Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)

I've never listened to Bob Dylan seriously, and this showed that can be an experience. I'm not a native english speaker so maybe I lost a good part of the meaning of the songs, but I liked the mood.

Disc 1 was more enjoyable than disc 2.

Took me a while to get into it but I like it!

Need to simmer this down further

On nuo sanoitukset aika mielettömiä! Livetaltiointi oli vähän tukkoinen, mutta kannatti kuunnella.

Ei ole koskaan tää Dylan oikein lähtenyt vaikka tässä toteutuu moni asia mistä tykkään. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

En ole ikinä ollut fani vaikka Dylanin merkittävyyden kyllä tunnistankin.

Has more value as a compilation of Bob Dylan's best early output than a demonstration of live prowess. Dylan plays it straight on all of these performances which, while not bad, really adds nothing to the studio versions. Diehards will possibly get something out of this, but I'm not sure what is in it for the rest of us.

Hated the first half. Enjoyed the second half.

It’s fine, but unnecessary. I’ve already heard a lot of these songs already on the Dylan studio albums I’ve gotten for this project, and hearing them live didn’t really illuminate them in a new way, so it just kinda felt like a repeat.

I love Dylan's music and I love Dylan's message, but I really hate his voice.

Enjoyed the acoustic/electric different sets. Most of The Band is playing on the electric set, and they sound great. Bob is still a little grating, but overall this was pretty good. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again

I get the Dylan thing but, to be frank, this live performance makes me think about how overwrought his music can be. I wanted to change it halfway through. Three stars is the Hal effect of his other work.

This is a decent live album. It's a good selection of tracks, played well. It does lack the energy and verve you might expect from a live album. But it's alright

I find it kind of odd that a bootleg album is included on a list like this, I really thought they would go for more "formal" release. But I guess this is the truest, rawest document of Dylan in his 60s heyday. And, having now heard the live version of probably the single most relentlessly acclaimed artist of the past 75 years.... I have to admit about half of this album is actually pretty good. None of the good parts are in the first half though because that's just Bob Dylan, whose voice is completely shot after a long tour, a guitar strumming the same 4 chords, and a harmonica that never shuts up. If he didn't overblow the harmonica here and there I would dismiss it as a cure for insomnia; really nothing memorable for me here. The second half is a different beast altogether. If you ask me, the second half should have been the entire album and my perception of this album would improve about tenfold. Dylan is backed by a full band there, and his biggest weaknesses - the repetitive song structures and his marmite voice - are compensated by the band improvising all over them. It's definitely the best possible way to breathe life into these songs. It's an infectiously jovial half too, and all the memorable highlights are found here. Among them are "Tell Me, Momma" and "Ballad of a Thin Man." I'm told the version of that latter song is among the best ever by some. This double live album is really a tale of 2 Dylans, and whatever brilliance the listener finds really depends on what they were looking for going into it, which is something you could say about Dylan as a whole. I was just looking to enjoy it, and this album succeeded about half the time.

Live albums are a strange one - if you were there they could be imbued with their own special attachment, if not their engagement varies wildly. One thing that strikes me about this is the loud, possibly even rapturous applause, but the lack of whooping, shouting out etc. which perhaps is a sign o the times, but sounds slightly odd - particularly as THAT moment isn't on the recording - are there different versions of the album? Aside from that it's Dylan doing Dylan. While I would never expect a reproduction of a studio recording, when the songs are so familiar some of the phrasing, particularly on Mr Tambourine Man, sounds slightly odd. As a capture of something which was surely special at the time it does what you would hope for but as something I want to return to regularly I'm not convinced.

Mellow. Many songs sounded the same. DNF

Songwriting 10/10

I like the harmonica parts. Solid album can’t go too wrong with the big BD.

A live recording of Dylan at this time is a gem, even for those that prefer his studio work. As divisive today as he was then, you either hear genius here or you hear a sub par singer that is overhyped and revered for unknown reasons. This probably won't change your opinions on the artist one way or the other, but it's fun to hear the acoustic versions of some of the post-folk era that were captured on the first set.

The first (folksy) half was Bob Dylan at his most nasally. if you are on the fence with regards to Dylan's singing, this acoustic set will firmly plant you in the "total bullshit" camp. And this is coming from a massive Dylan fan. I wasn't the biggest fan of the first half, but to be honest i've never been convinced that Dylan live was anything special (outside of the Rolling thunder Review tour) second (rock) half was better, but i guess ive always preferred Dylan's post "Like a Rolling Stone" stuff. Middle of the road album from a generational talent.

Side one really just sounds like the same thing over and over again. Open chord strumming, harmonica, and some guy moaning for 9 minutes (way too long). I am not really a lyrics guy, I'm sure they are great if you can understand him, but for me, if the music sounds boring no amount of story telling is going to save it. Why is this album so long... I think I've had 1 album under 80 minutes this week... Disc 2 is a lot more interesting, but by that point I reached my limit that I can handle of Bob Dylan and just zoned out. Mid 3.

