Table Of ContentTRUE CONFESSIONS
BOB DYLAN 1986
by
Olof Björner
A SUMMARY OF RECORDING & CONCERT ACTIVITIES,
RELEASES, TAPES & BOOKS.
© 2004 by Olof Björner
All Rights Reserved.
This text may be reproduced, re-transmitted, redistributed and
otherwise propagated at will, provided that this notice remains
intact and in place.
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 3
2 1986 AT A GLANCE .......................................................................................................................................... 3
3 THE 1986 CALENDAR ..................................................................................................................................... 4
4 KNOCKED OUT LOADED .............................................................................................................................. 6
5 HARD TO HANDLE ......................................................................................................................................... 7
6 SUPERSTAR CONCERT SERIES .................................................................................................................. 8
7 THE TRUE CONFESSIONS TOUR ................................................................................................................ 8
7.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 8
7.2 THE MUSICIANS ........................................................................................................................................... 8
7.3 THE SHOW ................................................................................................................................................... 9
7.4 PART ONE: DOWN UNDER ......................................................................................................................... 10
7.4.1 The dates .............................................................................................................................................. 10
7.4.2 The songs ............................................................................................................................................. 11
7.4.3 Statistics ............................................................................................................................................... 13
7.4.4 Comments ............................................................................................................................................ 14
7.5 PART TWO: US .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7.5.1 The dates .............................................................................................................................................. 15
7.5.2 The songs ............................................................................................................................................. 17
7.5.3 Statistics ............................................................................................................................................... 27
7.5.4 Comments ............................................................................................................................................ 27
7.6 TRUE CONFESSIONS SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 29
7.6.1 Show Statistics ..................................................................................................................................... 29
7.6.2 Song statistics ....................................................................................................................................... 29
7.6.3 Album statistics .................................................................................................................................... 30
7.6.4 Alphabetical song list ........................................................................................................................... 31
7.6.5 Ten most played songs in 1986 ............................................................................................................ 33
7.6.6 Live debuts 1986 .................................................................................................................................. 33
7.6.7 Played only once in 1986 ..................................................................................................................... 34
8 SONGS 1986 ..................................................................................................................................................... 34
9 SUGGESTED READINGS .............................................................................................................................. 34
10 SOURCES ......................................................................................................................................................... 35
11 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................................. 35
12 THE 1986 SETLISTS ....................................................................................................................................... 37
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
1 INTRODUCTION
Another year of extreme activity. A new tour in two parts, a new record, and on top of it,
leading role in a film. For the return to the concert scene, Dylan chose to appear as the
rejuvenated legend, rather punkish, in sleeveless shirts and leather vests, lots of amulets and
one eardrop. The tour was a result of his collaboration with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at
the Farm Aid benefit in September 1985. It was a tour that featured many of the new songs
from Empire Burlesque as well as songs from his entire career and then also a lot of rock 'n'
roll covers. True confessions?
2 1986 AT A GLANCE
Jan Febr March April May June July August Sept October Nov December
Martin Luther King Day concert
True Confessions pt 1: Australia & Japan
recording of Band Of The Hand
Kurtis Blow recording session
Knocked Out Loaded recording sessions
release of Band Of The Hand single
Amnesty International Benefit Concert
True Confessions pt 2: US
release of Hard To Handle video
release of Knocked Out Loaded
Hearts Of Fire recording sessions
Jan Febr March April May June July August Sept October Nov December
3
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
3 THE 1986 CALENDAR
January Dylan is interviewed by Don McLeese for Chicago Sun-Times.
January Telephone interview with Dylan by Toby Croswell for the Australian Rolling Stone.
January Rehearsals continue at Soundstage 41, Universal Studios. According to Tom Petty
some sixty songs are rehearsed. Among them All My Tomorrows and This Was My
Love.
20 January Dylan performs with Stevie Wonder at the Martin Luther King Day concert at the
John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC.
