Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert"
|
List Price: Our Price: $13.97 You Save: $6.01 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $8.50 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert"
Free Music Review: It keeps getting better
Hit: 5 Stars
Why I didn't get this album earlier is beyond me. Again this is one of the best albums in my Dylan collection. Free Music Review: the royal albert hall - clarity, and the best of...
Hit: 5 Stars
The clarity here is incredible. I think this is one of the, if not The best version i have ever heard of both Desolation Row as well as It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.
There is something about Dylan's voice here that rings with a sincerity and perhaps a bit of melancholy at times that is deeply moving. It may be more serious than many would like and if that is what you are looking for, then this is not the album for you. There is a seriousness here and again, a real earnest quality that lends this entire album the wallop and punch that it packs.
Even Mr. Tambourine Man has never sounded so good. It sounds here clearly to be a song of the self - Dylan telling himself that it is time to move on to something new... He is, as he notes, weary of the old, "My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet..." and this much is understandable. It's time to move on to something different and he does and though he may be "Judas" to some for doing so, he eventually proves that he will triumph.
But back to this - The Royal Albert Hall recording - and this song. What do we make of the line;
"My toes too numb to step,
wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade..."
I've heard so many interpretations that all lead us back to drugs, but this so much seems like an over-simplification in some ways. Yes, sure, Dylan was into drugs - we know this - but after a time, to attribute all that he did to drugs becomes boring and short-sighted and too reductive. This song is not simply about drugs, though it may be in part, it is also about moving on.
This album, Side 1, gives us an acoustic side that is absolutely beautiful in both clarity and sorrow and a beautiful almost 'goodbye' - a send-off of sorts. God, or gaawwd, as he may have said, it must grow tiring to sing the same song night after night after night after night, no matter how much it pleases the crowd; you need to, as an artist, move on and do something for yourself, and this is what Dylan did and he gave us a send off that was worthy and that we perhaps needed. No, we didn't deserve it. Dylan owes us nothing. NOTHING.
He never did. He never claimed to. He never will. As i read recently, and it's true, if he feels like making a record of pure electric hiss, then so be it. That's for him, not for his 'fans.' Dylan is not 'ours' as they said so many times at The Newport Folk Festival (a burden i'm sure was hard for him to bear at such a young age). He is his own. We are fortunate enough to simply be here while he shares with us in the process...
Buy this... If you're a true Dylan fan and don't have this - what are you waiting for? If these songs strike you, and most are classics, then by gawd, wait no more...
thanks for listening,
s.r.p.
Free Music Review: Yikes! What a Dylan concert!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a recording of the 1966 Royal Albert Hall concert, in which Bob Dylan angered some of his fans by "going electric." This recording begins with a series of acoustic songs, such as "Desolation Row" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." The second set of songs, on a separate CD, represents the electric music, with the Band in support (Robbie Robertson on guitar, Rick Danko on bass, Garth Hudson on organ, Richard Manuel on piano, and Mickey Jones replacing Levon Helm on drums). This brought a pretty strong audience reaction, with one person crying out "Judas" to Dylan just before the start of "Like a Rolling Stone."
A few reactions:
"Desolation Row": This is a classic Dylan song, with strange netaphors and eleven minutes of vignettes and images that are wild and original. Lines with very different sentiments are juxtaposed in a way that provokes (e.g., "Everyone is making love or else expecting rain"; Ophelia's sin of "her lifelessness"; an introduction to characters mentioned in the song, from Albert Einstein to Ezra Pound to T. S. Eliot). Great harmonica and lines stretched out, as Dylan sings slowly and stretches out the words.
"Mr. Tambourine Man": Strange phrasing in this one, but the song is still compelling. Some lines end with the two words "going to," and the "to" explodes from Dylan's lips.
Then, the electric music begins.
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues": Again, what lyrics! Strange images emerge. The tempo of this song is very slow; the guitar work is terrific from Robbie Robertson. Some evocative lines: "Sweet Melinda. . .She invites you up to her room. . .She steals your voice and leaves you howling at the moon." Or a reference to ". . .the cops don't need you and they expect the same." And his flight: "The joke was on me, there was no one there to call my bluff. I'm going back to New York City. I do believe I've had enough."
During the electric portion, the crowd began to express its displeasure. For instance, talking during the songs and otherwise expressing discontent (listen to "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat").