Letzter Song ist natürlich bekannt, aber es war schon stellenweise eine Zumutung. Erste Hälfte schöner Akustik Sound, zweite Hälfte blankes Chaos 3 Sterne

mag Bob Dylan und auch viele seiner Lieder. Bin aber kein Fan von Liveübertragungen, besonders solche alten. Aber gute Lieder sind natürlich einige dabei.

ho sentito circa 1/3 dell’album, bello ma probabilmente non l’ho approfondito abbastanza

Dylan has an iconic reputation but a double album does soften the impact. It's wild that the second half of this where the band joined him was controversial. Important legacy in music and an album worth hearing but I doubt I'd come back to it.

I was not in the mood for this. I felt trapped listening to this for most of Disc 1, but I was able to relax and sink into Mr. Tamborine Man. One Too Many Mornings was a good song. It's nice that this kind of stuff exists for the fans, but I don't see this as a required listen.

Às letras são ótimas, só precisa gostar da voz, o que não é meu caso.

Somehow everything I do not like

Het begin moet je je echt doorheen vechten. B side nog wel wat vette nummers.

Bob Dylan is a legendary songwriter and with this skill he has been very influential. He also has a very distinctive sound which I like for one song but not for a whole album. Therefore I give it 3 stars.

Bobby Dylan, de man die mij aan alles kan laten twijfelen, mijn muzieksmaak, mijn pretenties, mijn hele bestaan. Hij is zo fucking goed maar toch haat ik hem de helft van de tijd vanuit het diepst in mijn hart. Wanneer hij met die jankstem zingt terwijl hij zijn veel te langgerekte mondharmonica solo’s begint, wil ik mezelf steken met een stabilo. Dan komt hij weer met de meest poëtische teksten en blues rock melodieën en ben ik een sicke fanboy. Er zijn er weinig die me van 1 naar 5 sterren laten switchen binnen 3 minuten. Album > live compilatie. Disc 2 >> Disc 1. 3 sterren voelt goed.

Need to revisit to give a proper chance. It’s Bob, but which Bob.

I know he’s an icon but I can never get over the cadence of his vocals, but it was still cool to hear everyone having a good time in the background - additionally the choice to leave the post-show music playing for a few seconds after he finished his set was so cool

Bag of cats live

Starting the morning with some 1 hour of acoustic Bob Dylan and shrieking low quality audio harmonica wasn't a very pleasant way to start my workday. I've come to realize I don't really care for most of his earlier stuff, exceptions notwithstanding. The second side made up a lot for it, sounds so ahead of its time! Not something I'd listen to again probably, I don't think these renditions really offer a better version of the songs than the originals.

Don’t hate me… but I liked it. Gritty instruments, and a Dylan that still tried to sing. Call me crazy, but 3.4

bob dylan can't sing. no bone in his body is vocally inclined, stop acting like he can.

Everything about Bob Dylan, I think, is for fans strictly, not for the casual listener. Having said this, I liked better the second part, with a more raw feel and full sound, pure energy and a great concert.

oldie sound, calm

Every songs are so similar, kind of boring

It's great to hear Dylan in his prime with just an acoustic guitar, you can hear the beauty of his lyrics and songs. Its basically "Blonde on Blonde" live. And then side 2 the band comes in and wakes you up. Interesting choice to have a live album on this list since you could choose so many from him and his different eras, but I really enjoyed it. Got a little long and started to feel like one continuous song so I bumped it to a 3.

You’d probably have to be a big Dylan fan to truly love this album

The singer starts out playing solo acoustic songs which are okay, but the second part of the show with the loud electric band is much more exciting. I liked the rock music better, even if the whole album is average.

Outside his big hits, I am not a big Dylan fan, so I rate this lower then most probably do, especially his fans.

While I love some of his classics, desolation row and like a rolling stone are awesome, after an hour and a half the nasal crooning does get to me. Still enjoyed this though.

Ja Dylan is best tof maar deze liveplaat is toch geen absolute must listen denk ik zo.

I was hoping I could hear the dissent in the audience, but I didn't get that.

That’s a lot of Bob. I’m sure it would have been a very unique and thing at the time. I respect the artistry, but I can appreciate Bob more in smaller doses, even more so in some of his collaborations. Probably could be a round up but it’s a solid 7/10 and not more so I’m rounding down due to length and annoyance. 3.5/5

Did I audibly groan when I saw a 1.5 hour Dylan album? Yes. Did the album displease me less than I thought? Yes. Did I chuckle to myself when the electric set started and I was like "ah, it's too loud!" Yes. This is a pretty neat musical artifact. Not sure I will revisit, but glad it exists. I could use less harmonica, though. 3.25/5

Great writing, hate his voice

I couldn't stop laughing at his enunciation at the start/end of each line

I'm a huge 60s-70s Dylan fan, so I was happy to see this album on my daily list. However, it feels like it drags for too long. The historical importance of this record does not fully justify its inclusion on this list. It was good, but not an essential album.