25 January Albert Grossman dies of a heart attack on a flight to London.
27 January Bob Dylan gives a congratulations speech to Willie Nelson, when he receives the
First Annual Award of Appreciation. The event is broadcast by the ABC-TV
Network
Late January George Negus interviews Dylan in Malibu for the Australian TV-program Sixty
Minutes, broadcast 10 February.
5 February The new tour named True Confessions with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers starts in
Wellington, New Zealand.
8 February Dylan is interviewed by Stuart Coupe for The Age.
9 February A new Dylan song, Band Of The Hand, written for a film with the same name, is
recorded by Dylan and Petty at Festival Studios in Sydney, Australia. An alternate
title is It's Hell Time, Man!
10 February Dylan gives a press conference at Brett Whitley's Studio in Sydney.
19 February Dylan appears at a Dire Straits concert in Melbourne and sings four songs.
20 February Dylan is interviewed at the poolside of the Rockman’s Regency Hotel in Melbourne.
The interview is broadcast on EON – FM radio 21 February.
22 February Dylan is interviewed by Maurice Parker in a hotel room in Melbourne. The interview
is broadcast by Channel 7, Brisbane, 24 February in the program State Affairs.
24, 25 February The two shows in Sydney are recorded and released in parts in Westwood One's
Superstar Concert Series. The shows are also filmed and 10 songs are released on the
Hard To Handle video.
4 March Richard Manuel hangs himself in a motel room in Florida.
10 March Last show of the Down Under Tour is played in the Budokan Hall in Tokyo.
31 March Dylan receives yet another award, this time the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers Founder's Award. Press conference and acceptance speech at
Chasen's Restaurant in Los Angeles are broadcast by CNN in Showbiz Today. Dylan
is also interviewed briefly by Dick Shoemaker, and this is broadcast by ABC in
Entertainment Tonight.
1 April Dylan contributes vocal to Street Rock, recorded by Kurtis Blow at the Greene Street
Recording Studios in New York City, New York. The song is released on Kingdom
Blow in September.
April Release of the Band Of The Hand single with non Dylan B-side.
28 April – 19 May Recording sessions for Knocked Out Loaded in Skyline Recording Studios in
Topanga Park, California.
May Release of the Band Of The Hand soundtrack.
15 May Lorimar Productions announces that Dylan is to star in a film called Hearts Of Fire.
4
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
Dylan is to write six new songs for the film.
21 May Another telephone radio program with Bob Fass broadcast by WBAI-FM Radio in
New York as a Bob Dylan birthday program. Bob Fass sounds exactly as he did in
1966. Bob Dylan doesn't.
6 June Amnesty International Benefit Concert at The Forum in Los Angeles.
9 June The US part of the True Confessions tour kicks off with a show in The Sports Arena
in San Diego, California.
13 June Dylan is interviewed by Jon Brem for the “Minneapolis Star and Tribune”.
26 June Dylan is interviewed by Bob Ashenmacher backstage at the Hubert H. Humphrey
Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota for News-Tribune & Herald.
20 June Release of the Hard To Handle video.
2 July The show at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio is played in collaboration with The
Grateful Dead. Dylan Joins the Dead during their set for three songs.
4 July Three songs from the show at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York, are broadcast live
via satellite for Farm Aid 2 and simulcast on various radio stations.
7 July Another Grateful Dead collaboration, this time at the RFK Stadium in
Washington.D.C. Dylan again joins The Grateful Dead on three songs.
17 July Dylan is interviewed backstage at Madison Square Garden in New York City by
David Hepworth for Q magazine.
5 August During the soundcheck at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California,
Thank God is recorded. It is broadcast 14 September in a syndicated anti-drug
program organized by The Lubavitcher’s Chabad Telethon.
6 August Last concert at the Mid-State Fairground in Paso Robles, California, features the
only live rendition of Brownsville Girl. Only the chorus is sung and Dylan comments
after the song that they did it for TV. It is broadcast by ABC in Entertainment
Tonight the next day.
8 August Knocked Out Loaded is released. The "release an album, do a tour to promote it"
routine in reverse.
