Odd Couple

Carlos Santana and Bob Dylan 1993

This is a weird picture.  What an odd couple.  Check out the shoes on Carlos.  Bob always had an androgynous appearance and mannerisms ... but ... in this picture he looks downright feminine. These of course are strictly my own personal and perhaps completely subjective observations.  His hands look strange too and his posture.  He was 52 in this photo. 

 Same time, same place, same odd couple

Below is a fascinating MTV interview, as odd as the picture above.  It took place in Memorial Stadium, Seattle on August 21, 1993.  Bob seems to be shy and nervous at times and looking to Carlos for support. Carlos, on the other, hand seems confident, outgoing and in total control throughout the interview. 

The transcripts of this interview, along with some very interesting commentary by a Dylanologist known as Right Wing Bob can be found here

Bob Dylan, Santana Make For A Dynamic Twin Bill
By Dan Kening
From the Chicago Tribune , August 31, 1993

Rock 'n' roll tours can make for some strange bedfellows. Such is the case with Bob Dylan and Santana's current co-headlining jaunt through the nation's outdoor amphitheaters, which stopped at the World Music Theatre on Sunday.

It became something of a game trying to pick out who were each act's partisans in the crowd estimated at 10,000, but each turned in strong enough performances to win over the other's fans.

The two acts alternate each night on tour as the closer, with Dylan's 90-minute show on Sunday preceding Santana's set of similar length, while Jamaica's Wailing Souls did a brief opening stint.

For more than 30 years, Dylan-rock's Great Enigma-has baffled fans and critics alike with a musical legacy that defies categorization or any sort of logic. Looking fit and thin Sunday, Dylan, 52, seemed in good spirits, as he sang while hunched over the microphone like a vulture, spitting out lyrics from classics that have become touchstones for several generations of fans.
 Early in the show, the tandem of "Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again)" and "All Along the Watchtower" set the tone for the rest of the set. Buoyed by his hard-rocking band consisting of guitarist John Jackson, multi-instrumentalist Bucky Baxter, bassist Tony Garnier and drummer Winston Watson, Dylan's trademark harsh and nasal vocals soared above the bombast.

Although acoustic versions of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" harkened back to his folkie roots, Dylan was definitely in a rock 'n' roll state of mind, trading surprisingly facile electric guitar solos with Jackson on a truly incendiary version of "Maggie's Farm."

After an encore of "It Ain't Me, Babe" Dylan bowed deeply to the crowd several times. Wonder what Dylanologists who divine cosmic meaning from his every gesture made of that?

In contrast to Dylan, who has reinvented himself countless times over the years, Santana bandleader Carlos Santana still acts and appears the eternal flower child-which is not necessarily a knock.

With songs like "Free All the People (South Africa)" and "Life Is for Living" that promote peace, brotherhood and equality, the guitarist has done as much as anyone to bring people together.

Combine that with Carlos' passionate, soaring guitar lines and the killer percussion section spotlighted on "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," and you have a combination that moved both the audience's conscience and booty.

If the Santana band has a weakness, it's longtime vocalist Alex Ligertwood-a competent, if not particularly inspiring, singer who was spelled occasionally by new vocalist Vorriece Cooper.