Never Ending Tour Diaries: Drummer Winston Watson’s Incredible Journey is a freewheelin’ whimsical account of one man’s rabbit hole adventures as drummer for Bob Dylan’s infamous never ending tour. Mr. Watson is an affable narrator, a veritable kid in a candy store as he documents his sacred time with the bard of Hibbing. He unveils anecdote upon anecdote in a stream of consciousness word ballet interspersing live interview shots of him with a gallery of video 8 footage culled from his vast personal collection.
The DVD begins with Watson’s colorful beginnings playing drums in his mother’s country/easy-listening ensemble followed by his foray into the demimonde of Top 40 hit paradigm, grinding it out in random roadhouses and biker bars before joining major label recording artists, Giant Sand. Then on September 6, 1992, his world made a quantum leap into the domain of Planet Dylan. Watson formed a unique bond with the songsmith and engaged in many thought-provoking discussions on music — philosophy and the planet waves at large. Along the way, he encountered such rock stalwarts as Levon Helm, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Neil Young and Bono.
One of the many delightful parts of this DVD is the nooks and crannies of the day-to-day operations of a big rock enterprise, the never-dull intricacies of personality and discovery. Winston regales us with stories about Vaclav Havel (then President of the Czech Republic); touring with the Grateful Dead on the Dead/Dylan tour; communing with the Rolling Stones; participating in Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday soiree; and being snubbed and insulted by a cantankerous Van Morrison.
After his stint with Dylan ends, he continues with tales about playing with Alice Cooper and Warren Zevon. Never Ending Tour Diaries: Drummer Winston Watson’s Incredible Journey is one man’s odyssey into the hermetic world of an American iconoclast — a world very few get to glimpse; a world both sacred and profane, mysterious and above all, full of glorious sights and sounds.
~ Lanny Cordola
