Top 10 Best Performances from the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert
On October 16, 1992, many diverse and popular artists gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City to celebrate the songs and music of Bob Dylan on the 30th anniversary of his first recordings. The four-hour show, dubbed "Bobfest" by Neil Young, was broadcast around the world. Many notable performers and some of the greatest supporting musicians contributed memorable performances. The concert is available on CD and video.The concept of this list isn't just about choosing the "better" song or a favorite performer. It's a combination of delivery, song choice, and the artist's presence. I decided not to weigh in sentimentally or focus on the importance of Dylan's own solo performances for the top ten. While some of his solo performances were quite strong, he wasn't at his best vocally, and many of the other artists gave fantastic performances in salute and tribute to him.
I need to give G.E. Smith credit for a phenomenal job as musical director of the entire show, as well as for his guitar and mandolin work. He really arranged things well and kept things flowing. Booker T and the M.G.s were magnificent as the house band, supporting many diverse artists and styles!
If only Roy Orbison could have been there for a Traveling Wilburys reunion.
What an incredible group of musicians.
Great, creative gospel-like rendition with strong vocals.
George's first U.S. performance in 20 years at the time. Of course, he and Dylan had many strong connections and interactions. Dylan was featured at Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, which was Dylan's return to the stage after a motorcycle accident and time off.
Clapton is one of many who cover Dylan well.
Winter did a nice, fun job with this one.
Not Hendrix, of course, but Neil was more than up to the task. I had a little trouble deciding which of his two song efforts to put here, but this song's status and popularity swung the ranking.
A beautiful, subdued, and expressive rendition. Willie hit the mark on the delivery of this one.
I've long been an admirer of Richie Havens's voice and acoustic playing. He covered many Dylan songs, and this is one of my favorites of Bob's, which I love to sing. Richie performs it so well.
I'm a huge fan of Chrissie and the Pretenders, and she really seemed to be enjoying herself here. She had a great introduction by George Harrison a bit later in the show.
Solid performance, but it got the number ten spot over other worthy candidates as it opened the show and got things off to a terrific start.
The Newcomers
Highlight of the show, in my opinion. Love Minus Zero was a solid cover, but he blew the roof off with Don't Think Twice, It's Alright. An electrifying performance.
Booker T, Steve Cropper, Don "Duck" Dunn, Anton Fig, and Jim Keltner provided solid work as the house band backing most performances.
A lesser-known song that Ron Wood performed well, sounding somewhat like Dylan.