August Dylan is “interviewed” by Sam Shepard. It is published in Esquire July 1987 under
the title True Dylan.
17 August Hearts Of Fire press conference in the National Film Theatre in London.
27-28 August Recording of the Hearts Of Fire songs in Townhouse Studios in London.
20 September Dylan is interviewed by Christopher Sykes in the Colston Hall, Bristol, England,
during the filming of Hearts of Fire.
30 September Dylan is again interviewed by Christopher Sykes in London.
September Dylan is interviewed by Donald Chase from San Francisco Chronicle.
17 October The third Christopher Sykes interview is conducted in Toronto, Canada.
18 October The fourth and final interview by Christopher Sykes takes place in Dylan's trailer in
Toronto, Canada. It is broadcast by BBC1 in England in the documentary Getting To
Dylan. A part of the first interview is also broadcast as well as a part of the London
press conference.
1 November Dylan performs with the Paul James Band at the Nag's Head in Markham, north of
Toronto.
10 November Dylan presents the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame award to Gordon Lightfoot in
Toronto.
5
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
4 KNOCKED OUT LOADED
The recording of Knocked Out Loaded took place during a number of sessions April and May. There
are many details missing and the summaries below give only a fragmentary picture. Below (X) stands
for “released after later overdubbing”. Some of the sessions were produced by Bob Dylan.
Summary:
# of take released on
Date Song takes KOL1 GH32 BEST3 single
28 April You'll Never Walk Alone ?
Driftin' Too Far From Shore ?
The Beautiful Life ?
Without Love ?
29 April Driftin' Too Far From Shore ?
You'll Never Walk Alone ?
Unchain My Heart ?
30 April You'll Never Walk Alone ?
New Danville Girl ?
Unchain My Heart ?
Lonely Avenue ?
1 May Without Love ?
New Danville Girl ?
Unchain My Heart ?
2 May New Danville Girl ?
Unchain My Heart ?
5 May Without Love ?
They Killed Him ? (X)
You Wanna Ramble ? (X)
6 May Without Love ?
It's Too Late (She’s Gone) ?
Precious Memories ?
7-13 May Under Your Spell ?
Precious Memories ?
They Killed Him ?
Come Back Baby (One More Time) ?
9 May Driftin' Too Far From Shore ?
Wild & Wicked World ?
14-23 May Precious Memories ? X
You Wanna Ramble ? X
They Killed Him ? X
Maybe Someday 2 2
So Good ?
I Need Your Lovin' ?
Driftin' Too Far From Shore ? X X
Brownsville Girl ? X X X
19 May Got My Mind Made Up ?
18 June Got My Mind Made Up ? X
1 Knocked Out Loaded
2 Greatest Hits Volume 3
3 The Very Best Of Bob Dylan
6
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
session number 7905 7907 7909 7911 7913 7915 7917 7919 7921 7923 7925 7927 8065
date 28-apr 29 30 1-May 2 5 6 7-13 8 9 14-23 19 18-jun
Driftin Too Far From Shore x x X O
New Danville Girl x x x
Brownsville Girl O
They Killed Him X X O
You Wanna Ramble X O
Precious Memories X X O
Under Your Spell O
Maybe Someday O
Got My Mind Made Up x X
You'll Never Walk Alone x x x
The Beautiful Life x x
Without Love x x x x
Unchain My Heart x x x x
Lonely Avenue x
Too Late She's Gone x
Come Back Baby (One More Time) x
Wild & Wicked World x
So Good x
I Need Your Lovin' x
Legend
x unreleased take
X released take
O overdub take
Live history
Song Debut
Driftin’ Too Far From Shore Concord Pavilion, Concord, California, 7 June 1988
Brownsville Girl Mid-State Fairground, Paso Robles, California, 6 August 1986
Precious Memories The Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York, 13 October 1989
Got My Mind Made Up San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California, 9 June 1986
The following songs from Knocked Out Loaded have never been played live: They Killed Him, You
Wanna Ramble, Under Your Spell, Maybe Someday.
