The Bootleg Series Volume 4 Bob Dylan Live 1966 is sub titled The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert whereas in reality it was recorded at Manchester Free Trade Hall. Yet another example of that London's oneupmanship .
This is the somewhat infamous album with Bob singing solo and acoustic on the first set and then playing an electric set along with The Hawks.
At the time the first half was warmly received by the audience with the second half being widely criticised with heckling from the audience
It contains the legendary Judas heckle at the end of Ballad of a Thin Man before the band launch into Like a Rolling Stone.
Music was never the same again.
The album first crossed my radar following a brilliant documentary by Andy Kershaw leading to it's immediate purpose.
Two songs - one acoustic, one electric
Bob Dylan - Visions of Joanna (Live 1966)
Bob Dylan - Ballad of a Thin Man (Live 1966)
Today I think that Visions of Johanna is the best song ever made. It's a song that makes me stop whatever I'm doing, and listen.
ReplyDelete.and poet laureate Andre Motion says it's the best song lyric ever written
ReplyDeleteand his brother Andrew Motion agrees
ReplyDeleteAll three of you are correct. It is a belter
DeleteIf you picked this CD up in a charity shop:
ReplyDeletea) The original owner was clearly a cloth-eared fool to let it go.
and b) Whatever amount you paid, it was an absolute bargain.
An utterly essential recording.
No Swede
DeletePaid full price after hearing the Kershaw documentary.Would have happily paid more,
If you put this into a charity shop then I'm afraid that there would be no hope for you
I'm not gonna be popular here but here's my pennyworth. I love Dylan but.....I've never understood why/how VOJ gets the reverential treatment it does. There are half a dozen other Dylan songs of this era with similar musical phrasings, patterns and passages that blow this one out of the water. Ah, you're expecting me to give examples aren't you? I knew I shouldn't have started this! Just because a poet laureate claims it the best song ever doesn't make it so - perhaps he meant just the lyric. If I ever get around to it (I won't) I'll back these comments up with hard evidence but in the meantime just carry on with what you were doing.
ReplyDelete