1 INTRODUCTION

The 23^rd year of The Never Ending Tour swept through seven new countries and 23 new cities in Japan, Europe and the US with 102 new shows. Same band, same songs, only 5 songs were not played last year. No live debuts, no covers, no guests. Columbia/Sony continued the mining of Dylan’s 1960s catalogue with the release of a box containing the first seven albums in mono and the 9^th installment in the Bootleg Series collecting the Leeds and Witmark demos from 1962, 1963 and 1964. Nothing new here. Fortunately a new concert tape from Brandeis University 1963 was discovered and added as bonus to the Mono recordings box and/or The Bootleg Series release.

2 2010 AT A GLANCE

3 THE 2010 CALENDAR

11 February	Dylan participates in the event billed Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Movement and performs The Times They Are A-Changin' with Patrick Warren on piano and Tony Garnier on bass. Dylan is introduced by President Barack Obama: “The man who was good enough to take time off from his never-ending tour, Mr. Bob Dylan”.
23 February	Nearly 100 artworks including thirty large paintings from The Drawn Blank Series by Bob Dylan are the subject of an art exhibition which opens at the Halcyon Gallery, London, England.
28 February	Dylan receives the National Medal of Art at a ceremony in The White House. Dylan did not attend.
11 March	Dylan returns to Japan after nine years. The tour starts with five shows in Osaka. Excepting the last shown Seoul, South Korea, only three cities are played in Japan, Osaka, Nagoya (two shows) and Tokyo (seven shows). All shows in Japan were played in the Zepp Music Halls, owned by a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
15 March	At the show in Osaka, after Like A Rolling Stone but before the band credits, Dylan is presented a guitar by a number of Japanese Bobcats. Dylan’s response was “I like that guitar really. I’m gonna keep it right here, by my side … just like all you nice people”.
31 March	The tour ends with a show in The Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea.
7 April	The movie My Own Love Song, whose soundtrack includes music written by Bob Dylan, including Life Is Hard from his 2009 album Together Through Life, premieres in France. A road movie, it stars Renée Zellweger, Forest Whitaker, Madeline Zima and Nick Nolte
29 May	A 25-stop tour of Europe starts in Athens, Greece. During this tour Dylan plays in the following countries for the first time: Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovak Republic.
3 June	The show in Sofia, Bulgaria features the first live performance of What Good Am I? since Augusta, Maine 11 November 1999.
4 July	The Europe tour ends with a show in Limerick, Ireland.
4 August	After a month’s rest Dylan and his band embark on a tour of the South and West of the US. First stop is Austin, Texas.
16 August	The album Folksinger's Choice, recorded live by Bob Dylan in 1962 for New York City's WBAI radio show Folksinger's Choice, is released in the UK
3 September	Forty previously unseen acrylic paintings by Bob Dylan, known as The Brazil Series, go on display at Statens Museum for Kunst (The National Gallery), Copenhagen, Denmark
4 September	The Summer tour ends after 23 shows in Seattle, Washington.
6 October	The Fall tour covers the East part of the US, and starts in Florida with a show in Fort Lauderdale.
18 October	Two new Bob Dylan box sets The Witmark Demos 1962-1964, The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 and The Original Mono Recordings, are released internationally. Please refer to chapters 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.
27 November	The Fall tour ends in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
10 December	At Sotheby's Auction House, New York City, USA, Bob Dylan's handwritten lyrics to his song The Times they Are A-Changin' sell for $422,500 to collector and hedge-fund trader Adam Sender

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4 NEW RELEASES AND RECORDINGS

4.1 Folksinger’s Coice

The Cynthia Gooding radio show recorded 13 January 1962 in the WBAI Studios in New York City, New York. Released in the UK 16 August 2010 on Left Field Media LFMCD501.

Tracks:

1. Lonesome Whistle Blues (Hank Williams/Jimmy Davies)

2. Fixin' To Die (Bukka White)

3. Smokestack Lightning (Howlin' Wolf)

4. Hard Travelin' (Woody Guthrie)

5. The Death Of Emmett Till

6. Standing On The Highway

7. Roll On, John (trad., arr. By Bob Dylan)

8. Stealin', Stealin' (trad. arr. Memphis Jug Band)

9. Long Time Man (trad., arr. by Alan Lomax)

10. Baby Please Don't Go (Big Joe Williams)

11. Hard Times In New York Town

Please refer to the recording session for further details.

4.2 The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964. The Bootleg Series Vol. 9

All the Leeds and Witmark demos released on Sony Music CK1-776179, 18 October 2010. This was also released as a 4 LP set.