I wish i liked more of Dylan; I know he is a legend but after a few songs, I just can't

nick drake vibes

The second half was great! The first half was fine, and really enjoy a few of those songs but I’ve got a pretty low tolerance for harmonicas.

Поки це кращий досвід з Діланом. Навіть перша частина пройшла легше, ніж я думав. Але загальна думка все ще не змінилася.

In general, I don’t think live albums really have a place on this list, unless they are culturally relevant. First things first: if you don’t like Bob Dylan, you won’t like this. Even if you do like him, I’m not sure he’s a particularly strong live performer. And if you think he sounds bad on this album, well… just wait until you hear him today. So, it’s a live album that isn’t particularly good—why should it be on this list? I think it’s because this was a big deal when Dylan “went electric.” The fact that they had to edit out heckling and boos in the second part of the album tells you something. It marks a major shift in folk music culture -there’s a clear before and after Dylan’s electric era. So, enjoyment of the album: 2. Relevance to this list: 5.

canta como si estuviera resfriado te agarra deprimido y no la contas

Great recording

The audio was kinda bad. Kinda surprising considering it was a live recording from a concert in the 60s

Meh

Lots of good songs on here but I don’t like Bob Dylan’s voice very much. Some songs I didn’t mind it but for the most part I’d prefer covers from other artists

I know this record is a big deal, but have I told you yet how the harmonica blows? That's how real ear-piercing happens. Aside from that, Live 1966 is a fine double album from the guy who is either straining/pushing his vocals or is doing a Mr. Mumbling Man impression, even listening 60 years later. There are so many different aspects of Dylan I dislike when considered separately, and yet he's oddly compelling in aggregate. While I prefer it in smaller doses, there's a magic that's hard to deny.

*1966. *I dig Bob Dylan, but this is a lot of Dylan (90 minutes). *The harmonica is pretty harsh at times here, just because it's a live album. *Mr. Tamborine Man and Like a Rolling Stone are the only songs I know here. RATING - 6/10

disc 1: Not singing, big harmonica action (2/5) disc 2: Singing, actual melodic music (4/5)

Bob Dylan's concert on May 17th, 1966.

Judas guy needs his ears checked. The electric half of this album is way more compelling than the acoustic half.

A fine Bob Dylan album. I typically enjoy live albums more than most people, and I liked the acoustic and live sets, gave a bit of contrast.

Quite good.

Disc 1 great (if a lot of harmonica) most of disc 2 not my cuppa. But solid.

A game of two halves. A slow start saw Dylan bogged down by excessive harmonica that left the listener feeling, at times, like they were wading through treacle. After a half-time dressing down an electrified Dylan re-emerged for the second half and finally delivered on his promising potential.

Robin (Bob) Trevor Dylan was born in 1941 in Asbestos City, Michigan. His father, Alan, was a wooden spoon whittler, and his Mother, Karen, a homemaker and amateur magician. He had four (4) siblings none of whom liked him much. At the age of seven (7) his parents bought him a guitar as a bribe to try to stop his bedwetting. He took his first guitar lessons with Ms Nicespuds, a local eccentric operatic jazz folk visionary and cat lady. Bob was an enthusiastic musical student and loved to listen to the local radio stations, playing the old blues greats like Grits Magee, Ivor Biggun and Old ‘Deaf’ Tom Blackman. He played the local circuit where everyone said he had a bloody awful voice and sometimes smelt a bit musty. Unfazed, Bob became a professional misery and global megastar, famed for insightful political and cultural electric folk music, sung with a bloody awful voice. Honestly list, after whatever it is now, 5-6 Dylan albums, I have nothing sensible left to say.

An essential listen as a historical/ cultural artefact but I just didn’t find a lot of these versions/his delivery an enjoyable enough listen for a 4 or 5.

There are undeniably great songs here. I prefer folk Dylan, and this didn't change my mind. Side One - On the whole, I prefer the studio versions. There are some great moments (the harmonica on Mr Tambourine Man), but he sounds bored of singing the songs at times (also Mr Tambourine Man). Side Two - Again, great songs, but I don't think his rock arrangements are very interesting, and it drags. 6.7

I find the second half of the album significantly better than the first, but I must admit: I'm not the biggest fan of Bob Dylan's singing voice. ESPECIALLY in the first half where that's pretty much the only thing going on. Hopefully you and I can meet again on better terms, Mr. Dylan. But I don't think this was a great pick for my first Bob Dylan album.

