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

That logic suggests that no family should ever publish an obituary and there should not be dozens of websites that maintain obituaries for decades.

 

Yeah, but just a quick "I don't believe you guys...you're liars" was enough to shut them up...

 

Great to see the variety of opinions on the shows! For me, Manchester was left in the dust by quite a few of these shows - but the thing is, once Dylan hit the UK, every show was so excellent it's hard to grade them, they're all awesome. Each new show I listen to sounds like one of the best, and it'll take a few listens to sort them out. (That said, Glasgow was particularly intense!)

One cool thing I've noticed is that the intro to 'Rolling Stone' is somewhat different at each show; many versions have a nice alternate bass/guitar intro...Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle/Cardiff & London are some good examples.

Someone should make a best-show-of-the-tour poll...

 

I wonder if some parts of the separate audio recordings for the cameras were used to supplement the shows in this set?
For instance, the first minute of the Glasgow 'Rolling Stone' track sounds a lot more like an audience tape than the soundboard; Dylan's voice sounds distant. There might be other examples in between songs at the filmed shows.

 

That sounds like an interesting story about the reunion. Where is it from?

 

The Day Bob Dylan Attended an Awkward High School Reunion »

 

Sheffield is similar to the Sydney tape in that Dylan's vocal is, much of the time, louder than the band, which makes it hard to listen to in places.
I'd been looking forward to this electric set since the acoustic set was so good, but it actually turned out to be one of the weaker electric sets - aside from the unbalanced mix, Dylan sounds rather tired and there wasn't as much energy that night. ('Tom Thumb' came off best, I thought.)
A couple highlights: Dylan's joking introduction to 'Tom Thumb,' and the huge audience protest after 'Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat.'
An interesting audio moment: for the first 40 seconds of 'Baby Let Me Follow You Down,' it sounds like a different source tape - kind of like an audience tape since there's lots of room echo, but then it switches back to the normal mix. (Personally I wish the rest of the show sounded like that part!) Audio switches like these occur now and then across the shows, and make me wonder whether alternate tapes were used for a few incomplete gaps in Alderson's, or if Alderson was just adjusting the mix when he put a new reel on.

I wish they'd included a song at least from the Columbia recording of Sheffield so we could hear if it's as distorted as they claim...

 

The Day Bob Dylan Attended an Awkward High School Reunion »

 

Received my Real Royal Albert Hall lp in the mail from amazon.co.uk yesterday. Nice, thick vinyl. LP1 is not entirely flat, but doesn't affect play. I must say that I really hate the cover with a passion. Lazy design where they could have used any number of amazing stills for the cover. Nice set of photos on the inside of the gatefold and I like the vintage labels on the records. The show is fantastic, of course. Sounds great when you crank it.

One thing I love is how the second set starts with some electric guitar strumming (reminiscent of the acoustic set) for a good 10 seconds, kind of like a calm before the storm. When the full band suddenly kicks in it is quite startling after having listened to 40 minutes of acoustic guitar. I can only imagine what the experience would have been like back then for someone in the audience.

 

I think the RAH LP sounds really good. I got a good flat, clean sounding record but I agree with the previous post.....the cover could have been a bit better.

On another note - he's back in the UK come May...

May 3rd, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
May 4th, Bournemouth International Centre
May 5th, Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
May 7th, SECC Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow
May 8th, Liverpool Echo Arena
May 9th, SSE Arena Wembley.

 

No wonder Bob legged it as far away as he could as soon as he got the chance. Sounds like an awful place.

 

Kind of mind-blowing that by 1969, Dylan had accomplished all he had just ten years out of high school!

 

That was my favorite track when I first heard the "Looking Back" bootleg years ago. Going through the box I have not heard one that surpasses the Manchester one. There is a magical soaring quality to that version that is not present anywhere else.

 

Have to admit, while I thought all the discussion around the various concerts in this set was pretty interesting, this debate on why he continues to play Cardiff is WAY MORE FASCINATING. Keep it up and whatever you do don't take it to private messages and leave us all out of what the final conclusion is.

 

I don't believe you. You're a liar.

 

Well I have to concede I didn't realise just how much they love Bob in Wales:

Bob Dylan scarecrow is a huge hit »

Among music legend Bob’s friends are a postman, bag lady, chef and a vicar, as well as odd-job man Steve the Strimmer.

 

Let's all just agree that Bob hates the Welsh and his tour manager books dates in Cardiff specifically to annoy him.

 

Well he took his name from a Welshman (allegedly)

 

I think it must be us Irish he hates as he has not played here in a while.

 

It's a flawed argument, I admit.

 

If it's any comfort to you Welshmen and Irishmen, Bob Dylan usually skips Arizona on his American tours. Not always, but usually. When he does come to Arizona he'd dock the crowd one or two songs in the main set and refuse them an encore. He used to play two cities regularly, then only one city, and sometimes for five years in a row, neither. Arizonans fried their brains under the hot sun and as result don't show much enthusiasm for anything. More to the point, they disagree with Dylan politically. Not all, but 9/10's. Understandably, Dylan senses something's not right in Arizona and avoids the place. If he does stop here, it's a duty stop. So you have nothing to complain about.

Now let's move on and get back on topic, please.

 

If he can still remember the Judas incident to comment on it decades later, he surely can remember that night in Tempe in '79 (he referenced it at other shows in 1980). Might be fun to get those hecklers back together 37 years after the fact to shout "Rock and Roll!" while he tries to sing some Sinatra.

The one anti-heckler heckler at Tempe '79 ("Somebody shut that guy up!") sure sounds like a lot of pro-electric folks in '66.

 

Well at least we stopped talking about obituaries........

 

Cardiff 1997 remains one of my favourite live Bob experiences. Great version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" to open, and a majestic reading of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" were amongst the many highlights.

This show was bootlegged as Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's Bob Dylan. Check it out, if you've never heard it.