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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Richard--W, Sep 27, 2016.

  1. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident Thread Starter

    ... there must be a way to get a hi-rez scan (say about a thousand mgb) of the box's cover art with the all the newsprint and headlines but before the name and title were imposed over it. I have a specialized use for it. Did some identifiable company make it?
     
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  2. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client



    Right, this pesky Bob-meets-Otis date on the calendar: the majority of the evidence from a number of sources would indicate strongly that Bob met Otis on the night of Thursday, April 7th.

    Here we go (my italics and my bold italics in any quotes)...

    • Heylin - "A Life in Stolen Moments"
    April 7, Dylan, due to fly out to Hawaii, delays the trip.. (presumed, mixing mono BoB, possibly just getting the acetates cut).
    April 8, Attends Otis Redding gig
    April 9, Embarks on world tour with concert in Hawaii
    • Helyin - "Judas"
    Final rehearsal "slotted in" on April 8, when (Mickey) Jones told Dylan about about a soul singer he had just met that day... I told him that Otis was opening that night at the Whisky..."

    "Dylan was due to catch a flight the following morning for a show at the Honolulu International Center Arena having delayed his trip to Hawaii.."​

    • Robertson - "Testimony"
    It just so happened that the night before we were scheduled to leave for Hawaii to kick off a new tour, Otis was playing the Whisky a Go Go nightclub on Sunset Boulevard. Victor made arrangements for us to catch his show.

    On landing in Honolulu, right away he (Garth Hudson) asked, “Anybody want to go check out Pearl Harbor?” Richard, Rick, and I looked at one another, not quite knowing how to respond— it was hard to reconcile rock ’n’ roll with sightseeing. Mickey Jones ended up going with him— the two made good sightseeing buddies. (Followed by a half page of observations about Hawaii, its people and its indigenous music.) Then:-

    We played a Saturday show at the International Center in downtown Honolulu.
    • Mickey Jones confirms in voice and silent film in his Home Movies video that he and Garth went sightseeing on arrival in Honolulu.
    • In the recent "The Untold Story..." video, Richard Alderson states that the first time the new sound system was used was in Honolulu on April 9th. (so much for my theory that it must have been smoke-tested in L.A.)
    • As "john hp" points out in post #4802, the sleeve notes on the Whisky a Go Go album released in 1968 state that Otis opened his short residency there on April 7th, when Bob visited, though that show wasn't recorded...
    • The Otis Redding website confirms (as much as you can trust these things) that Otis opened at the Whisky on Thursday, April 7th and played 4 consecutive nights. http://otis.wpengine.com/list/
    (Only the last three nights were recorded and those shows, two sets on Friday and Sunday, three on Saturday, have since been released in their entirety. And jolly good they are too, by the way.) Otis Redding – Live at the Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings | all | Otis Redding »
    • Shelton more or less misses out the Honolulu gig, though he does say Bob, on the phone in Denver, told Albert in New York that he wanted Otis Redding to record a new song of his, just written.

    Now, I know these guys have burned more candles at both ends than I've had hot, brandy-fired Christmas pudding in my lifetime, but seriously, if you have planned to embark on a world tour on 7th April with a brand new sound system, and play your first concert with it on 9th April, you are not going to delay your 7 hour flight from L.A. to Honolulu until the day of the concert. And then let your drummer and organ player go on a leisurely sightseeing trip on arrival. If this were the case, there surely would have been more panic in the ranks. Robbie says, cool as you like, "we played a Saturday show". He doesn't say, "the minute we got off the plane, 2 days later than planned, we had to race to the venue, get the equipment set up, do a soundcheck, fix some cables...." Mickey says, (and I paraphrase), "Garth and I went off the Pearl Harbour sightseeing...", while showing a home movie of them goofing around in a motor boat. He didn't say, "We got so delayed in L.A. by our rehearsals, Bob mixing Blonde on Blonde, and going to see Otis Redding, we barely had time to draw breath before the show that night..."

    One thing is clear from "The Untold Story..." video: Bob cares about the sound of this tour. He'll delay the embarkation for a day, but no longer. He and his management (Albert and Victor) will make sure he gets to the gig on time (he's dependable that way; always has been, always will be), and he'll make sure he (and Richard Alderson) have enough time to carry out a soundcheck on the new system.

    That's my logic anyway.

    So, Bob meets Otis on the night of 7th April, as per the Whisky a Go Go album sleeve notes. The flight to Honolulu is on 8th April. Soundcheck and show on 9th April.

    Whoever gets to the Tulsa archives first, please ask to see the flight itineraries and airline tickets for April 1966. I'll bet they are there. :cool:
     
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  3. Paul W

    Paul W Senior Member


    THANKS! You're right.....I didn't read through all 207 pages (at last count). I had digitized all of my Dylan CDs, LPs, and tapes and was starting the purge process to get rid of duplicate material. I guess it's relatively safe to delete the '66 bootlegs.
     
  4. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    I haven't told a soul that I have this set (no-one I know IRL would be interested, anyway). If I told anyone, I'd quickly get exasperated by their looks of incomprehension.
     