I go back and forth on liking Bob Dylan and also back and forth on liking live albums. But in this instance, I like this for both reasons.

557/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Dommage c un album live...

The second half was way better than the first, and the harmonica was a little hard to listen to in some songs.

I love it when he sings, "How does it feeeeeeeel?"

This is a historic document, the point at which Dylan casts off the shackles. But I’ll be honest the first disc is pretty much what people who don’t like Dylan imagine Dylan sounds like. The words are perfect but it’s all a bit wheezy. The second disc is where it’s stronger for me. Squally and electric in more than one way

This reinforces that apart from a few hits I like electric Dylan more than acoustic Dylan. The second disc in particular was enjoyable, but I can't imagine myself coming back to it.

I understand the historic value here, but I don’t think this is Dylan‘s best work by any means.

This was really like two separate albums. The first disc was very spare and bare bones, and I had come to accept that Dylan's appeal was the poetry, never mind the music and vocals. The second disc was a sea change, with richer music, far more listenable and enjoyable. On its own, I might have given a 4, but the first disc is only for the true believers, so it's a 3.

it was good, but I’m sick of live albums being on here

= the Beatles Some of this is great. Some boring

Ok but I'm not sure that I needed more Dylan in my day.

Contrary to the audience, I preferred side 2 over side 1.

One can only take so much Dylan...and I think I've reached my limit.

Living legends are rare. I can imagine it was fantastic to attend this concert.

Am interesting historical document, sure. Doesn't make it a very enjoyable listen. The sound quality varies, the music is monotonous, even in the band section.

It was inevitable that I got another Bob Dylan album. I think Dylan's good, but not so awesome that he deserves 7 albums on this list. "Live 1966" is one of those live albums that sounded a bit better if you were there. The harmonica bits on it, as usual, annoy me. Sometimes, I wonder how the "Judas" guy is doing, if he's still alive. 3 stars for "Live 1966".

Él no me cae bien pero hay que admitir que es un gran album. Un poco largo tho

Maybe the ultimate game of two halves. Iconic event(s) in music history? Sure. Fun to listen to? Not entirely. I can see why Dylan would have been keen to stir things up and break away from the acoustic mould. Wouldn't be entirely surprised if we discovered the "Judas" incident was planned. All the same, this must have been an incredible few shows to witness.

boring as shit

För lång. Jag kan inte lyssna på BD utan att höra sången som om han gör parodi på sig själv. Det är överlag för likt, det är ingen stor variation. Och då är det ändå ett dibbelallbum. Det är förstås inte dåligt. Men när jag i mitt inre helst vill sluta lyssna och känner att jag skulle klara mig utan BD i största allmänhet kan det inte bli mer än 3.

För att ett livealbum ska förtjäna ett högt betyg på den här listan och i relation till vanliga album, så tycker jag att det måste vara en spelning där livekänslan verkligen tillför en ytterligare dimension. Så är inte fallet här, så kan inte bli mer än en trea även om många låtar är bra.

I don't think I've ever felt betrayed by an artist when they tried something new with their sound. Either I accepted it, or moved on. Reading about the pushback the Dylan recieved for going electric is crazy to me. The second part of this set where he brings in the rock aspect over the folk isn't jarring, it's just growing.

Just not a big fan of dylan. Still, some nice songs

ok cool

It's a fine live performance. Disc 2 is much more worthy of being recorded for this format than disc 1, but either way for recorded material I don't much care for putting live shows in the same conversation as studio recordings. If I'm being forced to then these songs are just fine in comparison. Would have been elevated a lot to have experienced it with the audience. Similar (in an opposite way) to how studio recordings don't do much for an audience in front of an empty stage. I don't love the free time signature during much of what disc 1 has to offer, it's makes it very hard to feel the groove. The backbone of the percussion on disc 2 with the full band recordings make the performance so much more enjoyable. The mix is good for what it is as well. Ultimately it is largely well performed and sounds good 2.8/5

tweede helft was beter dan eerste... blijft wel overeind

I think the album is more historical significant than an amazing live album.

not really my thing but enjoyed a couple of these! such clean recording for a live album. but also they all sound pretty much the same to me lol. but yeah, i can appreciate it

Overall: 6/10 This is honestly a pretty good recording for a bootleg. Dylan's voice is out of this world on this thing, and I really enjoyed hearing the stripped down versions of rock songs and vice versa. It'd probably get a higher rating from me if it wasn't a live album honestly. Fav Song: Mr. Tambourine Man

Like it 3/5

Liked the acoustic half. Loved the electric half. One of my favourite moments of any documentary is watching everyone come out of Sheffield town hall complaining about how shit Bob Dylan is live. What a guy.

