza and song marching, but then offkey guitar bridge to third stanza, trips them up a bit
(4) "Did they speak out against him, did . . . they . . . dare?" (twice)
can hear applause as Dylan leaves stage, but no "goodnight" -- very strong applause following song and people begin stomping

#EDIT - smooth edit during applause, clips band intros?

Dylan: "On keyboards tonight, give him a big hand, Spooner Oldham. On the other set of keyboards and backup vocals, Terry Young. Playing lead guitar tonight, Fred Tackett. Playing drums, Mister Jim . . . Keltner. And on electric bass guitar, Tim Drummond. Singing on the bottom tonight is Helena Springs. Singing in the middle on the alto part is Regina McCreary. And on the top, Mona Lisa Young. Alright. So, we're gonna give all the praise and glory to God tonight, cause we know we don't want any (inaudible/cheering) and we know we don't deserve it."

BLESSED IS THE NAME

strong performance, great singing by backing trio

#EDIT - smooth edit during applause

PRESSING ON

Dylan's first "I'm pressing on" cuts into applause

Chorus x 3, first stanza, chorus x 4, second stanza, chorus x 4

Backing singers join on second chorus.

CROWD (near taper): "Alright, that wraps up (inaudible), another day in the (inaudible) of Bob Dylan. The Reverend Bobby."

SOURCES:

Two known reference tapes circulating:

The first (201179MMI) is a dual mono audience recording which includes the seven opening songs by the band and the eighth song, "What Love I'm Feeling" by the band and sung by the trio of backing singers with Terry Young following "Covenant Woman."

This recording is high quality, with excellent distinction among voices, slight distortion at the very highest levels, but otherwise quite good. One major exception: "Covenant Woman and "What Love I’m Feeling" are significantly marred by tape speed problems throughout. On a minor note, there is slightly intrusive audience chatter during "Man Gave Names" and "Precious Angel." There are non-destrutive edits following "I Believe In You", "Slow Train", "Saved," "In The Garden," and "Blessed Is The Name."

The tape speed problems found on "Covenant Woman" may have led the taper or a subsequent trader to edit out that song from their circulating tape, as most circulating copies of 20 November 1979 either lack this song or replace it with a performance taken from another night. This may explain why Glen Dundas reports that "Covenant Woman" was not performed this evening in his "Tangled Up In Tapes." An example of the latter, where another night's performance was edited in, may be found in the description of 201179CCD below.

The second (201179CCD) is a stereo audience recording which lacks the seven opening songs performed by the band, and the eighth song, "What Love I'm Feeling" by the band and sung by the trio of backing singers with Terry Young following "Covenant Woman." This recording also contains an apocryphal performance of "Covenant Woman" taken from another, as yet undetermined, concert during this tour.

This recording is also high quality.