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Tours, Scorsese movie and outtakes album slated for 2005
Bob Dylan may need more than one cup of coffee for the road in 2005: The sixty-three-year-old legend's schedule includes a spring tour with country veteran Merle Haggard, a possible repeat of last summer's outing with Willie Nelson, the paperback release of his best-selling memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, and a Martin Scorsese-helmed documentary.
First up is the two-month-long tour with Haggard, beginning Monday in Seattle. The country singer-songwriter's 1969 hit "Okie From Muskogee" ("We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street") assailed the counterculture that claimed Dylan as a leader. But the sixty-seven-year-old Haggard says he's "as big a Bob Dylan fan as anybody. I haven't been a show opener for years, and I wouldn't open for just anybody. But I'm honored to do it for Bob. There's a lot of similarities between us: We both play guitar, we both live in America and we're both probably better songwriters than we are singers."
Haggard says he hasn't yet bought a copy of Chronicles, but more than 500,000 others have. "It's an enormous success -- one of the best-selling memoirs of the year," says David Rosenthal, executive vice president of the book's publisher, Simon & Schuster, "Everything about this book has exceeded our expectations." Chronicles was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, with a winner to be announced on March 18th. (Another date to watch: Pulitzer Prize nominees are unveiled on April 4th.) A paperback version is due in October. Simon & Schuster also plans to publish Chronicles: Volume Two, but don't expect Dylan to deliver a manuscript anytime soon. "It'd be wonderful to have it in the next few years," says Rosenthal. "But we'll get it when we get it."
The excavation of Dylan's past will continue in Scorsese's two-part documentary, No Direction Home, due to air on PBS in September, followed by a DVD release. The three-and-a-half-hour film will draw from ten hours of taped Dylan interviews, conducted by his manager, Jeff Rosen. Using previously unseen footage from Dylan's archives, the movie will reportedly focus on the start of his career, from 1961 to 1966. "It's nonfiction -- maybe," Scorsese said in January. "With Bob Dylan, you never know."
A two-CD collection of outtakes and live recordings used in the film is tentatively set for an August 16th release, as the seventh volume in Dylan's Bootleg Series. The documentary will also spawn the Bob Dylan Scrapbook, which will include Dylan artifacts such as lyric sheets and contracts.
Meanwhile, Dylan is in the early stages of planning a second tour with Nelson. As for a new studio album, Dylan told Rolling Stone in October that he has "a bunch" of new songs written and that he hoped to record them "sometime in the beginning of the year."
Bob Dylan tour dates:
3/7: Seattle, Paramount Theater
3/8: Seattle, Paramount Theater
3/9: Seattle, Paramount Theater
3/11: Portland, Chiles Center
3/12: Portland, Chiles Center
3/14: Oakland, Paramount Theater
3/15: Oakland, Paramount Theater
3/16: Oakland, Paramount Theater
3/18: Reno, NV, Reno Hilton
3/19: Las Vegas, Aladdin Theater
3/21: Los Angeles, Pantages Theater
3/22: Los Angeles, Pantages Theater
3/23: Los Angeles, Pantages Theater
3/25: Los Angeles, Pantages Theater
3/26: Los Angeles, Pantages Theater
3/28: Denver, Fillmore Auditorium
3/29: Denver, Fillmore Auditorium
4/1: Chicago, Auditorium Theater
4/2: Chicago, Auditorium Theater
4/3: Chicago, Auditorium Theater
4/5: Chicago, Auditorium Theater
4/6: Chicago, Auditorium Theater
4/8: Milwaukee, WI, Eagles Ballroom
4/9: Milwaukee, WI, Eagles Ballroom
4/11: Mt. Pleasant, MI, Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort
4/12: Detroit, Masonic Temple Theater
4/13: Buffalo, NY, Shea's Performing Arts Center
4/15: Boston, Orpheum Theater
4/16: Boston, Orpheum Theater
4/17: Boston, Orpheum Theater
4/19: Newark, NJ, New Jersey Performing Arts Center
4/20: Verona, NY, Turning Stone Casino and Resort
4/22: Mashantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino
4/24: Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata Resort Spa and Casino
4/25: New York, Beacon Theater
4/26: New York, Beacon Theater
4/28: New York, Beacon Theater
4/29: New York, Beacon Theater
4/30: New York, Beacon Theater
BRIAN HIATT
Busy Year Ahead for Bob Dylan
Moderator: SMLCHNG
-
IsleReef
- At the Bama Breeze
- Posts: 4441
- Joined: February 13, 2002 7:00 pm
- Number of Concerts: 0
- Location: Shelter Island, NY
Oh, is that how it works??????Gonzo wrote:Well, in the past he was so much older then; he's younger than that now.IsleReef wrote:I'll be amazed if he can pull off all of those tour dates with out having to cancel some due to some illness.................
