Bob Dylan's "Hard Rain"

Back in the day, Pioneer , I believe, sponsored a televised concert of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue (again operating from distant memory). The resulting album was "Hard Rain". I purchased "Hard Rain" based on the concert.

I enjoyed the LP very much - I liked the live arrangements on that record, as well as Scarlet Rivera's violin. Later, but still back in the day, I bought the CD. I didn't like the CD. I was not as enlightened then about mastering, but I knew that the violin was buried somewhere in the mix so I couldn't hear it.

When DCC mastered Hwy 61, I was hoping they'd go on to do some more of the catalog, especially an expanded "Hard Rain"

For whatever reason, it hasn't happened and this recording was not a candidate for SACD treatment either. I bought "Live 75" hoping it contained the same tracks, but quickly returned it.

I would have thought "Hard Rain" would have been a Pioneer laser disc, then 5.1 DVD, then 5.1 SACD/DVDA. My logic is probably faulty, but it IS one of my candidates for improved mastering.

Finally to my question - do the tracks on "Hard Rain" exist on some other Dylan CD or DVD?

TIA

 

As far as I know the only other way to hear this would be bootleg DVDs and CDs, though the sound quality will not necessarily be that great.
There may be a track or two on the remastered Biograph, I can't remember but Hard Rain is often overlooked on compilations.
I had good vinyl copies of this and 'Before the Flood' which sound good - both do cry out for a nice Vic Anesini remastering, the CD's as they stand are a bit weedy.

 

A favorite of mine, because the singing is so passionate. Compare to the shouting on Bootleg Series 5, Rolling Thunder. Unofficial releases from this tour circulate in audio and video, but I don't have any and don't know if they are from this particular performance. Sometimes it pays to just be happy with what you have. A musician acquaintance once told me that part of the magic is leaving the audience wanting more. That's what I get from Hard Rain.

 

Most of this is album is from Fort Collins 5/23/76.
The album hangs together better than the concert footage in terms of the order in which songs are presented - oddly.

 

I really disliked the album, thought the re-arrangements of Lay lady Lay and Big Girl especially were awful and uninspired. That said, I cannot get enough of Shelter From The Storm from that album. It put such a wild spin on the song and inserts such rage, I can't even listen to the original without thinking of the live version. I had a relationship sour around that time and the sarcasm and anger of the verses really fit my mood.

I remember watching the show on a crappy tv with a friend. We were not impressed (though I do think in retrospect the numbers with Joanie would've helped the lp) except for Shelter--we were mesmerized. After it was over, my friend looked at me and "Jesus, do you think he's a little pissed off?"
I said, "yea, and it's probably the last time Dylan will ever let the world know he's pissed off."

 

The LP song list varied a lot from the Broadcast.

 

Broadcast

1. Hard Rain
2. Blowin In The Wind
3. Railroad Boy
4. Deportee
5. I Pity The Poor Immigrant
6. Sheter From The Storm
7. Maggie's Farm
8. One Too Many Mornings
9. Mozambique
10.Idiot Wind
11.Knockin' On Heavens Door

LP

1. Maggie's farm
2. One Too Many Mornings
3. Stuck Inside Mobile
4. Oh, Sister
5. Lay Lady Lay
6. Shelter From The Storm
7. You're A Big Girl Now
8. I Threw It All Away
9. Idiot Wind

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwQjNgSXreg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjf7zmuf1A0

Shelter From The Storm and One Too Many Mornings from the Hard Rain TV special..

 

Bumping this older thread because I am playing this album (in anticipation of the new Bootleg Series) and I had forgot what a strong album it was.
I know this era has been covered (kind of) in the Rolling Thunder Review Bootleg Series, but aren't these concerts from a later tour?
Here is an album that should be remastered by Mofi or AF!!

 

This my favorite "official" Dylan live album. Shelter From The Storm, I Threw It All Away and Idiot Wind never had more bite than on this album. I took it to school and played it in my English Comp and Marine Science classes as I had instructors that encouraged us to bring our new favorite music to class. When the TV Special aired I had 5 friends over at my parents house to watch it. We had all went together to see Bob in Pensacola in 1976.

 

+1 I also love that version of Maggie's Farm.

 

There were two very different sounding masterings of this on LP - the mid-centric US Columbia and the far better UK CBS version.

 

Hard Rain version of 'Shelter From The Storm' is one of my top 10 Dylan recordongs. It's just stunning. Idiot Wind is great too. The rest of the album is not that great, though.

 

Lay Lady Lay, Idiot Wind and Maggie's Farm are all on the (now OOP) 'Masterpieces' 3CD set. From what I remember, despite not being a particularly well mastered set, these 3 tracks are less muddy on 'Masterpieces' than my 'Hard Rain' CD.

Shelter From The Storm is also available on the Japanese '39 Years Of Great Concert Performances' CD in better sound.

 

I think I read somewhere that the white guitar Dylan plays slide on for Shelter, he played it at that gig, and it was then never seen again. Anyone else hear that story?

 

Along with Desire, my favorite Dylan. Although the instrumental breaks could be better, One Too Many Mornings is an amazing performance...a great vocal from Bob.

 

I also like the lyric change (or slip?) on Shelter: "Beauty walks on a razor's ledge" rather than edge. Nice twist on the cliche.

 

One of my least favorite Dylans. Just does very little for me, didn't when first released and hasn't over the years. But . . . I'd buy a remastered copy just to see how it sounded "improved."

 

Ugh and ugh. I never got a good vibe from this album in the slightest as has already been mentioned the sound is murky as hell. That of course is not helped by the four or five guitars (only two needed damn it!) rattling away in the background. This and and Down in the Groove are the only Dylan albums I resold. Years later I might have a different take but I'm not willing to give it show with the amount of truly great material out there that I haven't listened to seriously.

 

It was the first Dylan album I bought as new when it came out. The sound is too dense in places but, as others above have noted, it does feature a great version of Shelter From The Storm. It is still my favourite of his live releases.

 

My favourite versions of Idiot Wind and Shelter From The Storm... In all their ragged glory. Idiot wind is mesmerizing, I can only describe it as vicious...

 

huge dylan fan here and I just don't get this album.. i think its pretty horrible...

 

It sounds like a bootleg, admittedly, but the performances on some of the key tracks is intense. I also like the ragged, four guitars at once thing they have going on. It's not the live Dylan I would always turn to, but I am glad it's there.

 

I don't know, my white label promo sounds pretty good. But there is definitely a rough edge to these recordings that I like.