Jammin

Daivd and I worked on a few songs last night. Spent a fair amount of time on Wall of Death, which is a Richard Thompson song. REM covered it on the Richard Thompson tribute album Beat The Retreat. That album is out of print and I haven't found REM's version on any other album, so I bought a used copy of the CD through Amazon.

Anyway, it's a pretty easy song to play, though we are futzing with some of the chords at the beginning...

We also worked on Bob Dylan's Abandoned Love, which is an interesting song. I guess there are two recordings of it; one on an album that isn't very good, and the other is a live recording that appears on a bootleg. The latter is the version to listen to.

Some notes:

The first known recording is from the Other End club, New York, 3 July 1975. Dylan performed back-up for Jack Elliott on two songs (Pretty Boy Floyd/How long) then performed Abandoned Love, solo, a song which Clinton Heylin says (in Stolen Moments) he probably wrote that week.

I found this post on the net from Joe Kivak:

I agree with this as i was at that show an i was the one who taped it. I was sitting right under Dylan. At my table was Paul Siebel, Larry Estridge & Mayer Vishner. I can never forget the power that came out of every line in that song. Every line was better that the last one...It was an amazing moment that will stay with everyone who was in that room the rest of our lives.

When Dylan came up he was very nervous an for the first 2 songs he had the capo on the guitar crooked an it was buzzing the strings but he never noticed. He nervous an shy. Then after the second song (which Dylan never sang on,near the end of the song Jack looked at Dylan to sing a verse an Dylan shook his head no an then the song ended) For the first 2 songs they where both sitting down. Then Dylan asked Jack if he could use his guitar ("Can I Use Yours?"). An they switched guitars..An Dylan stood up for the next song an Jack diddent know what was coming an was gonna play with Dylan..But once Dylan started the song Jack moved to the back and just listened, Amazed like everyone else..And after Dylan sat down Jack started to do his next song an then realized he had the other guitar..That's how much in awe he was at what he just heard. Dylan had just out of nowhere blew everyone away with this song an then walks off an sits back down. An now its up to Jack who like ever one else couldent believe what he just heard.

After the show was over we took the tape up to WBAI where Mayer Vishner was doing a show an played at about 4 in the morning.. Then the sun came up an it was now the 4th of July... A night i'll never forget.