Bob Dylan's Dream? Not Exactly...

Recently, a good friend of mine sent me some bizarre footage of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Parthenon. Yes, you read that correctly. After a little research, I found that these excerpts are from a rare Van bootleg called (predictably), "Van Morrison Meets Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker" (filmed in 1989, released in 1992). For one thing, the video footage is sub-par, even by bootleg standards. I mean seriously, two of the greatest musicians EVER, playing a rare, one-time performance, and this is the best technology had to offer?? You've gotta be kidding me. Maybe, a group of Swiss tourists spotted Bob and Van (who both happened to be jamming on a Greek hillside in 1989), and shifted their Sony Handycam away from the ancient ruins and demanded an impromptu performance of "Crazy Love??" Or better yet, maybe it was John Lee Hooker who was doing the filming -- that wily old delta bluesman!

And why does Bob look so miserable? First off, he is muttering his way through a song he clearly doesn't know, and just looks pissed off about being filmed. Why such the bad attitude, Bob? Afterall, it's Van the Man! Don't you remember the Last Waltz!?! For Van, the only other person he considers his “contemporary” is Bob Dylan, and I think it's clear from this clip, that the feelings are unfortunately, not mutual.

As my friend put it (who incidentally knows more about Van than humanly possible): "It seems as though Bob wanted nothing to do with this setup...almost as if he lost a bet and was forced to strum through a couple tunes with that Irish bastard, while some eurotrash camera crew documents his embarrassment to the world." From the looks of it, it appears that this is precisely what Dylan was thinking.

Maybe I'm being too harsh, or maybe I'm just disappointed, but someone made the executive decision not to release this bootleg into the mainstream. Nonetheless, the footage is both historic and intriguing, and I no doubt would have paid any amount of money (and still would) to see these two legends perform together -- Parthenon or no Parthenon...