banner.gif (3613 Byte)

Corner.gif 1x1.gif Corner.gif
1x1.gif You are at: Home - Discussion Forum 1x1.gif
Corner.gif 1x1.gif Corner.gif
      
round_corner_upleft.gif (837 Byte) 1x1.gif (807 Byte) round_corner_upright.gif (837 Byte)

Go Back   Gordon Lightfoot Forums > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 06-10-2019, 02:52 PM   #1
3pennies
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: NJ
Posts: 96
Default Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/...ue-doc-844268/

Excerpt from this article :

"Nobody in Dylan’s team even knew exactly what was on the work print. When they went through it, they were thrilled to discover amazing scenes like Dylan and Joni Mitchell playing her song “Coyote” at Gordon Lightfoot’s apartment"

Unfortunately, I don't believe Gordon is featured in this film. I don't see his name listed but hopefully I'm mistaken!
3pennies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2019, 08:02 PM   #2
lighthead2toe
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: canada
Posts: 920
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

Wow! This really is incredible stuff!

Can't thank you enough for putting it up here.
lighthead2toe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2019, 11:23 PM   #3
charlene
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,877
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I've been following this documentary info and it seems the footage is exclusively from the cities they were playing in the U.S.
charlene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2019, 04:57 PM   #4
OldDan
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Park Forest, IL
Posts: 56
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I just watched this on Netflix the other night. There is a short scene that was shot at Gord's old house in Rosedale, upstairs. The camera goes up the staircase and enters a small room where Joni Mitchell and I think Roger McGuinn and Bob Dylan are playing guitars. Joni is singing her song "Coyote". Gordon is seen briefly on camera in the background puffing on a cigarette and then sitting and listening while the others play. He doesn't speak. This party at his house was described in Nicholas Jennings' book "Lightfoot". Gord hosted the party for the Rolling Thunder Revue members at his house when the tour came through Toronto and I guess it was quite a bacchanal. Gord and some of the others retreated to the upstairs room to make some music. The back cover of the book shows Gordon and Bob Dylan jamming in that same room, although that scene didn't make it into the movie.
OldDan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2019, 02:55 PM   #5
charlene
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,877
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

https://www.nicholasjennings.com/mus...4CBIo24C6m_FUI

pictures at link..

There's plenty to love about Martin Scorcese's new Netflix documentary about Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour. There are some illuminating present-day interviews with cast members including the masked ringleader Dylan himself, although he claims to barely remember anything about the tour, as he wasn't "even born yet."

The story itself is one of rock's great dramas. Rolling Thunder was an entirely different way of touring. It began with the idea of Dylan, his buddy BaezDylanBobby Neuwirth and mentor Ramblin’ Jack Elliott playing small venues while traveling around in a station wagon. When that proved impractical, it grew into a larger, illustrious cast of characters that included Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Ronee Blakley, who’d just appeared in Robert Altman’s Nashville, and a stellar band featuring gypsy violinist Scarlet Rivera, future Americana star T-Bone Burnett and ex-David Bowie sideman Mick Ronson.

It was a wild, theatrical affair, with Dylan performing in white greasepaint, Allen Ginsberg along for the ride as resident poet and actor-playwright Sam Shepard documenting the antics, impressionistically, in a journal. Cameras shooting footage for a planned film called Renaldo and Clara captured the giddy spirit of the tour. It was like a bunch of kids had run away and joined the circus.

The tour opened on October 30, 1975 in Plymouth, Massachusetts and rolled through New England in two buses. Additional guests were hopping on and off like passengers on a train. Joni Mitchell was supposed to appear only at Niagara Falls, but enjoyed the tour’s communal feeling so much she stayed on for several dates.

When Rolling Thunder rolled into Toronto for two nights, it only natural for Dylan to invite his old buddy Gordon Lightfoot to join in the fun. The Canadian folk legend shared a long history with the "Blowin' in the Wind" singer, having shared manager Albert Grossman during the Folk Scare of the mid-1960s. Dylan gave Lightfoot an important slot in the show, right before his own final set. And when he and Baez the traditional ballad “Dark As a Dungeon,” Dylan dedicated it to Lightfoot.

