The 80’s wasn’t his decade, though any other artist could have made a career out of the best songs he cut from ’80 to ’89. No matter, it was an uneven time, and live, it was wildly uneven. But on the recommend of Bono that he work with Daniel Lanois, and with a dozen new songs he felt good about, Bob Dylan made his way to 1305 Soniat Street in the Garden District of New Orleans in early 1989 to begin work on what would become the great album Oh Mercy. And it was 35 years ago today that he recorded what is the best song on the album, “Ring Them Bells.”

Though his struggles of working with Lanois are well documented, Dylan praised him for his production on the track, writing in Chronicles Vol. 1, “Lanois captured the essence of it on this, put the magic into its heartbeat and pulse. We cut this song exactly the way I found it. Two or three takes with me on the piano, Dan on guitar, and Malcolm Burn on keyboards.” The song is largely inspired by the Gospel of Matthew, proclaiming the end of time, followed by liberation for the poor, and healing for the blind and deaf. The chords and melody are sublime, as is Dylan’s vocal. It is one of his greatest compositions.

Dylan has performed “Ring The Bells” only 31 times, the last being in 2005. Two of those rare performances came on November 16th & 17th, 1993, when he played two nights, two sets per night, at The Supper Club on West 47th Street in New York City. The shows were mainly to promote the 1992 album Good As I Been To You, with each set filmed for a video release. While a few isolated songs have been officially released, the overall project was shelved for reasons that have never been outlined. It’s a travesty. I saw the final set, which included “Ring Them Bells,” officially released on the deluxe version of The Bootleg Series release Tell Tale Heart. A video of the November 16th performance has somehow remained available on You Tube:

Going back to 1989, in October, about a month after Oh Mercy was released, Bob played the Beacon Theater in NYC for the 1st of many times. I had been hired only a couple of weeks earlier as a PA for concert promoter Ron Delsener. I was supposed to be setting up chairs out in Shea Stadium for a Rolling Stones concert, but I had a call that they’d like me to instead work the four Dylan shows. I was beside myself. I reported the day before the run, met the production manager who sat me down and gave me the full run down on how things would go. He spent the most time running down what I was absolutely not to do. “You probably won’t even see him, but if you do, don’t look at him. If he looks at you, look away. If by some chance you’re in the same area as he is, don’t look at him and don’t speak to him unless he speaks to you, but he won’t, so don’t worry about it. Mainly, just don’t get in his way.” Understood. The next day, the first show, the band shows up in the early afternoon to soundcheck. There had evidently been next to no rehearsals with Bob himself. This was G.E. Smith, Chris Parker on drums, and Tony Garnier on bass. They’re on the stage noodling around, and in walks Dylan from the stage entrance off Amsterdam Avenue. Blue winter coat, sweatshirt with the hood over a baseball cap. He sits down at the piano, plays something that resembles “Woogie Boogie” from Self Portrait, doesn’t sing, and that was the end of that. A little later I was asked to get something from the maintenance shop below the stage. I head down there, and who’s sitting there? Yep, Uncle Bobby. He looked at me, I looked at him, then looked away. A little while later I was asked why I’d been near him. I explained that I couldn’t have known he’d be in the basement of the Beacon. My boss said “OK, but don’t get in his way again.” Um, OK. The next day I was asked to bring comp tickets to the box office. I go down the stairs, open the door to cut through the audience. Who’s sitting there? Yep, Uncle Bobby. This time I’m confronted by his bodyguard at the time, a character named Mitch Fennell who hunted for Bigfoot when he wasn’t on the road with Bob. He asked why I was in the audience, I explained I was on my way to the box office and that I had no idea Bob was sitting out there. He said “OK, but don’t get in his way again.” Mitch couldn’t have been too pissed off though because he let me watch the 3rd show from the stage itself, just to the right of the drum riser. It was incredible seeing what Dylan was seeing. The set included a fantastic “Man Of Peace.” But the big event took place the final night of the run, October 13, 1989.

I was talking to Dylan’s then-guitar tech, Cesar Diaz. A really good guy who gave me a used set of Dylan’s guitar strings from the 3rd show that I have to this day. He was making an ultra-long microphone cable. I asked what it was for and he told me Bob may jump off the stage during the encore and make his way out of the theatre through the audience playing harmonica. “I doubt it’ll happen though,” Cesar said. So I asked him why he was making the cable. “Because Bob said he may jump off the stage.” Throughout the day plans were put in place, with four gorilla-sized men to be stationed in a circle at the foot of the stage for Bob to jump into. My role was to be at the door off the side of the audience and to hold it open, “but don’t stress about it, I doubt it’ll happen.” But I do what I’m told. The encore starts, he’s playing “Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat.” Sure enough, don’t you know Dylan takes his guitar off, grabs the mic with the long cable, and off the stage he goes! And he’s coming to me!!! People are screaming, flooding down from the back of the audience, I’m trying to get to the door to hold it open, and here he is! And he can barely play the harmonica because he’s laughing so hard. He handed me the mic, out the door into the alley he goes, and the band ends the song. Holy Hell. About an hour later, I was asked to walk over to Avery Fisher Hall to help with the load-out from Gordon Lightfoot’s show the same night. And just before I left, I met Gordon. What a night.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find clips of the stage dive, but here’s another song from that very night, “Precious Memories”:

In honor of today’s 35th anniversary of the recording of “Ring Them Bells,” Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium of Bells songs:

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