Pivotal years for Dylan as he goes electric. That being said this bootlegger went on a tad too long and I really don’t think he sounded his best. It was an average listen

Loved the artifacts and true live experience (been a while since we have had a non-Jonny Cash live album). The music is great period My main knock is that Dylan’s music requires so much attention and this is so long. I dont know when Id ever intentionally put this on for myself… maybe never?

The electric side rules

Not my favorite Dylan album. The guitars were too upfront and loud for his voice and the Dylan accent at the end of each phrase wore on me a bit.

A good live album. Actually recorded at the Free Trade Hall Manchester. Historicly interesting.

Could not hear the heckling, kind of a letdown

I know he's a legend, and this is peak Dylan, great production value, but all I ever hear when I listen to him is caterwauling

I don’t Bob Dylan but I can get tired of him quickly. This was a lot of Bob Dylan and it did eventually get grating. Everything else was solid, especially when the band kicks in.

In so far as Bob Dylan albums, this was one. The production quality was great. His performance was good. The idea of one man on the stage with his guitar and a vision of how he saw the world was intriguing . Overall, I don’t have much opinion on this album. It is mellow, meditative, just there. Hearing him live does give me perspective on what it must’ve been like back in the 1960s when America was completely falling apart and he offered a voice of reason to the madness. Overall, it’s a good album, but I’m not sure it offered me anything that I hadn’t already heard from Bob Dylan before.

If I had been at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester for this show, instead of yelling "Judas!" during the electric set, I would've yelled, "FINALLY!" Because the electric stuff is so much more interesting to me—but that's still not saying much, because Dylan's music doesn't do a whole lot for me in general. (The Band does a LOT of heavy lifting, as far as I'm concerned.) That said, this is an important document of music history, and I appreciate it even if it's not my thing.

This has been a lot of Bob Dylan on this list and I assume that won't be changing. I just feel like Springsteen gives you everything Dylan does but with better singing, better songs, and a better band, but I do realize Springsteen wasn't around in 1966. An interesting historical album though.

I’m as big of a Dylan fan as they come but I’m not sure this belongs on the list. It’s good and historically important but I’d prefer another studio album.

Hey Mr Harmonica Man, stop playing songs for me.

This was much more audible and understandable than I thought it was going to be. I liked it, but I don't know if there's a little bit of bias because I liked the movie so much. Something so peaceful about his music... The harmonica can be a little bit grating after a while though, which would take me out of the peace.

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background While an important document for understanding Dylan's career trajectory, I'd be hard pressed to call this an album you must hear before you die. Additional bummer that the version I've heard on streaming services cut out the Bob Dylan / audience interplay....what's the point of this recording without it? Highly recommend tracking down the CD if this interests you.

Musically a 4, vocal an -1 Electric Set > Acoustic Set.

Didn’t much care for Bob Dylan back in the day but he’s grown on me over time. The songs on this album are all well known and some are classics. The problem I have with it is that the album lives up to its name and like a bootleg from these times it cannot escape from the poor source used to record the gig. For me to enjoy an album one of the main things is that it should have exceptional sound quality. So despite liking the songs this album is spoilt by poor audio quality. For quite a few reasons the album is a significant release and I’m glad it was ‘recorded’ for posterity but as an album to sit and listen to it really is hard work on the ears. 3/5 15/12/25

I don't listen to much Bob Dylan but I like his songwriting and I know how hugely influential he was in the US. 1966 was probably my favourite Dylan era. He went more electric which I liked. However I am not a fan of his nasal voice, and it's distracting a bit. Overall it's good and an important piece of history.

Always found his vocals very odd. Was alright as an album

Only for the Bob Dylan completist. This is Bob. It’s a good show. Is this the best way to listen to this music? Probably not.

This is my third Bob Dylan album of this challenge so far and it’s a bit of a weird one – it was released after all of his other Book Albums, but was recorded a month before Blonde on Blonde came out (despite featuring live versions of several songs from that LP) and it wasn’t actually recorded at the Royal Albert Hall as the title implies. That said, I honestly don’t have a ton to say about Live 1966. It’s a decent live album and I like how much its sound shifts from disc to disc, but I wouldn’t exactly call it “essential listening.” I guess it’s also cool to hear Bob doing his thing in a live setting and coming across pretty much identical to the way he sounds in his studio recordings (not that I found that particularly surprising). Despite the occasionally awkward cuts and mixing on the second disc, listening to him perform with the Hawks actually has me quite excited to eventually hear a full-on rock album from him (assuming such a thing exists)! Bob Dylan’s voice over rowdy electric instruments just tickles my brain in a completely new way. Highlights: Fourth Time Around, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Mr. Tambourine Man, Tell Me Momma, I Don’t Believe You, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, Ballad of a Thin Man

что-то как-то совсем не интересно....