Wrinkles only go where smiles have been....
Haggard in Spotlight with Dylan, Standards
By Chris Morris
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Merle Haggard says he didn't want
to go on tour with Bob Dylan at first. The money wasn't good
enough, Haggard says. "I'm not an opening act."
But the country titan changed his mind after he watched the film
"Runaway Jury." Its soundtrack includes Norah Jones' version of
Dylan's "Heart of Mine." That affecting performance got Haggard thinking.
"I said, f---, I guess I'll have to go with him," he says, in his
ever-blunt way.
On Monday (March 21), the Dylan-Haggard tour reaches the Pantages
Theatre in Hollywood for the first of five sold-out dates. The
co-headlining trek ends with an April 28-30 run at the Beacon Theatre
in New York.
"It sold out in hours just about everyplace," Haggard says. "It's a
prestigious thing for me. I'm thrilled."
The 11-city theater tour marks the first pairing of the musical
legends. The two had never met until the night of their second concert
together in Seattle.
"We've been fans of each other all these years," Haggard says. "I'm
just as big a fan as anybody else. He's Bob Dylan."
Haggard is enjoying another momentous association: After issuing three
well-received albums independently, he's back at Capitol Records, the
label where he cut 24 No. 1 country singles in 13 years.
Without fanfare late last year, Capitol Nashville issued
"Unforgettable," a joint venture between the major label and Haggard's
own Hag Records. Surprisingly, it's an album of standards -- Haggard's
first.
MISSING MASTERS
"We had the idea of doing this way before the Rod Stewart thing
blew our thunder," he says, referring to Stewart's best-selling "Great
American Songbook" standards triptych. "This album's been around for 3
1/2 years. ... The masters had been stolen off (producer) Freddy
Powers' tour bus."
Such a project is no big stretch for honky-tonk icon Haggard, whose
encyclopedic repertoire has incorporated jazzy Western swing and
bluesy early country. He names Nat King Cole ("one of my all-time
favorites") and Bing Crosby among his keystone influences.
Highlights of the set are mellow Haggard renditions of the Cole hits
"Unforgettable" and "Stardust" and a torrid reading of "Cry Me a
River." Haggard says of the latter: "We didn't known of anybody
besides Julie London who had done that. Usually, a woman sings
that song."
The only tune penned by a country songwriter is Cindy Walker's "Goin'
Away Party," first heard on Western swing king Bob Wills' 1973
farewell album "For the Last Time." Lowering his voice intimately,
Haggard says, "I've always suspicioned that (Walker) had a crush on
Bob Wills. ... I think that was her goodbye to him."
The new album will inevitably invite comparisons to compadre Willie
Nelson's 1978 smash "Stardust." Haggard says producer Powers discussed
matters with Nelson: "Freddy said, 'It's really hard to find something
you haven't recorded.' And Willie said, 'It don't make no difference
what I sang. Merle hasn't done it, and Merle's gonna do it different."'
Haggard is preparing his next album, "Chicago Wind," with producer
Jimmy Bowen for a midyear release by Capitol. "It's all-new material,
and it's the best thing I've done in years," he says.
By Chris Morris
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Merle Haggard says he didn't want
to go on tour with Bob Dylan at first. The money wasn't good
enough, Haggard says. "I'm not an opening act."
But the country titan changed his mind after he watched the film
"Runaway Jury." Its soundtrack includes Norah Jones' version of
Dylan's "Heart of Mine." That affecting performance got Haggard thinking.
"I said, f---, I guess I'll have to go with him," he says, in his
ever-blunt way.
On Monday (March 21), the Dylan-Haggard tour reaches the Pantages
Theatre in Hollywood for the first of five sold-out dates. The
co-headlining trek ends with an April 28-30 run at the Beacon Theatre
in New York.
"It sold out in hours just about everyplace," Haggard says. "It's a
prestigious thing for me. I'm thrilled."
