Mark on Dylan Amnesty tribute album.

[Best Brown Baggies]

Mark has recorded the song Restless Farewell which will be featured on the forth-coming Amnesty International tribute album Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. The album will be released on the 24th of January 2012 in North America and the rest of the world on the 30th of January.

Cheers. BBB

[arabia]

I bet Mark could do a great job with it.A wonderful song, which Dylan has only done twice live as far as I know. Once for this 80th birthday TV show for Frank Sinatra and then again in LA at a Dylan concert the night after Sinatra died.

[Pottel]

did he say "happy birthday mr. Frank"? at the end? and did Frank hardly flinch? bet the Bob fans were upset back in the days, coz of the lack of respect from the old man :-)
all so recognisable....

[twm]

I don't know whether you count this as "live" but Dylan did on a Canadian TV show back in early 1964. It is also believed that he sang the song at his first London concert in May 1964, which I did not attend, saving my money in my poorer student days to see Muddy Waters top a multi-artist bill that included Sister Rosetta Tharpe amongst others.

Anyway, Dylan may have sung "Restless Farewell" in that period at other concerts for which we lack the details but we are pretty certain that he never did it again from 1965 until the Sinatra tribute, when he performed it apparently at Sinatra's request.  In a way, I was more surprised that Sinatra knew the song at all than anything else, even Bob referring to him (affectionately not disrespectfully) as "Mr Frank". Some have speculated that it is final verse of the song that attracted Mr "My Way" Frank to Mr Bob's song:-

Oh a false clock tries to tick out my time
To disgrace, distract, and bother me
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face
And the dust of rumors covers me
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick
So I

[vgonis]

What a nice song! Bob's stock has gone up, for Amnesty to decide to dedicate an album. Good for everybody! But where do you get all these info?

[Love Expresso]

  It is also believed that he sang the song at his first London concert in May 1964, which I did not attend, saving my money in my poorer student days to see Muddy Waters top a multi-artist bill that included Sister Rosetta Tharpe amongst others.

Hello, twm, these private informations you give us so constantly are really precious and make your posts such an exceptional good read, therefore very much appreciated! It seems you have experienced a very interesting cultural/musical life! These things are invaluable ingredients,  making this forum such a nice place. Thank you!

LE

[twm]

To add to my previous post, the author of a recent Bob Dylan biography attended a December 1963 concert in Washington DC, made fairly detailed notes and says Dylan sang "Restless Farewell" at this concert.

Just to move things aside slightly, I have one newspaper review of this Washington concert. It does not mention many song titles and "Restless Farewell" is not mentioned. However, this review does contain the following section:

Dylan's singing voice is hoarse and nasal. His guitar technique is elementary. His respiratory harmonica style .... , while distinctive, is hardly entrancing.

I mention this in the light of comments about Dylan's current voice elsewhere on this site and my response that I have been hearing this criticism for what seems like all my life.

[vgonis]

To add to my previous post, the author of a recent Bob Dylan biography attended a December 1963 concert in Washington DC, made fairly detailed notes and says Dylan sang "Restless Farewell" at this concert.

Just to move things aside slightly, I have one newspaper review of this Washington concert. It does not mention many song titles and "Restless Farewell" is not mentioned. However, this review does contain the following section:

Dylan's singing voice is hoarse and nasal. His guitar technique is elementary. His respiratory harmonica style .... , while distinctive, is hardly entrancing.

I mention this in the light of comments about Dylan's current voice elsewhere on this site and my response that I have been hearing this criticism for what seems like all my life.

Convincing the unbelievers (half heartedly I admit being one of them, even though I can still bare his voice) is very hard, especially when you produce such "evidence". OK so he always had a nasty voice.    Thanks for giving weapons to the opposition!
But it was not so gravely back then, and maybe the youth enthusiasm in it, gave it the necessary quality to be at least acceptable, after all he was considered as the voice of his generation- a title he denounced - some biographers claim for fear of his life. Anyway there are too many changes in his voice now - proof I loved his voice back then I can hardly take it now- and since I have already admitted that Bob's voice is the most fitting for his songs, there, I have covered all bases.   