There are no officially released live versions of the songs on Knocked Out Loaded.
Performances during The Never-Ending Tour
Driftin’ Too Far From Shore 1988, 1989
5 HARD TO HANDLE
This first Bob Dylan concert video was recorded at the Entertainment Center in Sydney, 24 and 25
February 1986. The video was released in October on CBS/FOX and contains the following songs:
recorded
24 25
spoken introduction to In The Garden ⚫
In The Garden ⚫
Just Like A Woman ⚫
Like A Rolling Stone ⚫
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) ⚫
Girl From The North Country ⚫
Lenny Bruce ⚫
When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky ⚫
Ballad Of A Thin Man ⚫
7
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
I'll Remember You ⚫
Knockin' On Heaven's Door ⚫
6 SUPERSTAR CONCERT SERIES
A number of live performances from the True Confessions tour were released on radio station discs in
the series Superstar Concerts by Westwood One in August 1986. The songs were:
a b c
Introduction ⚫ *
Positively 4th Street ⚫
All Along The Watchtower ⚫
Masters Of War ⚫
I'll Remember You ⚫
I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know ⚫
Just Like A Woman ⚫
Blowin' In The Wind ⚫
That Lucky Old Sun ⚫
Like A Rolling Stone ⚫
Knockin' On Heaven's Door ⚫
Girl From The North Country ⚫ *
It Ain't Me Babe ⚫ *
When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky ⚫ *
a. recorded at the Entertainment Center in Sydney, Australia 24 February.
b. recorded at the Entertainment Center in Sydney, Australia 25 February.
c. recorded at the Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington, 13 July.
* released in February 1987 in countries outside USA and Canada.
7 THE TRUE CONFESSIONS TOUR
7.1 Introduction
The tour consisted of two parts, the first in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, referred to as "The
Down Under Tour" below. The second part took place in the US, Dylan's first tour in his home
country for five years.
7.2 The Musicians
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:
Tom Petty (guitar, vocal),
Mike Campbell (guitar),
Benmont Tench (keyboards),
Howie Epstein (bass),
Stan Lynch (drums).
The Queens Of Rhythm:
Queen Esther Marrow,
Madelyn Quebec,
Elisecia Wright (Down Under Tour only),
Debra Byrd, (Down Under Tour only),
Louise Mathoon Byrd (US Tour only),
8
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
Carolyn Dennis (US Tour only).
7.3 The Show
Main set:
Bob Dylan with band 6-7 songs
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 4 songs, 2 during the first leg
Bob Dylan solo 3-4 songs
Bob Dylan & Tom Petty 1 song
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 4 songs, 2 during the first leg
Bob Dylan with band 5-6 songs
Encores:
Bob Dylan & Tom Petty 1 song
Bob Dylan with band 2 songs
9
True Confessions – Bob Dylan 1986
7.4 Part One: Down Under
7.4.1 The dates
FEBRUARY
5 Wellington, New Zealand Athletic Park SA
7 Auckland, New Zealand Mt Smart Stadium SA
10 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre MA
11 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre SA
12 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre MA
13 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre MA
15 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Memorial Drive SA
17 Perth, West Australia, Australia Perth Entertainment Center -
18 Perth, West Australia, Australia Perth Entertainment Center -
20 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Kooyong Stadium SA
21 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Kooyong Stadium SA
22 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Kooyong Stadium SA
24 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre SA, I
25 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Entertainment Centre MA
MARCH
1 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Lang Park -
5 Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Hall SA
6 Osaka Fu, Japan Castle Hall SA
8 Nagoya, Japan Gymnasium SA
10 Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Hall SA
SA = circulating audience recording is in stereo
MA = circulating audience recording is in mono
I = circulating audience recording is incomplete
- = no circulating audience recording exists
10
Description:rejuvenated legend, rather punkish, in sleeveless shirts and leather vests, lots of
amulets and one eardrop. The new tour named True Confessions with Tom
Petty & The Heartbreakers starts in. Wellington, New . That Lucky Old Sun. ○.
