I don’t have anything but darkness to lose. I’m way beyond that...
- Bob Dylan, 1978
This profile is dedicated to the year-long "Divorce Tour" from 1978, and will not cover any material officially released on the "Live at Budokan" album...
Following a few days of drunken partying with Leonard Cohen, Phil Spector and Allen Ginsberg hanging out in the studio where Spector and Cohen were recording "Death of a Ladies Man", Dylan sealed the deal on his own "Death of a Married Man". He went home with a woman, not his wife. The next morning Dylan’s wife awoke to the scene of her husband having breakfast with a strange woman. The relationship saved by "Blood on the Tracks" was now completely over. Dylan would soon write a whole new batch of songs, straddling the ropes between heartbreak, divorce and cryptic religious themes and occultist imagery, Dylan would embark on a year-long mega-tour, the largest of his career, and the first that would span international dates in 12 years. Sometimes savaged by critics for being too Las Vegasy (Dylan had obviously been influence by hanging out with Phil Spector and his lifelong hero Elvis Presley’s current big-band sound) or too slick. Just look at "Live at Budokan" for the worst of the era. But there were also reviews that literally had the front page taken up with the words "The Best Show I’ve ever Seen". It would be on this tour Dylan would find religion, almost get stabbed by Sid Vicious, change up old classics even more then on the Rolling Thunder Tours, and most of all, just do what Dylan wanted to do. They say he did it for the money, and part of it was that, but Dylan had a sound and idea of a show in his head. Because he could have made a lot more just taking a four-piece band on tour. No, this was our Troubadour’s year-long Journey Through Dark Heat...Newsreel Footage of the Tour....