The 11-city theater tour marks the first pairing of the musical
legends. The two had never met until the night of their second concert
together in Seattle.
"We've been fans of each other all these years," Haggard says. "I'm
just as big a fan as anybody else. He's Bob Dylan."
Haggard is enjoying another momentous association: After issuing three
well-received albums independently, he's back at Capitol Records, the
label where he cut 24 No. 1 country singles in 13 years.
Without fanfare late last year, Capitol Nashville issued
"Unforgettable," a joint venture between the major label and Haggard's
own Hag Records. Surprisingly, it's an album of standards -- Haggard's
first.
MISSING MASTERS
"We had the idea of doing this way before the Rod Stewart thing
blew our thunder," he says, referring to Stewart's best-selling "Great
American Songbook" standards triptych. "This album's been around for 3
1/2 years. ... The masters had been stolen off (producer) Freddy
Powers' tour bus."
Such a project is no big stretch for honky-tonk icon Haggard, whose
encyclopedic repertoire has incorporated jazzy Western swing and
bluesy early country. He names Nat King Cole ("one of my all-time
favorites") and Bing Crosby among his keystone influences.
Highlights of the set are mellow Haggard renditions of the Cole hits
"Unforgettable" and "Stardust" and a torrid reading of "Cry Me a
River." Haggard says of the latter: "We didn't known of anybody
besides Julie London who had done that. Usually, a woman sings
that song."
The only tune penned by a country songwriter is Cindy Walker's "Goin'
Away Party," first heard on Western swing king Bob Wills' 1973
farewell album "For the Last Time." Lowering his voice intimately,
Haggard says, "I've always suspicioned that (Walker) had a crush on
Bob Wills. ... I think that was her goodbye to him."
The new album will inevitably invite comparisons to compadre Willie
Nelson's 1978 smash "Stardust." Haggard says producer Powers discussed
matters with Nelson: "Freddy said, 'It's really hard to find something
you haven't recorded.' And Willie said, 'It don't make no difference
what I sang. Merle hasn't done it, and Merle's gonna do it different."'
Haggard is preparing his next album, "Chicago Wind," with producer
Jimmy Bowen for a midyear release by Capitol. "It's all-new material,
and it's the best thing I've done in years," he says.
By Ray Waddell
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Grammy Award winner, Country Music Hall of
Famer, the Poet of the Common Man -- Merle Haggard, for many, is
country music. And while his accomplishments in the genre are second
to none, Haggard is still a risk-taking live performer and remains
prolific in the studio.
The 67-year-old star has just begun a major tour with another
legend, Bob Dylan. His recent collection of
standards, "Unforgettable Merle Haggard," on the Capitol label --
where he saw his greatest success -- has been critically hailed. Now
Haggard is putting the final touches on a new Capitol release, a
much-anticipated project that reunites "Hag" with legendary producer
Jimmy Bowen.
Q: Singer, songwriter, guitar player, live performer -- which part
of your game is most rewarding to you?
A: Personally, probably the guitar playing. It's very important to
me. That's what started this whole thing, my interest in that
instrument. I've been playing it since I was 10. It's like golf to
some other people; it's important to me that I play good.
Q: It seems you've always been aware that less can be more when it
comes to guitar playing. Is that a fair assessment?
A: Oh, yeah. I learned that from Grady Martin. Lay in the weeds and
wait, and when you get your chance to say something, say something
good. Then there's what you call a "band-man guitar player," where I
try to put my guitar in where it should be and stay out of where it
shouldn't be and reinforce the condition. We play off the cuff, we
don't walk onstage with any idea of what we're going to do. We go
out there and spend that hour-and-a-half havin' a good time.
Q: You've been in the record business for many years. Do you think
you've been treated fairly by record companies?
A: I think a guy would be foolish to think he's been treated fairly.
(He chuckles.) I've been treated a lot of different ways, but I
don't think "fairly" would be one of the descriptions.
But I'm back with the only label I ever enjoyed being with. As far
as the financial gain of being with Capitol, we'll leave that on one
side of the picture. But the creative association has been
absolutely wonderful being back with Capitol. I have a merger
with 'em, it's not just an artist deal. It's Hag/Capitol now.
They're the second-largest record company in the world, and they
don't sell iceboxes. They sell records, and they really know what
they're doing.