I realize Dylan is an important figure in music history. I just think that on a list where some important genres and artists are massively under represented, we probably don't need a Bob Dylan bootleg. This is interesting from a historical standpoint and is overall a fine performance, but Bob Dylans folk to rock evolution is already represented by albums of his on this list. At least I got to annoy my wife with my Dylan impression all day.

The album offers both some of the thrills and the challenges of a live recording. As for the thrills, it’s the closest we’ll ever get to being there—at the point when Dylan enraged some parts of the folk community by electrifying. How silly that controversy seems now. In fact, the electrified offerings here are far more listenable, if only because they deterred Dylan from leaning so hard on the dang harmonica. Put down the harmonica, Bob!

A kind of weird album to listen to. Feel like it has more value as a snapshot of an important moment in music history rather than something to actually listen to on its own merit. There are plenty of classic songs on the setlist here, but some of them sound a fair bit off from their respective studio versions. Like a Rolling Stone, in particular, sounds like someone doing a wacky Dylan impression rather than the man himself. That's what happens with live albums though, and it's why I generally don't care for them. Favourite tracks: It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Mr. Tambourine Man, Baby Let Me Follow You Down

I'm not a folk guy in general and I'm not a Dylan guy in specific. The acoustic set (Disc 1) did very little for me. "Visions of Johanna" is a lovely song. The rest of it, while it had that grating Dylan-nasal sound, was fine. It wasn't *good* but I could deal with it. The electric set, however, was really damn good! I credit The Band with this as much as Dylan. He can write a good song, sung in his imitable and irritating manner. That alone doesn't do much for me. In a live, freewheeling environment, with Robbie Robertson going off and singing backup though? That bops. Wouldn't have thought it, but it does. Highlights: "Visions of Johanna" (when grading on a curve); "Tell Me, Momma"; "Leopard-Skin-Pill-Box-Hat"; "One Too Many Mornings". "Like a Rolling Stone" seems overwrought here, but I can't decide whether I really liked it or not.

It was fun to hear different versions than I'm used to but I got overwhelmed by indulgent harmonica solos by Disc 2.

Beefy album, way too much Dylan for me. I enjoyed this one for the most part. Nobody is droppin' bars quite like Bob Dylan. The two disks really felt like I was listening to 2 really long songs. The harmonica almost got me to rage quit in the first half ngl. It definitely was a better live album experience than the James Brown album be I still think I would preferred something else.

I can’t keep living a lie. I have to admit it… I do not care for Bob Dylan’s voice. The iconic harmonica, the guitar, the whole band, all of it is amazing. As far as the live setting goes, it appears to have the sauce. I’m sure it would’ve been an amazing concert to witness. The only problem is that I just can’t listen to his voice for more than 2 or 3 songs before needing a break. I wish that I could hack it, because his influence speaks for itself. 2.5-3

I’m usually lukewarm about Bob Dylan, but moments in this one brightened my perspective. This was my introduction to the richness of Desolation Row, I liked the harmonica solos, and appreciated the double feature of acoustic + electric sets. And you know, the departure from the acoustic sound was jarring for me too, a person in 2025 listening on AirPods while doing chores. That unfiltered, storytelling quality of the first half was special. Second half was grittier and more diverse, but sounded kinda messy and the lyrical content could get lost. #freekeith?

hmmmm einehalb stund bob dylan nimmt mich denn sehr wunder wie s zweite set isch ich weiss me lost de bob dylan nöd weg sinere stimm aber für mich bringt sie eifach wenig emotione übere? jz sinds na brav am klatsche tuter lisple? oder isch das weg de uufnahm? muss "leider" sege, dassmer d lieder mite band schochli besser gfallet (au wenns chli weniger speziell isch?) ja guet blues isch halt schwierig zum nöd gern haa aber es passt nöd so ganz zu ihm? hmm okay chegge scho, wennd wetsch de bob dylan gseh, erhoffschder vlt nöd ganz das? hends d buu-ruef eifach ussegschnitte?? das isch mega lame, das hett ich glaub fast s spannendste gfunde hahahaha ballad of a thin man very cool

Bob Dylan isn’t really the type of artist for whom live albums really get the point across.

I'm not sure how to evaluate a live album. The setlist? The vibes? This is some vintage Dylan. Just the man and his guitar. My aunts and uncles like to opine about how boring Dylan is live, having seen him a few times around LA in the 70s and 80s. I guess it's the die-hard folkheads, the ones that would later start frothing and rending their clothes if he dared to plug in an instrument, that hang on two hours of poetry and acousic strumming. The set starts soft with She Belngs to Me, Fourth Time Around, and Visions of Johanna. All songs I've never really listened to, but that seem to be melancholies about the women in his life. Visions is quite long and meandering. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue shines a little more, with those dripping harmonica rejoinders. About halfway through Desolation Row I'd probably be going for another tall beer. They were probably like 75 cents. By Mr. Tambourine Man, current me would probably have gotten my fix and left to go see the Stones. But if I was a 1966 folker? Maybe it's a transcendent 5/5 set?

