Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings - Sony 36-CD box-set - November 11th 2016

Wouldn't this set be the perfect opportunity to finally release "Eat the Document" as an accompanying DVD?

 

As you allude to, one thing that I don't think has been mentioned is the fact that the electric Sheffield set is labeled as sourced from a board tape, and not a multi-track CBS recording as expected. Since I think it's fair to assume they utilized the best sounding source, I'm not complaining. But I am surprised.

 

I think that was actually meant as a back-handed compliment?

 

Yep. Particularly if it includes "Something Is Happening" as a bonus. But that doesn't seem to be the case, as far as we know.

There is a blu-ray of No Direction Home coming this week with 90 minutes of new bonus material. Remains to be seen if it includes any unseen '66 live footage, but it seems very plausible.

 

I know it's only a dream, but I do wish he had performed Sad Eyed Lady solo in that mysterious voice of this tour

 

He does it in one of the hotel tapes (Denver maybe?), and he can't quite remember how it goes!

 

Is it me or does that version of 'Tell Me Momma' sound better than the one on Vol 4?

 

Or John Bauldie

 

I think you might be right. An outstanding performance.

 

Two or three mixes of the Manchester show sounds about right to me. Here's the basic chronology I have in my head, so it could be off a little:

I. Circa 1969-1970, a recording of the electric half of the Manchester show fell into the hands of some "entrepreneurs" (as described in detail in Clinton Heylin's Bootleg book, as well as in another thread here from last year) and it became the source for all the booted versions that circulated for the next decade or so.

II. Then, in the 1980s, the Gelston Acetates came into circulation, with an assortment of tracks from both Manchester and London. (The Manchester version of I Don't Believe You also cropped up on the Biograph advance tape, but it was later replaced by the version from Belfast.)

(from Searching For A Gem website)
"The Gelston Acetates" - 11 Columbia US acetates brought on to the market by W. L. Gelston & Associates, Oakland, CA, USA, 1986:

Acetate 1: Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, 17 May 1966 - Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (soundcheck), She Belongs To Me, 4th Time Around, Visions of Johanna.

Acetate 2: Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, 17 May 1966 - It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, Desolation Row.

Acetate 3: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 26 May 1966 - She Belongs To Me, 4th Time Around, Visions of Johanna.

Acetate 4: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 26 May 1966 - Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, One Too Many Mornings, Ballad of a Thin Man.

Acetate 5: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 27 May 1966 - She Belongs To Me, 4th Time Around.

Acetate 6: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 27 May 1966 - Visions of Johanna, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.

Acetate 7: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 27 May 1966 - Visions of Johanna, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (both repeated).

Acetate 8: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 27 May 1966 - It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (third occurrence), Desolation Row.

Acetate 9: Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 27 May 1966 - Just Like a Woman, Mr. Tambourine Man.
(FINAL TWO ACETATES: DYLAN/HARRISON SESSIONS 1970)

III. In the early '90s(?) the Guitars Kissing mix of the Manchester show emerged, sourced from a CBS employee's DAT tape, which had been the proposed version prepared for Bootleg Series V. 4, but which Dylan rejected in favor of the mix that was ultimately released.

I'm still a little fuzzy about exactly how the Nagra tapes -- as well as that other acetate version of LARS with the band intros -- came into circulation, and which versions were used on which boots.

 

As I alluded to earlier, this will not be an uncommon reaction once people have heard more of the other shows...

 

Wish Bob Johnston could have had a few words regarding Dylan in studio and on the road 1966 in regards to this box set.

 

In fact, I did a re-visit of what is currently available of May 26th, and magically it sounds better than I ever remembered.

It is a great show to single out for a stand-alone, a little more nuanced than Manchester.

Could be a mixing thing too. The new mixes are going to be really funky I think. In a good way.

 

I think everyone who is enjoying this thread should check out @GetRhythm 's earlier retrospective thread here:

Bob Dylan 1966 50th Anniversary World Tour commemoration & discussion thread »

Among the highlights, some fascinating info about the Australian tour was revealed there for the first time anywhere, as far as I know.

 

yes, especially as it's touted as a "cinema verité classic" in the official press release. classics are usually available on some form of home video, not restricted to a few selected screenings over the decades. there must be a legal tangle holding it up or something, because surely there's a restored digital transfer lurking in the vaults somewhere?

it is indeed a shame that the setlists are practically set in stone by the time the tour goes worldwide. "sooner or later", "i want you", "5 believers", "sweet marie", "memphis blues again"—any of the pop tracks from blonde seem like fun choices when there's a big new album to flog. but—as always—the elusive troubadour does things his way, and his tiger beat stock duly plummets after that summer

 

I am genuinely confused as to why they are not making any 1966 video footage available as part of this whole "50th anniversary" deal.
Is it just the "hassle" of doing it or is Bob nixing it?
Surely they realise that they could earn some $$$ by releasing it?

 

oh man ... you guys mentioning Paul Williams and John Bauldie is giving me shivers. So sad they are not here to experience the recent releases ... how happy they would have been and their commentaries would have been something to behold!

 

I recently finished it for the first time. I loved it.
It's a great read because it is just verbatim reports and interviews from the time rather than any commentary or analysis. Very refreshing in that respect. It really puts you back in 1966.
It is going to be a great counterpoint to Heylin's forthcoming book ... because I am going to guess that there just might be a teensy weensy amount of analysis and criticism in that one

 

Is this blu-ray really coming out? I know Best Buy shows it as an exclusive. Also, Amazon has it with a streaming rental/digital purchase option. It all seems a strange way for an expanded version to be released. Why would there be no DVD version?

 

Can't say. I'll find out on a Friday when I go to Best Buy. But you're right, the circumstances seem very weird.

 

The timing of the Live 1966 announcement yesterday morning with all of discussion and excitement captured here certainly made my day!

The news came as I was waiting in a hospital ward for kidney stone surgery and just as I was getting to the Scrounge Band For Judas chapter in Barney Hoskyns' book The Great Divide.

How can interested parties not be excited to hear all of these concerts? Especially when reading things like:

- The more strung-out he (Dylan) became, the more incandescent was the music. From the first date at Dublin's Adelphi on Thursday 5 May to the famous closing shows at London's Royal Albert Hall (26 and 27), the sound and spectacle of Dylan and the Hawks was more awesome than ever before. (p.121)

- 'The only reason those tapes exist is because we wanted to know, "Are we crazy?",' said Robbie. 'We'd go back to the hotel room, listen to a tape of the show and think, ****, that's not bad - why is everybody so upset? It did hurt a lot, because we played our hearts out, the best we could possibly play. But at the time people couldn't imagine it, they couldn't see it.' (p.121)

- 'Nobody ever made a more ominous sound than Dylan and the Hawks did that night. It was total menace, with no let-up. Song followed song, the terrible intense wall of sound pushing further and further to the limits of sanity. It was magnificent.' (p.122)

- 'the total sound for those prepared to let themselves go with it was magnificent . . . this was Wagnerian rock 'n' roll' (p.125)


Only 44 sleeps to go until we get the audio portion (video to follow someday?) of the 1966 Dylan concert experience!

 

True as that may be, that's not really the point. The point is that someone recorded something without ever intending to release it and make money off of it. EVERYBODY does this now and nobody did it back then.

 

In case anyone's interested, there actually is an Albert Hall in Manchester:
Albert Hall, Manchester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »

 

Quite often, when a Live Album was planned, especially in those days, the setlist was fixed so alternative takes could be used. Of course, in those days (and still today), most performers use a fixed setlist