Disc 1:
1. Man On The Street (Fragment)	February 1962
2. Hard Times In New York Town	February 1962
3. Poor Boy Blues	February 1962
4. Ballad For A Friend	February 1962
5. Rambling, Gambling Willie	February 1962
6. Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues	February 1962
7. Standing On The Highway	February 1962
8. Man On The Street	February 1962
9. Blowin' In The Wind	July 1962
10. Long Ago, Far Away	November 1962
11. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall	December 1962
12. Tomorrow Is A Long Time	December 1962
13. The Death of Emmett Till	December 1962
14. Let Me Die In My Footsteps	December 1962
15. Ballad Of Hollis Brown	December 1962
16. Quit Your Low Down Ways	December 1962
17. Baby, I'm In The Mood For You	December 1962
18. Bound To Lose, Bound To Win	Winter 1963
19. All Over You	Winter 1963
20. I'd Hate To Be You On That Dreadful Day	Winter 1963
21. Long Time Gone	March 1963
22. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues	Winter 1963
23. Masters Of War	March 1963
24. Oxford Town	March 1963
25. Farewell	March 1963
Disc 2:
1. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right	March 1963
2. Walkin' Down The Line	March 1963
3. I Shall Be Free	April 1963
4. Bob Dylan's Blues	April 1963
5. Bob Dylan's Dream	April 1963
6. Boots Of Spanish Leather	April 1963
7. Girl From The North Country	May 1963
8. Seven Curses	May 1963
9. Hero Blues	May 1963
10. Whatcha Gonna Do?	August 1963
11. Gypsy Lou	August 1963
12. Ain't Gonna Grieve	August 1963
13. John Brown	August 1963
14. Only A Hobo	August 1963
15. When The Ship Comes In	August 1963
16. The Times They Are A-Changin'	October 1963
17. Paths Of Victory	December 1963
18. Guess I'm Doing Fine	January 1964
19. Baby Let Me Follow You Down	January 1964
20. Mama, You Been On My Mind	9 June 1964
21. Mr. Tambourine Man	Mid to late June 1964
22. I'll Keep It With Mine	Mid to late June 1964

Please refer to the corresponding session pages for further details.

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4.3 The Original Mono Recordings

A deluxe set of 9 CDs or 9 LPs released 18 October 2010. The set contains the first eight albums:

Bob Dylan – 1962
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan – 1963
The Times They Are A-Changin’ – 1964
Another Side Of Bob Dylan – 1964
Bringing It All Back Home – 1965
Highway 61 Revisited – 1965
Blonde on Blonde – 1966
John Wesley Harding – 1967

and is accompanied by a deluxe booklet, featuring vintage photographs of Bob Dylan and an expansive essay from renowned author and Dylan aficionado, Greil Marcus.

4.4 Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963

Released by Sony Music 88597 80442 2, 18 October 2010, as a bonus together with the purchase of The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos or the 9 CD-box The Original Mono Recordings. Later Released separately 11 April 2011.

Tracks:

1. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance

2. Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues

3. Ballad Of Hollis Brown

4. Masters Of War

5. Talking World War III Blues

6. Bob Dylan's Dream

7. Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues

Recorded at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, 10 May 1963 as part of The Brandeis University Folk Festival. For further details please consult te corresponding session page.

4.5 My Own Love Song

A film by Olivier Dahan with Renée Zellweger, Forest Whitaker and Elias Koteas containg no less than 27 compositions by Bob Dylan! Premiered in the US 22 April 2010. The film is available on DVD, PAL and NTSC and Blu-Ray. No soundtrack has been released at the time of writing.

Track listing:

Bob Dylan	Forgetful Heart	*
Bob Dylan	Life Is Hard	*
Bob Dylan	Sweeping The Floor	+
Bob Dylan	Bumble Bee	+
Bob Dylan	Joey’s Theme	+
Ron Eaton	Prelude op. 28, #6 in B minor by Chopin
Bob Dylan	I Feel A Change Coming On	*
Bob Dylan	Driving South	+
Georges Drakoulias	What Good Am I?	-
Forest Whitaker	What Good Am I?	-
Bob Dylan	Back Alley	+
Bob Dylan	Snow Falling	+
Bob Dylan	Billie #30	+
Renée Zellweger	Precious Angel	-
Bob Dylan	Road Weary	+
Bob Dylan	Click Clack	+
Bob Dylan	Life Is Hard	*+
Bob Dylan	Robbie Robert’s Lament	+
Robert Johnson	Me And The Devil Blues
Bob Dylan	New Orleans Drums	+
Bob Dylan	Janet’s Step	+
Source Music	Late Night Blues For Leroy Carr
Ron Eaton	Prelude op. 28, #4 in E minor by Chopin
Don Sparks	I Believe In you	-
Bob Dylan	Swingin’	+
Bob Dylan	Blues Club (Playback)	+
Renée Zellweger	This Land Is Your Land
Bob Dylan	It’s All Good	*
Bob Dylan	East Texas	+
The Bourbon Street Stompers	Down By The Riverside
Georges Drakoulias	What Good Am I?	-
Ron Eaton	Prelude op. 28, #15 in Db Major by Chopin
Renée Zellweger	Beyond Here Lies Nothing	-

+ new Dylan composition – 15 songs

* from the album Together Through Life – 5 songs

- Dylan composition performed by other artist – 6 songs

There are no further information on the new Dylan tracks in terms of musicians, instrumentals/vocals, recording dates and locations. It is believed, though, that most of them were recorded at the Together Through Life recording sessions in October 2008.