[twm]

The May 1964 concert I mentioned was The American Folk Blues & Gospel Caravan. The following sentence comes from the Wikipedia entry on British rhythm 'n' blues : In 1964 the American Folk Blues and Gospel Caravan arrived in the UK for a 11-date tour, including in its line-up Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blind Gary Davis, Sonny Terry, Muddy Waters and Otis Spann. The original dates sold out rapidly and six more had to be added..

The bill also included Willie Dixon and Cousin Joe Pleasant. The whole thing generated a TV programme made at Chorlton railway station just outside Manchester. There are a few clips here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Granada+Blues+Train&aq=f

I saw this concert in what was then called the Hammersmith Odeon and is the very same venue, now renamed, that Bob and Mark will play in London later in November.

Incidentally, the tour manager for the blues and gospel caravan shows was Joe Boyd, who went on to become a record producer, working with Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band and even Pink Floyd (on their Arnold Layne single). Prior even to his coming to Britain on that blues and gospel tour, Joe Boyd was around the Boston folk scene and, among other things, ran a record importing business. He was the person who imported the London-recorded album "Dick Farina and Eric von Schmidt" to the States, an album on which Mr Bob (in the guise of Blind Boy Grunt) makes a brief appearance.

[twm]

Entirely by coincidence, this popped up on my computer this morning:

http://macarthur-chronicle-camden.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/joe-boyd-and-robyn-hitchcock-concert-review/

Now, you're going to tell me this is all made up but the following is entirely true. Almost two weeks ago, we had a P J Harvey weekend. We went to her Royal Albert Hall concert on the Sunday and, on the Monday, we went to see a preview of Michael Sheen in "Hamlet", for which P J Harvey provided some of the music. Anyway, on the way back to our hotel from the play by tube, we sat discussing the performance and rose to get off. As I did so, I noticed someone a couple of seats away and turned to him and asked, "Excuse me, you are Robyn Hitchcock, aren't you?". And it was indeed "he".

[Pottel]

i believe Joe Boyd was even Floyd's manager in the beginning, but i could be wrong of course.
TWM at a PJ show, impressive!
by the way, when you write:
"even Bob referring to him (affectionately not disrespectfully) as "Mr Frank". "
do you refer to my earlier post? if so then i am being misunderstood...

[twm]

PJ Harvey: why does that surprise you? Admittedly, we've never seen her perfom live before but we were invited and we could have turned down the invitation. As it happens, we enjoyed it and ourselves immensely. The style of her presentation bore similarities to a concert by "Mr Bob": stage in darkness between songs; no words for the audience between songs; a simple "Thank you" and band introductions at the end. Mostly, it was built around LET ENGLAND SHAKE but she also performed some older songs (such as "Down By the Water", which I always call "the blue-eyed girl" song, and "The Desperate Kingdom of Love").

I have not really followed her career closely but I was passed a couple of her CDs by a friend in the music business in continental Europe. I must get them out and play them again some time. I was first aware of her about 20 years ago when she did a Bob Dylan cover ("Highway 61 Revisited") and, as a result of that, became friendly with someone who does follow her career closely.

The temporal proximity of Michael Sheen's "Hamlet" performance was a coincidence. We had planned to attend that anyway. In fact, as it was a preview performance (regular performances started this week, I think), we had to book tickets long ago. Previews are also a bit cheaper than the regular shows, so it is worth the effort and the wait..

Sinatra: the bit in parentheses about "Mr Frank" was merely to avoid misunderstanding on anyone's part.

[vgonis]

P.J. Harvey is a blues singer under cover. Maybe the adaptation of contemporary music forms , hide the pathos she expresses when she sings (plus the core of her lyrics) that is soaked in similar to the great blues men pain. The closer she got to this form in her recorded work, was the record "to bring you my love".Even though I am somehow disappointed in her, due to an extra small performance in Athens (less than 45 minutes!) actually playing only the , then, new record Huh-huh,
I do recommend most of her records. She surely has a better voice than dear old Bob.

[Maxx]

Not everyday we'll have Mark Knopfler on an album with Miley Cyrus and Kesha.

[vgonis]

So the record is already out for sale? Where did you get the info?

Not everyday we'll have Mark Knopfler on an album with Miley Cyrus and Kesha.