The first half is boring to me. I get that Bob Dylan is like the greatest song writer ever, but the instrumentals and vocals leave a lot to be desired. That harmonica too… the second half picks up a lot with the rest of the band but I still really just don’t like Bob’s voice. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat is a banger though.

Eh.

Disc 1: I very much respect his contribution to folk music, but I have a hard time getting past Dylan's vocal style. Even beyond that, this particular album strikes me as fairly dull, although I'm sure I'm missing much of the allure by not paying attention to the lyrics. The harmonica parts are hit-and-miss. Disc 2: I didn't love it, but this was at least interesting. Kinda has the feel of an early jam band.

Ég varð fyrir vonbrigðum. Platan hefur væntanlega sagnfræðilegt gildi um það þegar Dylan fór í rafmagnið, en það er búið að gera margar myndir og þætti um það. Órafmagnaði hlutinn fannst mér beinlínis leiðinlegur. Svo augljóst að hann nennti ekki þessu acoustic dæmi og eyðilagði hreinlega góð lög. Rafmagnaði hlutinn hressari og nokkur frábær Dylan lög, en inn á milli bara boring.

GOOD - 7

Un set de canciones que explican maravillosamente la controversia del cambio de genero de Dylan, dándole al público lo que quiere al principio con canciones cálidas, sentidas, muy metido en el folk, y un silencio no tan obvio pero más incomodo con el cambio de album. Las versiones de este live no son mis favoritas, y me parece que todas las canciones duran 2m mas de lo que deberian. Me gusto mas la parte de rock pero las canciones me sonaban un poco iguales entre ellas. De tooooodo lo que tiene Dylan, el esencial no creo que sea un live, ya que sus canciones no se lucen igual. Si lo puso por la polaridad de géneros ahí si que lo entendería. Favs: It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Mr Tambourine Man, One Too Many Mornings, Ballad of a Thin Man, Like a Rolling Stone

Most of you don't know the value of waking up and getting ready in the morning to a Bob Dylan album and it shows That being said there isn't too much value in it

Not bad for Bob Dylan. Not exactly good, though.

My first thought was, "really?". He has enough albums on here already, it's got half his greatest hits and it's live. I saw him live 40 yrs later and couldn't wait for the show to end. He turned "All Along The Watchtower" into a garbled mess that I didn't recognize until 4 minutes in. He made a few songs into show tunes complete with top hat. I've never seen a crowd stream for the exits and I've been to 300+ concerts. My Bob Live experience was a poor one so I go into this with low expectations. 15 Dylan songs back to back, that's a lot of Bob. He was much folkier at this point in his career. Disc One is a slog and all sounds the same. The energy was not in the room. Disc Two was built to shock an audience of folksters, he plugged in and they didn't know what hit 'em! It's like he went electric just to shock them awake. Again, all the songs sound the same on side two. Two different shows, two sounds, neither compelling. I got my harmonica fix for the next 5 years! This album made the list because he's a great writer of songs, not for the actual performance which is uniform and without any highs. I wouldn't have been sure when one song ended and the next began if it weren't for the clapping in between. This rendition of "Mr. Tamborine Man", which I've known since I was a child, brought back memories of my horrible concert experience since the melody wasn't on point and wandered. The one highlight was the guitar work on "One Too Many Mornings". I did appreciate the final track, "Like A Rolling Stone", it had the energy the rest of the show lacked. BORING, slow, more boring and lacking any real wow moments. I don't think I could handle a show this mellow, I envision everyone was seated, wearing a dark suit, horn rimmed glasses and fedoras...clapping politely.

I like folk and the others influences this album’s got, but I hadn’t such a special connection with record 1, except for Mr Tambourine Man. It’s quite a monotonous style to me. By the other hand, in record 2 I TRULLY felt myself with Tell Me Momma, and all the consequent songs. I believe listening to it again will make me enjoy and understand it a lot more, even the parts I didn’t connect too well with. It’s more like from the effect of being not exposed to the artist enough, Bob Dylan is not in my main listenings haha Nice experience to start. But not the best.

Don't really like live albums but it was a good listen

While I enjoy the songs in general, not really an album I enjoy listening to all the way through. More enjoyable mixed in with other stuff.