  5. Mlle. Aurora

    Mlle. Aurora Señor Member

    Location:
    Southern Germany
    I got the vinyl double album of the "Real Royal Albert Hall" set today. Sounds spectacular ! I think it was a good choice to release this first London show on vinyl, sound-wise.
     
  6. asdf35

    asdf35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
    Thanks and no hurry - your reviews always send me back to whatever show you are commenting on.

    Your Cardiff review means you will next be listening to my current favorite show: Birmingham. While it's true that the BEST show is whichever one happens to be playing, I think Birmingham gets all the nuances that I like.
     
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  7. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Currently listening to Liverpool - VERY frustrating that half of an outstanding acoustic set has been lost.
     
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  8. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The acoustic sets are the jewel in the crown, so to speak.

    I predict a new-found respect for Bob Dylan as a solo acoustic performer, after people have time to metabolize this box-set.
     
  9. fishcane

    fishcane Dirt Farmer

    Location:
    Finger Lakes,NY
    what did you think of the electric set, SQ-wise? Esp in relation to the acoustic set
     
  10. fangedesire

    fangedesire Well-Known Member

    Speaking of ISIS, they've sold out of issue 185 (which has one of Ford's essays covering the Highway 61 sessions) - is this available or for sale anywhere?
     
  11. DeeThomaz

    DeeThomaz Senior Member

    Location:
    In The Felony Room
    I got my copy from Badlands after discovering this series of articles too late. Looks like they still have it:

    Books and Magazines - Badlands »
     
  12. They've also arrived on my turntable, I'm equally happy :)
     
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  13. fangedesire

    fangedesire Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, they're sold-out too: "Sorry but this item is currently unavailable." Must have been a popular issue!
     
  14. alanb

    alanb Senior Member

    Location:
    Bonnie Scotland
    I read somewhere - lord knows where as it's been nothing but BOB 24/7 lately and sooooo much info ( all good though), might have been Joan Baez in a video - that Bob likes a bit of chaos....so last minute stuff like flights etc doesn't faze him.

    Yeah and he has Robbie , mixing for him and saving him from drowning in the bath etc :rolleyes: so no need to worry......:magoo:
     
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  15. fangedesire

    fangedesire Well-Known Member

    I think Manchester 5/17 & London 5/26 are about equal. The Manchester electric set is a bit smoother & more consistent perhaps - London has some ragged spots - but Dylan's singing is wilder & looser in London. In Manchester he sounds more subdued (or more drugged), singing in a lower tone sometimes. I thought the London 'Rolling Stone' was much more intense, and better than Manchester (which is one of the most laid-back versions I've heard so far in the tour). But other people might disagree, and my own impressions might change!
     
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  16. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Lovely isnt it? Although i've only heard the first album so far. Band performance to be played tomorrow. But loved it, especially Desolation Row.
     
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  17. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Anyone else listen to the 5-27-66 RAH show and be vaguely reminded of "Take No Prisoners"?

    [​IMG]
     
  18. subtr

    subtr Forum Resident

    I think you're good to get rid of all of them. When I finish the massive chunk of work that I have to do (sadly not Bob related) I will compile the above into a few CDs worth and share it some where.
     
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  19. I've only listened to the London performance the once, about half an hour ago, but the version of 'Like A Rolling Stone' sounds more intense and musically 'on the money' than Manchester.
     
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  20. I'm listening to the acoustic set now - mesmerising.
     
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  21. HominyRhodes

    HominyRhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Oh well, looks like I'll have to amend the ol' '66 tour calendar once again..."Otis Redding show: midnight, Thursday, April 7th...flight to Hawaii: Friday, April 8th...Honolulu gig: Saturday, April 9th..." Thanks, Percy Song, your investigative skills are really something. That extremely tight itinerary always did seem a little "off" to me, and I think your revised chronology must be the correct one.

    On a related, and speculative, note: Sara supposedly joined Bob on the West Coast in late March, so maybe she went along to Hawaii, as well? A delayed honeymoon? They could've had a day or two together on the islands after the Saturday night gig, and before the tour traveled to Australia, where they touched down the following Tuesday. Maybe that's why there seem to be no photos of Bob offstage in Hawaii - he was keeping out of sight with the missus. Just a thought. (Come to think of it, there are no photos of him ON-stage in Hawaii, either, are there? Man, oh, man, so many unsolved mysteries still remain...)
     
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  22. SomeLocalLoser

    SomeLocalLoser Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    This is cool and a good idea! These are high quality photos of the cover art on the CD, do you happen to have all 36 CDs scanned in this good of quality?
     
  23. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Enjoy it and savor. Starting now I have a lot going on in my life, so it's probably best that I managed to finish this box right before all that.

    I will say that either set would have made a good release. But Manchester has a better narrative too. For the last time in this thread, I'll mention that I'm not a fan of Leopard Skin from Manchester, so that's the only point that I'd give to RAH. I'm glad that it's really a moot point any, and that both are widely available.
     
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  24. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Lou would be furious at that comparison! :)

    You do have a point, though. In TNP, the confrontation overshadows the music, though - at least, that's how I felt last time I listened.
     
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  25. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    This album immediately came to mind when I first heard the opening track from the 5/27 electric set:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2016
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