...bobs rolling thunder revue jaunt 'round th'northeast o' unclesamautocracy in th'winter o'75 was 'nother one o'those excercises in 'getaway' madness that th'zimm gets a kick out o' every now'n then(66 tour blasted on speed/big pink sojourne behind a haze o' reefer/self portrait)...this time th'idea was based around a kinda travellin minstral show that would just pull into town 'n set up in a empty auditorium'n play a show lastin as long as it would('bout 3hours)...various cats came along for th'ride includin ramblin jack elliot/david blue/bob neuwirth/roger mcguinn/mick ronson/ronnie blakely'n two queens o'th'folk scene baez'n mitchell,all droppin in here'n there along th'way,some ridin th'bus,others just groovin on a nights fun...everyone would get to sing a few numbers with dylan comin on stage about a third o' th'way in'n vibin up th'audience'n then duetin with joan b.,who in turn would sing some toons solo(sometimes outstayin her welcome as th'audience felt they were bein teased,that dylan shoulda stayed on stage once he'd appeared,this bein not an unwarranted assumption),with bob reappearin for th'remainder o'th'evenin...th'whole escapde was a ramshackle,rag-tag freakout that for th'first part (nov/dec.75)was a friendly groove all fuelled on mysterious chemicals,includin accordin to legend animal tranques so th'whole party were gettin weird'n shakin it up,gettin into funky abandom,reachin out that little bit extra,communicatin in new'n different tongues...mick ronson,no stranger to madness after 'kickin it around'with bowie'n reed'n iggy got th'revue into wearin makeup,gettin a bit glam to off set th'cheese cloth'n denim squareness that was rife across th'rock universe,th'eventual outcome o' which came about with th'minstral white face parade that surprised more than a few liberal onlookers at first glance...as with dylans other weird scenes its been captured by th'audience in all th'funky glory that is befittin such high moments o' cultural endevour,th'so called amatuer is left to document th'times thru murky tapes'n multi generational vinyl pressins...th'tapes o' th'revue're mostly funky but eminently list'nable once th' sloppy editin over th'years is gotten used to,tho o'course most only feature th'zimm portions o' th'three hour shows'n these rehearsal tapes from january/april76're pretty funky in places but well worth gettin into...each disk documents a different aspect o'th show with th'first a run thru,gettin th'overall vibe,th'second just bob'n a coupla cats(includin scarlet rivera on ethereal space fiddle),third is a revue rehearsal with all concerned groovin it up with th'last comin from various times towards th'end o' th'tour...songs from all periods're given a run thru,protest/amphetamine poetry/country bumkin,get th'mystic thunder vibe smeared over them,pushin th'toons into a universal language,th'wheel o' life turnin,renewin itself with fresh'n different skin...