"It was if the Almighty had suddenly caught a glimpse of what this occasional disciple was brewing in His city and decided to call a halt to the proceedings before things got out of hand." - Glenn Frankel in The Washington Post, 9th September 1987
7th September 1987. In front of a full house waiting to see the great Bob Dylan, a begraggled-looking figure shuffles onto the stage of Jerusalem's Sultan's Pool - an arena dating back to the times of King Herod - and begins singing 'The Times They Are A-Changin'', unnaccompanied, in a voice that sounds extremely the worse for wear. The band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, tentatively fall in behind him, only for the singer to vanish into the wings to fix a problem with his guitar. He returns momentarily, just about getting the song back on track before bringing it to a merciful close. "That wasn't really Bob Dylan," says a member of the audience, presumably trying to reconcile the man onstage with the various iconic Dylans of years past.
It is Bob Dylan, but one in a very bad mood. The previous show of the tour - opening night in Tel-Aviv - has received poor reviews due to Dylan not performing a greatest hits set, while Bob has also been scolded in the press for allegedly skipping a talk show appearance and a dinner in his honour (it later transpires that no such appearances were ever scheduled).
Nevertheless, he soldiers on. A half-hearted 'Man of Peace' leads into cruise-control performances of 'Like A Rolling Stone' and 'Rainy Day Women', before Bob delivers an 'Emotionally Yours' where most of the lyrics except the title escape him. Thankfully, however, he's about to turn things around.
"That was a little request that we played tonight, because we didn't play it the other night. Some people wanted to hear that," announces Bob, apparently alluding to the reviews of the previous show. "Here's another one people said we didn't play last time - we'll play it for you tonight."
The Tel Aviv concert's cold reception must have been on Dylan's mind during the first half of the show, because as soon as he addresses it things improve dramatically. A scorching 'Shot of Love' is followed by equally inspired takes of 'Ballad of a Thin Man', 'You're A Big Girl Now', 'John Brown', 'License to Kill', and 'It's All Over Now Baby Blue'. Dylan is suddenly in the zone. The Heartbreakers, hesitant at first - this is, after all, a very different Dylan to the jovial character they backed on tour in 1986 - are now fully warmed up, with Benmont Tench (keyboards) and Mike Campbell (lead guitar) reacting immediately to Bob's every syllable.
On a roll, Bob proceeds to the religious material. 'Gotta Serve Somebody', with its reworked lyrics and interplay between Bob and the backing singers, is a lot of fun, but it's the final song, 'Slow Train', that makes the biggest impression. Beginning with Bob on acoustic guitar accompanied only by Benmont on piano, the song gradually brings in the backing singers and the rest of the band, building in intensity until you can almost hear Dylan transforming back into the fire and brimstone preacher of 1979-81. It's an eerie and unsettling performance, even more so when - at the precise moment Dylan sings 'the enemy I see' - there is a sudden ZAP! and everything goes silent. A power cut, complete with cartoon sound effect. In the words of The Washington Post: "Dylan stood strumming in disbelief for a moment, then dropped his guitar to the stage floor and stormed away."
The 1987 Temples in Flames Tour is remembered for being ragged and unpredictable, with the quality of the performances varying almost as wildly as the ever-changing setlists. Sultan's Pool - a show that starts terribly, suddenly becomes brilliant and ends with what could easily pass for a bolt of lightning - is a perfect representation of this aesthetic. Despite all the chaos (maybe even because of all the chaos), it's one of my favourite Bob Dylan shows.
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