Down in the Groove

Down in the Groove
LP by Bob Dylan
Released	May 30, 1988
Recorded	1983-1987
Genre	Rock
Length	36:11
Label	Columbia
Producer(s)	unlisted
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (2/5) link
Bob Dylan chronology
Knocked Out Loaded (1986)	Down in the Groove (1988)	Dylan & The Dead (1989)

Down in the Groove is a 1988 album release by Bob Dylan. It was not especially well-received by either the critics or the fans and sold poorly upon its release, reaching only #61 in the US and #32 UK. Image File history File links DownGroove. ... A gramophone record, (also vinyl record, phonograph record, LP record, or simply record) is an analogue sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides (Very early in the history of the medium, cylinders with helical... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 24 May 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Genres of Cuban music and other popular music A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and sometimes video recordings (especially music videos), on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 24 May 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. ... Knocked Out Loaded is a 1986 album release by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... Dylan & The Dead (1989) is a live album by Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead recorded in July 1987 during the much-touted tour of the same name. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 24 May 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. ...

"Even by Dylan standards, this album has had a strange, difficult birth," wrote Rolling Stone critic David Fricke. "Its release was delayed for more than half a year, and the track listing was altered at least three times. If the musician credits are any indication, the songs that made the final cut come from half a dozen different recording sessions spread out over six years." The Rolling Stone logo Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music and popular culture. ...

Like its predecessor Knocked Out Loaded, Dylan once again used more collaborators than normal, giving the public the impression that he was taking a step back from his career and that he had no clear artistic direction. Knocked Out Loaded is a 1986 album release by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ...

In a review published in his "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau wrote, "Where Self Portrait was at least weird, splitting the difference between horrible and hilarious, [Dylan is now] forever professional - not a single remake honors or desecrates the original. All he can do to a song is Dylanize it, and thus his Danny Kortchmar band and his Steve Jones-Paul Simonon band are indistinguishable, immersed in that patented and by now meaningless one-take sound." Christgau would later call Down in the Groove a "horrendous product." Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh A portrait is a painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person. ...

Christgau was not alone in his disappointment regarding Dylan's collaborations. In his review for Rolling Stone Magazine, Fricke noted that "a highly anticipated – if somewhat unlikely – collaboration with Full Force, the top Brooklyn hip-hop posse, turned out to be an old Infidels outtake, 'Death Is Not the End,' newly garnished with some tasty but rather superfluous Full Force vocal harmonies." This article is about the music magazine. ... Full Force is a group of R&B and hip hop performers and producers from Brooklyn NY, calling themselves the original hip hop vocal band. Members are B-Fine (dr, keys), Shy Shy (bass), Paul Anthony (voc), Bowlegged Lou (voc), Curt-T-T (guit, key, dr), and Baby Gerry (dr). ... ‹The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Full Force is a group of R&B and hip hop performers and producers from Brooklyn NY, calling themselves the original hip hop vocal band. Members are B-Fine (dr, keys), Shy Shy (bass), Paul Anthony (voc), Bowlegged Lou (voc), Curt-T-T (guit, key, dr), and Baby Gerry (dr). ...

However, one song, a Grateful Dead collaboration titled "Silvio," had some success as a single, and Dylan would regularly feature it in his subsequent tours. "Silvio" would also be included on 1994's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3. The Grateful Dead was an American psychedelia-influenced rock band. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Bob Dylans Greatest Hits Volume 3 is the third official compliation album by Bob Dylan, released in 1994. ...

The Summer Tour of 1988

Soon after Down in the Groove's release, Dylan embarked on a summer tour of North America, presumably in support of Down in the Groove. The first show was on June 7th, 1988, at Concord Pavilion in Concord, California, and it was a dramatic shift from previous tours. In recent years, Dylan had relied on larger ensembles, often staffed with high-profile artists like Mick Taylor, Ian McLagan, The Grateful Dead, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This time, Dylan organized his concerts around a small, 'garage rock'-type combo, consisting of Dylan, guitarist G.E. Smith (of Saturday Night Live fame), bassist Kenny Aaronson, and drummer Christopher Parker. (There was a notable exception in the early June shows; those concerts featured a second, lead guitarist in Neil Young, whose own career was also in a downturn at the time.) Mick Taylors debut solo album originally released in 1979. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Tom Petty on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show from NBC which has been broadcast nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ... Neil Young with guitar (from the 1991 Weld tour) Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young, better known as Neil Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has become one of the most respected and influential musicians of his generation. ...

Song selection also became more adventurous, with setlists from different nights offering little resemblance to one another. The concerts would also alternate between full-band, electric sets and smaller, acoustic sets (with Smith providing Dylan's only accompaniment); it was during the acoustic sets that Dylan incorporated an endless variety of traditional cover songs, a marked departure from previous shows that depended heavily on his own compositions.

The concerts initially received modest attention, but they would soon receive a generous amount of praise. The tour schedule was also surprising for a man of Dylan's age, as Dylan was spending most of his time on the road. Just as one leg of the tour would end, Dylan would schedule another leg soon after, and this would continue for many years to come. As a result, Dylan's shows are now often referred to as "The Never-Ending Tour." Though the supporting personnel would undergo a number of changes for years to come, the basic format begun in the summer of 1988 would continue to this day.

Track listing

1. "Let's Stick Together" (Harrison) - 3:09
2. "When Did You Leave Heaven?" (Bullock/Whiting) - 2:15
3. "Sally Sue Brown" (Alexander/Montgomery/Stafford) - 2:29
4. "Death Is Not The End" (Dylan) - 5:10
5. "Had A Dream About You, Baby" (Dylan) - 2:53
6. "Ugliest Girl In The World" (Dylan/Hunter) - 3:32
7. "Silvio" (Dylan/Hunter) - 3:05
8. "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street)" (Blair/Robertson) - 2:56
9. "Shenandoah" (Trad. Arr. Dylan) - 3:38
10. "Rank Strangers To Me" (Brumley) - 2:57

Personnel

• Michael Baird - Drums
• Peggie Blu - Background Vocals
• Alexandra Brown - Background Vocals
• Eric Clapton - Guitar
• Alan Clarke - Keyboards
• Carolyn Dennis - Background Vocals
• Sly Dunbar - Drums
• Bob Dylan - Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals
• Nathan East - Bass
• Mitchell Froom - Keyboards
• Full Force - Background Vocals
• Jerry Garcia - Vocals
• Willie Green, Jr. - Background Vocals
• Beau Hill - Keyboards
• Randy "The Emperor" Jackson - Bass
• Coke Johnson - Engineer
• Steve Jones - Guitar
• Steve Jordan - Drums
• Danny Kartchmar - Guitar
• Bobby King - Background Vocals
• Clydie King - Background Vocals
• Larry Klein - Bass
• Mike Kloster - Assistant Engineer
• Mark Knopfler - Guitar
• Jeff Musel Assistant - Engineer
• Brent Mydland - Vocals
• Jim Preziosi - Assistant Engineer
• Madelyn Quebec - Keyboards, Background Vocals
• Brian Saucy - Assistant Engineer
• Robbie Shakespeare - Bass
• Stephen Shelton - Drums, Keyboards, Engineer, Mixing
• Paul Simonon - Bass
• Henry Spinetti - Drums
• Bob Weir - Vocals
• Kip Winger - Bass
• Ron Wood - Bass