1 INTRODUCTION

For the first time during the nineties Dylan slowed down just a little bit. Not quite as many shows, or other guest performances, no audio, video or multi-media. But as in 1994 and 1995 the overall good quality of the live performances won high praise from fans and critics alike.

The things that many fans were waiting for: the release of a new self-penned album and a change of the live act concept or at least a long over-due change of the touring band, did not happen.

2 THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

3 CALENDAR

January	Dylan records Ring Of Fire in Los Angeles. It is later released on the Feeling Minnesota soundtrack.
January	Rumors of new Dylan Album called Coupe de Ville.
January	Rumors of Dylan recording in New York.
January	Dylan receives three Grammy nominations: J Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for Knockin' On Heaven's Door on MTV Unplugged. J Best Rock Song for Dignity on Greatest Hits Volume III. J Best Contemporary Folk Album for MTV Unplugged.
February 2	Dylan plays a concert at a privately sponsored corporate event for 250 persons! The show took place in Phoenix, Arizona at The Pavilion in the Biltmore Hotel, a 15,000 square-foot multi-use facility which was set up as a nightclub for this event. The show was sponsored by Nomura Securities International, Inc., a subsidiary of Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. is the largest brokerage house in Japan with sales of 6.6 billion dollars in 1994. Interestingly enough, Nomura helped to underwrite a US issue of Sony stock in 1961. The rehearsals for this show included 500 Miles, I'm A Man, (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle, I'm Moving On and Matchbox. Also rumored from these rehearsals are four or five unidentified songs, believed to be new Dylan compositions. At least two of these were done with vocals, the other were instrumentals.
March	More recording rumors: Dylan spent some time recording in Hollywood. [TOP]
March	Release of BRETT WHITELEY: STRANGE BREW. SONGS OF INSPIRATION containing a 15 second excerpt from the Stuart Coupe telephone interview with Bob Dylan March 13, 1992 and printed in The Age Friday April 3, 1992 in Melbourne, Australia. Please refer to section 4.1.1.
April 13	Dylan kicks off the 1996 touring with a show in Madison, New Jersey. The band is the same and the show is the same, but the show includes a live debut of This Wheel's On Fire.
April 15	Release of the Gerry Goffin album Backroom Blood which contains two tracks co-written with Dylan: Time To End This Masquerade and Tragedy Of The Trade. According to Tim Dunn's book *The Bob Dylan Copyright Files*, the former was copyrighted March 16, 1995 and the latter December 1, 1994. Dylan is listed as one of the players, but it is doubtful whether he's actually playing anything.
April 17	At the show in Burlington, Vermont, Jewel (Kilcher), who is one of the the opening act during this tour joins Dylan on I Shall Be Released. The lyrics to Man In The Long Black Coat contains an interesting variation: There's a smoke on the water, smoke over you, some say the devil is a woman and maybe it's true.
April 18	Jewel (Kilcher), again joins Dylan on I Shall Be Released. Friend Of The Devil is performed acoustic for the first time.
April 19	First performance of Seven Days since Orlando, Florida, April 23, 1976!
May 17	At the show in Cleveland, Ohio, Roger McGuinn joins Dylan during the encores and sings My Back Pages and plays guitar on Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35.
May 18	The spring tour ends with a show in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. Aimee Mann plays guitar on the last song Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35.
May 26	The Wallflowers' second album Bringing Down The Horse is released.
June	Izzy Young is interviewed in New York City by Jeff Rosen for the planned film on Dylan, directed by Michael Borofsky.
June 15	Dylan starts a lengthy European Summer Tour in Aarhus, Denmark at The Aarhus Festival.
June 26-27	At the shows in Liverpool Al Kooper plays organ throughout.
June 29	Dylan plays the MasterCard Masters of Music Concert for The Prince's Trust in Hyde Park, London, together with Alanis Morrissette, Eric Clapton & The Who. Dylan performs a shortened 9-song version of his regular set with guests Ron Wood and Al Kooper. Three songs are broadcast in Europe in a special TV program from the concert. In the US five are broadcast.
July 9	Due to heavy rain, the show in Salzburg, Austria, is almost canceled. In the end it is moved from the outdoor venue at the Domplatz to the Sportshalle.
July 19	At the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway Dylan is joined by Van Morrison for two songs.
July 27	The Summer tour ends with a show at the Lollipop Festival in Stockholm, Sweden.
July	Rumors that Dylan is to take a long break, at least nine months, from touring begin to circulate.
August	Release of Music From The Motion Picture FEELING MINNESOTA containing the version of Ring Of Fire recorded in January.
August 3, 4	Dylan plays two shows at a temporarily set up House Of Blues venue in the Olympic village in Atlanta, Georgia. The shows are part of a series of several special events during the closing days of the Olympic Games 1996. Both shows were professionally filmed.
August	Rumors of new Bob Dylan album called Stormy Season and produced by Daniel Lanois begin to circulate. [TOP]
September	The bootleg The Genuine Bootleg Series - Take Two contains a number of "new" songs. Please refer to section 4.3.2 for more details.
September	More rumors about a new record. Daniel Lanois has supposedly a tape with acoustic demo versions of a batch of new songs. He is working on arrangements and looking for musicians for possible recording sessions after Dylan's fall tour.
September 17	All Along The Watchtower from the concert that opened the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio on September 2, 1995 is released on The Concert For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
September 28	Dylan is nominated for Nobel Literature Prize by professor Gordon Ball of the Virginia Military Institute. This means that Dylan will be under consideration for the 1997 Nobel Prize.
October	The following song titles for the new album is circulated on Internet: · Butcher's Crew · The Fire Starter · Apollo's Love · Police State · You Belong To Me · Abraham's Altar · When You Give Me Your Love · Up On The Hill · Stormy Season · No Compassion This of course turned out to be a hoax.
October 17	The Fall tour starts in San Luis Obispo, California with David Kemper, formerly of Jerry Garcia Band, replacing Winston Watson.
October 22	John Bauldie, editor of The Telegraph, dies in helicopter crash, returning from a soccer game in Bolton, UK.
November 9	Dylan allows The Times They Are A-Changin' to be used in an advertisement for the Bank of Montreal.
November 23	This year's touring ends with a show in Akron, Ohio. Dylan avoided the harmonica almost altogether during the fall tour. Other than that it has been business as usual
December 10	The soundtrack to the motion picture Jerry Maguire is released. It contains an alternate, never before heard version of Shelter From The Storm from the Blood On The Tracks sessions.

[TOP]