"Ballad of a Thin Man": In case one had forgotten what a cool song this is, please listen! The clueless Mr. Jones is taken to task. The tag line goes" "You know something is happening, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?" Neat language. At one point, Mr. Jones asks"'What's mine?'" and is answered by "somebody else," "Well, what is?"
"Like a Rolling Stone": At the end of "Ballad of a Thin Man" and just before "Like a Rolling Stone," one person in the audience shouts out to Dylan "Judas." Clapping occurs after that. Dylan says "I don't believe you" and "You're a liar." Then, he uses salty, colorful language, asking the Band to play real loud. 40 years ago, the Band and Dylan launched into this anthem. The words are stretched out. "Do you want to make a deeeeeeaaaaal." "How does it feeeeeeeeeeeeeeel, to be on your owwwwwwwwwwn, With no direction hooooooooooooome, like a complete unknoooooown, like a Rolling Stooooooone." The recording is rough; it's not always clear what Dylan is singing.
All in all, a terrific recording of one of the key events as Bob Dylan moved from being a folk singer and protest singer to something more than that. Well worth acquiring.
Free Music Review: Required listening!
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD is such a valuable document, and for so many reasons! In the life and music of Bob Dylan, it's a representation of how schizophrenic his music became as he got more interested in introspection and experimenting with rock and roll but still had to pander to the hardcore folkies who only wanted an acoustic guitar and harmonica. For the history of rock and roll, it represents, on tape, a huge moment when folk and rock really hit fans right in the face, and their varied reactions are absolutely priceless. I feel so lucky to be able to listen to this historical gold on tape, and it still is hair-raising and fresh today.
The first CD/half of the concert is a great warm-up (and calm before the storm!). Folk fans must have been pleased with the song choice. Although there are no protest songs (really, he hadn't written any straight up protest songs since before "Another Side"), but songs like "Visions of Johanna," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Just Like A Woman," and "Mr. Tambourine Man" were already instant classics on the studio recordings. Dylan sounds pretty stoned here--he's drawling out the lyrics like he's just singing for himself and going on crazy, spacey harmonica solos (a highlight, in my opinion) that may have weirded a few people out, but they sound great from here. "Desolation Row" is a huge highlight, although I don't think the British crowd got too many of the jokes--an actual bootleg from America circa 1965 has the crowd in stitches over Dylan's adroit cultural and literary references.
The second disc is really the bread and butter of this release. The sound of the hall mixed with that wound-up, overdriven band rocks harder than anything else I've ever heard--you don't have to be playing death metal to rock, and this album is proof. The Hawks' accompaniment (come on people, they weren't The Band until '68) is just as great as it ever was--a beardless Garth Hudson plays that Lowrey like the keys are greased, and Robertson busts out such wicked licks it kind of makes me wish he played some guitar solos on Music From Big Pink. Too bad Levon Helm dropped out and didn't want to play drums in front of booing crowds. The song choice isn't quite what you'd expect ("Tell Me Momma" was never studio recorded, and hard-rocking versions of "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" and "One Too Many Mornings" are a bit out of left field), but they all rock, and they all rock HARD. Robbie Robertson give the rock version of "I Don't Believe You" that signature guitar riff that Dylan's road guitarist still uses to this day! This album also includes the definitive, in-your-face live version of "Like A Rolling Stone" with epic drums fills and all.
What really gives this collection its classic status is the between-song banter and crowd participation. Close listening reveals a wealth of emotion--anger, humor, disgust, and stress--on the parts of Dylan and the crowd. The booing and distracting clapping are astounding today, and some of the stuff Dylan says to get the crowd to shut up is hilarious. And, of course, the classic "Judas" incident. I highly recommend fans of Dylan buy this album--the music merits 5 stars and the concert's historical status deserves 5 stars too. If you're not a Dylan fan but like rock and roll, you should check this out and see where some of the music you know and love got a big start.
Free Music Review: BUY THIS NOW.
Hit: 5 Stars
This is, hands down, the best live album ever officially released. Dylan's music world-changing 1966 world tour was almost completely recorded, and this is the only concert that has seen official release. The entire tour is known as Genuine Live 1966 and has been heavily bootleged over the years. This release is excellent quality and is WORTH THE PRICE and then some. Buy it! Buy it now!