For the documentary, Scorcese relies heavily on footage shot during the tour by Howard Alk (yet proported to be shot by Stefan van Drop, a fictional filmmaker played by actor Martin von Haselberg). The live performances of Dylan singing epic songs like "Isis" and "Hurricane," which were both recent compositions at the time, or electrified takes on early classics like "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," are just some of the highlights of Rolling Thunder Revue - A Bob Dylan Story. Even better is "A Simple Twist of Fate," the only song from Blood on the Tracks featured in the movie. But the standout Dylan track is "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)," a Latin-tinged gem from his Desire album, inspired by gypsy guitar music he'd heard the previous year in France.

There's a lot not included in the film, including any of Lightfoot's performances, which featured one of his brand new songs, "Race Among the Ruins," and "Sundown," his taut tale of sexual jealousy. But one of the movie's best moments comes when it ventures into Lightfoot's Toronto mansion, where he threw a now-legendary party for the Rolling Thunder cast members.

As the camera goes upstairs, the viewer is treated to several intimate jam sessions. The first involves David Rea, Joni Mitchell and Roger McGuinn performing an old bluegrass number. There's no footage included of the session Dylan and Lightfoot had in that upstairs room. But there is ia stunning performance by Joni Mitchell of her song "Coyote," which she teaches Dylan and McGuinn how to play. Lightfoot can be seen in the background, trying to stay out of the camera but wanting to witness Joni's new song, which appeared on her Hejira album the following year.
charlene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2019, 07:14 PM   #6
Bill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Lynchburg, VA
Posts: 544
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I enjoyed the archival footage, but not the fictional parts he put in with actors. Barely caught a glimpse of Lightfoot behind Joni in short scene.
Bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-21-2019, 05:28 PM   #7
loveabiggibson
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern California
Posts: 77
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

There's a very brief close-up of Terry Clements fairly early on in the film as well...look for it around 52:20...he speaks one line, "Look who's here." Very cool.
loveabiggibson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-21-2019, 10:00 PM   #8
T.G.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 671
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

T.G. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2019, 08:05 PM   #9
charlene
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,877
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I found it boring and was really insulted with the blatant fabricated stories that were included. I love a lot of Dylan stuff but always felt him to be a made up person, someone who went out of his way to try to fool people. This movie shows it and he even says so himself. Murray McLachlan says the same thing in the bio by Nicholas Jennings.. Dylan is a character he plays..Lightfoot is the real deal. I actually wanted to punch Dylan in the throat a few times - his rambling arrogance just irked me so much! I frankly couldn't wait for that Joni song to end. And it bothered me that everyone in that room but Lightfoot was there learning and sitting right in with her.. in his own home! ugh. Way too much Ginsberg too. I'll never get that time i spent watching it back... gawd almighty I had to watch the 1972 BBC Lightfoot special twice to wash the Dylan crap out of my head.
charlene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2019, 03:24 PM   #10
OldDan
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Park Forest, IL
Posts: 56
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I wonder if the jam session Lightfoot had with Dylan was filmed and then just not used in the movie? All I've ever seen are still photographs of that.
OldDan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2019, 06:42 PM   #11
charlene
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,877
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

could be it wasn't recorded but I'd bet it was and it is possible that Lightfoot said no to its use..
charlene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2019, 09:10 PM   #12
seafarer62
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Forest Lake, MN USA
Posts: 286
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

It has been years but I believe in the Dylan film “Renaldo and Clara”, there is a clip of Lightfoot and Dylan performing Dylan’s “Ballad in Plain D.” Surely that footage must survive somewhere?
seafarer62 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-29-2019, 11:38 AM   #13
2silent2breal
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 66
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

I haven't watched the documentary yet, though I intend to after watching this. I will say that Gord has some pretty interesting taste in wallpaper!
__________________
"I've walked with fools and kings
And I've even read the Bible"
2silent2breal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2019, 05:59 PM   #14
Affair on Touhy Ave.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: park ridge il. america
Posts: 1,154
Default Re: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story

Quote:
Originally Posted by charlene View Post
I found it boring and was really insulted with the blatant fabricated stories that were included. I love a lot of Dylan stuff but always felt him to be a made up person, someone who went out of his way to try to fool people. This movie shows it and he even says so himself. Murray McLachlan says the same thing in the bio by Nicholas Jennings.. Dylan is a character he plays..Lightfoot is the real deal. I actually wanted to punch Dylan in the throat a few times - his rambling arrogance just irked me so much!

I've heard over the years Bob could be a jerk at times.


I remember watching some film of him being interviewed back in the day and responded to someone asking about songwriting and says.

"I got nothing to say about the songs I write. I just write them!"
Affair on Touhy Ave. is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:23 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
downleft 1x1.gif (807 Byte) downright