In late December, a deal was reached in his custody dispute that ordered his children to stay in California, with Dylan retaining partial custody. The consequences of the custody dispute would prevent Dylan and Sara from reaching amicable conditions for several years. [4] Meanwhile, Renaldo and Clara have been referred to widespread negative reviews. Although Dylan was disappointed by the critical reaction when the film was released and his legal affairs settled, he was finally ready to rehearse. [5] Meetings soon began in earnest. On December 26, Dylan followed the day`s rehearsals with a preview of his upcoming album. Dylan accompanied himself on the piano and played his new series of songs for Stoner, Soles and Bernstein. Many of these songs were written on his Minnesota farm this summer. As rehearsals progressed, it soon became clear that the band was not “picking up where rolling thunder revue left off,” as Mansfield recalls.

“I brought my steel guitar with me and had it in rehearsal and every time I started unpacking it, Bob would say, `We don`t need that. Suddenly, he didn`t want to see, let alone hear, the instrument I was playing all over the previous band. As of mid-January 1978, Dylan was still not satisfied with some aspects of the band.[4] With the first leg of his world tour scheduled for February in Japan, he quickly made some last-minute changes, removing Sagal and Eisenberg and replacing them with inexperienced singer Helena Springs and veteran professional Jo Ann Harris. (Sagal was not surprised by his dismissal. “I remember it. He had three daughters who all sang a role that was not within our reach,” Sagal recalls, “and we were too scared to say anything.”) [5] Before rehearsals could begin, Dylan had to put together a band. He quickly contacted several musicians, including former Rolling Thunder Revue members Steve Soles, David Mansfield, Rob Stoner and Howie Wyeth. Stoner recalls, “I thought the Hard Rain thing was the last thing I`d hear from Bob. Then suddenly I get this call – I think Bob called me personally. and asked me to bring Howie and a few other people to Los Angeles to “try a few things.” [3] Mastering Engineer – Stan Kalina, CBS Recording Studios, New York David Mansfield and Steven Soles appear courtesy of Arista Records When Street-Legal was released, it was rejected by the American press.

Crawdaddy! Critic Jon Pareles noted that “Dylan still needs a producer,” but others found something to complain about both the songs and the performances. Greil Marcus criticized the vocals as “simply impossible to pay attention to for more than a few minutes at a time” and accused “Is Your Love in Vain?” of sexism, claiming that Dylan “speaks to the woman like a sultan checking a promising maid for VD.” [Citation needed]. When the rehearsal took place on December 30, the band now consisted of Stoner, Mansfield, Soles, guitarist Jesse Ed Davis and singers Katey Sagal, Debbie Dye Gibson and Frannie Eisenberg. This rehearsal was mainly devoted to rearrangements of Dylan`s classic compositions based on contemporary adult pop (Wayne Newton, Barry Manilow, Marvin Hamlisch). As biographer Clinton Heylin writes, “[Dylan] began to impose a greater vision on the sound that the magazine`s veterans had originally conceived. With his love for Fatback R&B, it shouldn`t have been surprising that he aspires to a band with a saxophonist and singers. The band he formed in the two months leading up to the 1978 world tour has many similarities to the big band he had tried to impose on Desire. The combination of singers/saxophone/keyboards also reflected elements of the extravagant shows Presley had played in the 1970s. [5] Captain in charge – Don DeVito Second in Command – Arthur Rosato Queen Bee – Mary Alice Artes Secretary of Good Will – Ava Megna Champion of all causes – Larry Kegan Meanwhile, Seiwell was fired; During his short stay with Wings, he and the rest of Wings were arrested for drug possession in Sweden, prompting Japanese authorities to deny him an entry visa. A number of castings were quickly arranged, and according to Stoner, they “agreed” with former King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace.