Olof's Files: A Bob Dylan Performance Guide, Vol. 5 Book

Although we didn't know it at the time, this period proved to be the end of an era and the start of new one.In 1986 and 1987 Bob Dylan toured with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers augmented by Dylan's own Heartbreakers, The Queens of Rhythm. That he actually married one of them was a well kept secret. In the spring of 1987 a tour with The Grateful Dead was planned and although the shows the same summer were in general rather lackluster, it turned out to be a career decision that changed Dylan's concept of what live renditions of his songs could be. In 1988 Dylan returned to the road with a stripped down live act. No backup singers, no keyboards, just guitar, bass and drums. The Never-Ending Tour started and although it evolved a lot through the following years, the basic concept still remains the same: unpredictable set lists, basic electric arrangements mixed up with acoustic performances.