Q: What has it been like working with Jimmy Bowen again?
A: Jimmy Bowen is probably one of the smartest men in the studio
alive, and one of the most talented, and has more gold records on
his wall than you can count, ranging from Bing Crosby to
Merle Haggard. It's really a privilege to get Bowen off the golf
course. He came in with a lot of gusto. I asked him if he'd produce
an album on me, and he said, "Naw, I'll produce a great album on
you, but not just an album."
Q: How did this tour with Bob Dylan come about?
A: I had my itinerary set to do some light touring in the spring and
ease my way through the year, and Bob Dylan calls and wants me to
tour America with him. And he's not just talking about once and
awhile, it's 40 out of the next 60 days. But it's Bob Dylan, and Bob
Dylan's the Einstein of music. He calls and wants you to be on his
show and your name is Merle Haggard, you're honored.
Q: I've heard that most people who tour with Dylan don't get a
chance to talk to him, but I imagine he'll talk to you at some
point.
A: I don't know. I've rubbed shoulders with him before and he just
sorta grunts.
Q: You spoke out in defense of the Dixie Chicks during the controversy a couple of years ago (over their public
opposition to President Bush 's foreign policy).
How do you reconcile that with your "Fightin' Side of Me" and "Okie
From Muskogee" fans?
A: What knocked my hat off was the way people attacked them. My
response didn't come until some time later. I let it all go down and
watched it happen and thought, "Now, wait a minute. Is this not
America? Are we not at war for freedom?"
It disturbs me that this country is so seriously divided over this
war. I don't think since the Civil War have we've been so divided
about something. Since when is it new for grandma to be against war?
These girls were against war, and only in today's times would we
have enough nerve to jump on somebody like that. What's new about
entertainers being against war? They've always campaigned against
war.
Q: In the Vietnam era, you, or at least your songs, seemed more
aligned with the more conservative folks.
A: Well, now, wait a minute. I open my shows by saying, "Good
evening, friends and conservatives." Listen, I was raised in a
family that voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and he was a
Democrat. My grandpa was a hard-nosed Republican, and he voted for
Dewey when Truman ran. I'm Merle Haggard, and I believe in backing
the commander-in-chief. I don't agree with him. There's a lot of
things he did that I don't like and a lot of things he didn't do
that I don't understand. But I'm not in a position to criticize,
because I don't have all the facts. And they're certainly not going
to give 'em to me.
If you're looking for somebody that will stand up and fight for you,
I'm your man. But I think if there's anything that's disrespectful
about this whole thing with the Dixie Chicks, it's America itself
for jumping on some little ol' girls about having a goddamn opinion.
I think it's important that I stay neutral on politics and remain
hard to understand. I don't want to be pigeonholed as conservative,
liberal, independent or anything. I back the man for the things the
man believes in, not whether it says "R" or "D" down there beside
his name.
There's some things that have got to happen. We've got to regain
control -- the people. "For the people, of the people," all that --
that's not the current situation. We are under control, and if
people don't realize that, they haven't looked around. And if
they're not paranoid, they haven't thought about it.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
A: I guess the longevity of it all is probably the most exciting
thing. We've been doing this for 40 years as a group. Merle Haggard
& the Strangers started in 1965 on the road. To go this long and
still have top-drawer acceptance is about all a guy can ask for.
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Grammy Award winner, Country Music Hall of
Famer, the Poet of the Common Man -- Merle Haggard, for many, is
country music. And while his accomplishments in the genre are second
to none, Haggard is still a risk-taking live performer and remains
prolific in the studio.
The 67-year-old star has just begun a major tour with another
legend, Bob Dylan. His recent collection of
standards, "Unforgettable Merle Haggard," on the Capitol label --
where he saw his greatest success -- has been critically hailed. Now
Haggard is putting the final touches on a new Capitol release, a
much-anticipated project that reunites "Hag" with legendary producer
Jimmy Bowen.
Q: Singer, songwriter, guitar player, live performer -- which part
of your game is most rewarding to you?
A: Personally, probably the guitar playing. It's very important to
me. That's what started this whole thing, my interest in that
instrument. I've been playing it since I was 10. It's like golf to
some other people; it's important to me that I play good.
Q: It seems you've always been aware that less can be more when it
comes to guitar playing. Is that a fair assessment?
