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Rating:
So, did the mountain give birth to a mouse? Any "doctor" with a bit of musical practice could diagnose that the Dylan cure is bad for the grateful dead. And the beautiful cover by Rick Griffin doesn't save a colorless record. Those who have always appreciated the excessively extended live performances of the Grateful Dead find themselves bewildered by the didactic sequence of verse-refrain-solo-refrain and finale with applause imposed by the rigidity of the Duluth minstrel.
The very choice of songs to include as testimony of these live recordings from July 1987 leaves one quite perplexed, "Slow train coming" and "Gotta serve somebody", coming from the period when Dylan had seen the divine light, and "Joey" from "Desire" certainly do not spark enthusiasm in those who awaited a synergistic result between our man's raspy voice and the delicate electric support at the fingertips of master Garcia's band.
And besides, anthems like "All along the watchtower" and "Knocking on heaven's door" have received better live treatments from other performers, and you know who I'm referring to. The problem is that here there is neither the anger nor the pathos necessary to reaffirm their ownership, but only a well-constructed and executed task.
Too demanding? Yes, because if you listen to the beautiful and drunken version of "I want you", a tear rolls down our face reminding us that Dylan and the Dead are great rock icons that we love, and it's not fair that this record risks lying on the shelf gathering dust.
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