Video Example 12.1: "Hard Rain," live (1994, Nara)
Chapter 12
Video Example 12.1
Page 298
"Hard Rain," live (1994, Nara)
Nara, Japan (Todaiji Temple, The Great Music Experience) — May 22, 1994
Dylan's three performances of "Hard Rain" at The Great Music Experience in Nara, Japan revitalized his approach to the song. His only performances (so far) with an orchestra, these concerts reconnected him to the gentle lyricism of the original, 1962 version of the song. Michael Kamen's arrangement also prodded Dylan to realize a song-spanning ascent in vocal register and energy, which would become a hallmark of his subsequent versions of the song.