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Leonard and Bob Dylan in 1975

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:48 pm
by bigdee
So I picked up a copy of the new Bob Dylan box set of live concerts recorded during the fall of 1975 on his Rolling Thunder Review Tour and there was some mentions of Leonard I never heard about before. The booklet says Bob invited Leonard to join the tour which he turned down. It also says Leonard did attend the show in Montreal and on the recording of that show just before Bob starts the song "Isis" he says "This is for Leonard if he's still here". I am assuming that dedication is for our Leonard but not 100% sure. I'm not anywhere near as big of a fan of Dylan's as I am of Cohen's (I'm not downing Dylan, I recognize his genius as a writer, I'm just not that into his preforming style) so I don't follow him as closely or know all that much of his history. I'm wondering if any of our Dylan followers may be able to shed some more light on this period when the two of them almost shared a stage? I did do some reading up on the Rolling Thunder Review Tour on various websites and the booklet in the box set is the only place I see mention of Leonard actually being invited by Bob to join the tour. On a side note I did learn that the tour was in two parts (Oct-Dec 1975 and April-May 1976), and that one of Bob's percussionist/drummers on the first part of the tour was Luther Rix. He had left the tour by the time it restarted in April and was instead Leonard's drummer on his 1976 tour. So I am also wondering if Leonard maybe went out of his way to recruit/steal him for his own band based on what he saw him do in Montreal with Bob in December 1975 or did Bob already cut him from the group and it was just a coincidence that he wound up in Leonard's band a few months later? Once again any insight on this from out Dylan experts would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Dave

Re: Leonard and Bob Dylan in 1975

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 1:27 am
by Mabeanie1
Sylvie Simmons dedicates 3 paragraphs to Dylan’s attempts to get Leonard to join the Rolling Thunder Review and subsequently the Montreal show in chapter 14 of I’m Your Man.

Wendy

Re: Leonard and Bob Dylan in 1975

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 2:30 am
by bigdee
Thanks Wendy, much appreciated! I'm ashamed to say I never got around to getting that one :oops: . I know others have said it is a good bio on LC and it has been on my radar for some time now (since it came out around 2012 or 13 I think if memory serves me right). Life being what it is with work and family and what not keeps me from having too much quite time to read. So unless it is brand new material by any of my favorites I usually put off getting the bios and the like since I know they are going to sit for years before I get around to them. Anyway thanks again for point out a good source for more info.

Cheers,
Dave

Re: Leonard and Bob Dylan in 1975

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:55 am
by Mabeanie1
No problem Dave! I still haven’t finished it but I got past 1975 and knew I’d read about it in there. I have to be honest - I’m not a fan. I’m not keen on her writing style and the book reminds me of those people who write everything they know about a subject in exams instead of answering the question. But there is a LOT of information in there!

Wendy