A: Oh, yeah. I learned that from Grady Martin. Lay in the weeds and
wait, and when you get your chance to say something, say something
good. Then there's what you call a "band-man guitar player," where I
try to put my guitar in where it should be and stay out of where it
shouldn't be and reinforce the condition. We play off the cuff, we
don't walk onstage with any idea of what we're going to do. We go
out there and spend that hour-and-a-half havin' a good time.
Q: You've been in the record business for many years. Do you think
you've been treated fairly by record companies?
A: I think a guy would be foolish to think he's been treated fairly.
(He chuckles.) I've been treated a lot of different ways, but I
don't think "fairly" would be one of the descriptions.
But I'm back with the only label I ever enjoyed being with. As far
as the financial gain of being with Capitol, we'll leave that on one
side of the picture. But the creative association has been
absolutely wonderful being back with Capitol. I have a merger
with 'em, it's not just an artist deal. It's Hag/Capitol now.
They're the second-largest record company in the world, and they
don't sell iceboxes. They sell records, and they really know what
they're doing.
Q: What has it been like working with Jimmy Bowen again?
A: Jimmy Bowen is probably one of the smartest men in the studio
alive, and one of the most talented, and has more gold records on
his wall than you can count, ranging from Bing Crosby to
Merle Haggard. It's really a privilege to get Bowen off the golf
course. He came in with a lot of gusto. I asked him if he'd produce
an album on me, and he said, "Naw, I'll produce a great album on
you, but not just an album."
Q: How did this tour with Bob Dylan come about?
A: I had my itinerary set to do some light touring in the spring and
ease my way through the year, and Bob Dylan calls and wants me to
tour America with him. And he's not just talking about once and
awhile, it's 40 out of the next 60 days. But it's Bob Dylan, and Bob
Dylan's the Einstein of music. He calls and wants you to be on his
show and your name is Merle Haggard, you're honored.
Q: I've heard that most people who tour with Dylan don't get a
chance to talk to him, but I imagine he'll talk to you at some
point.
A: I don't know. I've rubbed shoulders with him before and he just
sorta grunts.
Q: You spoke out in defense of the Dixie Chicks during the controversy a couple of years ago (over their public
opposition to President Bush 's foreign policy).
How do you reconcile that with your "Fightin' Side of Me" and "Okie
From Muskogee" fans?
A: What knocked my hat off was the way people attacked them. My
response didn't come until some time later. I let it all go down and
watched it happen and thought, "Now, wait a minute. Is this not
America? Are we not at war for freedom?"
It disturbs me that this country is so seriously divided over this
war. I don't think since the Civil War have we've been so divided
about something. Since when is it new for grandma to be against war?
These girls were against war, and only in today's times would we
have enough nerve to jump on somebody like that. What's new about
entertainers being against war? They've always campaigned against
war.
Q: In the Vietnam era, you, or at least your songs, seemed more
aligned with the more conservative folks.
A: Well, now, wait a minute. I open my shows by saying, "Good
evening, friends and conservatives." Listen, I was raised in a
family that voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and he was a
Democrat. My grandpa was a hard-nosed Republican, and he voted for
Dewey when Truman ran. I'm Merle Haggard, and I believe in backing
the commander-in-chief. I don't agree with him. There's a lot of
things he did that I don't like and a lot of things he didn't do
that I don't understand. But I'm not in a position to criticize,
because I don't have all the facts. And they're certainly not going
to give 'em to me.
If you're looking for somebody that will stand up and fight for you,
I'm your man. But I think if there's anything that's disrespectful
about this whole thing with the Dixie Chicks, it's America itself
for jumping on some little ol' girls about having a goddamn opinion.
I think it's important that I stay neutral on politics and remain
hard to understand. I don't want to be pigeonholed as conservative,
liberal, independent or anything. I back the man for the things the
man believes in, not whether it says "R" or "D" down there beside
his name.
There's some things that have got to happen. We've got to regain
control -- the people. "For the people, of the people," all that --
that's not the current situation. We are under control, and if
people don't realize that, they haven't looked around. And if
they're not paranoid, they haven't thought about it.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
A: I guess the longevity of it all is probably the most exciting
thing. We've been doing this for 40 years as a group. Merle Haggard
& the Strangers started in 1965 on the road. To go this long and
still have top-drawer acceptance is about all a guy can ask for.