Music historians love to talk about three big events that melted people’s minds: Elvis Presley gyrating his hips on The Milton Berle Show in 1956, The Beatles playing The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and Bob Dylan plugging in an electric guitar in 1965. Oh, and Woodstock in 1969, I guess, but there seems to be considerably less hand-wringing about that. Like his shows from this time, this record is split into two sections: Disc 1: classic Bob sitting on a chair playing guitar and harmonica, and Disc 2: Electric Bobaloo. I think it’s important to note that electric instruments didn’t just change the musical delivery, they completely changed the sound. Disc 2 is very much a blues/folk rock record, and it’s understandable that people who like Chair Bob would resist Electric Bob. My hot take is that Electric Bob is the better Bob; all that extra noise really helps mask his objectively-not-great singing voice and adds some much needed flair. Again, plenty of people didn’t want that, and they showed up to the concerts to boo and cry about it. I’ve never really been a Dylan fan (of any era), and I can’t listen to Bob without hearing Dana Carvey’s SNL impression. But I actually enjoyed Electric Bobaloo, and the back-end of Disc 1 (from “Desolation Row” on).

It's telling how many of the reviews here bemoan that the version they listened to edited out the 'Judas' moment, or describe this as a 'document' - this is one of those situations where cultural significance overwhelms the actual artefact itself. But this is about albums. I was a little apprehensive about listening to this one - an hour and a half of Bob Dylan live? Thankfully it's less gruelling than I expected. The sound quality is surprisingly good for a start. The lyrics, obviously, are the main draw - although they do verge into what feels a little like self-parody in places (like Desolation Row), and it's unclear if there's always a coherent thought behind them, but that's part of the fun. The music? Not so much. That 'voice like sand and glue' gets a little tiring to listen to, the music can be samey, and the harmonica is just ridiculous in places. Part two livens things up with the controversial band, but is somehow less than the sum of it's parts. The musicians are clearly on fire, but there's not much to distinguish one song from the next and a little more light and shade would be nice. An interesting listen, but not one I'm likely to repeat.

Can Bob Dylan leave me alone for one second

The first half was classic Bob Dylan (that I would not really consider pleasant to listen!) I did enjoy the second half much more as it included electric guitar and blues vibes.

Enjoyed the acoustic side more than the electric.

I feel like the electric side has way more energy than the acoustic side.

It's two Bob Dyland sounds, acoustic with a bit of harmonica, and the second half is backed with his band the Hawks. I wasn't expecting them to be so good, granted the only other Dylan record I've listened to is The Free Wheelin' Bob Dylan which felt like a dramatization of the first half of this concert. The Hawks feel ahead of the time, but a bit behind modern day, so today in 2025 it's listenable, it's impressive, but the entire effort only really stands out because of Bob Dylan's penmanship. I think this is a good record for those who are already fans. Otherwise, so many stretched out tracks kind of gnaw at me. It feels bad to ask an acknowledged genius to hurry tf up, but it's the feeling I got. 2.8/5

This is one of the most frustrating Dylan albums I’ve heard. Normally I’m quite tolerant of his unconventional vocals. They usually work. But for some reason, I found them exceptionally grating in this performance. 2.5* rounding up because he’s still Dylan.

I was at a wrestling show years ago where the bad guy wrestlers were giving everyone the middle finger as was the style. And my non-wrestling fan friend was there too and pointed out how silly it was for grown men to do that, and I’ve never been able to look at them doing it the same. I feel like A Complete Unknown acted as my friend here, pointing out it’s quite a silly voice and persona and as such I found this album hard to take seriously.

3.5 enjoyable, but if you listen to Dylan early in the morning you would swear he placed the bagpipes.

This was the 4th or 5th Dylan album I've been served up. It was easily the best of the lot. The second part, with the band, was so much better than anything else of his I've had to listen to. I'm still a long way from being a Dylan worshipper, but I was expecting to hate his music and I've not had that feeling at all.

Interesting to learn why this was referred to as the "Royal Albert Hall" concert. Slightly too long, and we always have our thoughts about life albums, but we enjoyed this regardless.

Not really my vibe

Someone must be listening. Just a couple days ago I predicted there’d be a Dylan album on this list that wouldn’t deserve a 5-star rating, and here it is! Okay so all the songs are great, obviously. I actually love the way he sings on the acoustic half, and I like his harmonica playing better when live than on the albums. The electric portion is dynamic and energetic. But based on this one taste, I prefer studio Dylan over live Dylan. I judge the studio albums primarily on the strength of the songs, lyrics, tracklisting, etc. I can’t do the same for live albums since these are just different performances of songs that exist on the albums. That leaves me to judge this album only on the strength of the performance, set list, energy, recording. And those things are all pretty good. It’s fun to hear the history of this moment. But this does not, and maybe cannot, bowl me over the way one of his studio albums can.

Fine. Pretty emotional, but I've never been keen on his vocals

I hadn't heard a lot of these songs, and some of the ones I did know where reiminagined in this performance, so it makes for a unique listen. I'm not always a fan of live albums for the most part, but this is a solid performance, right at the beginning of Dylan's electric period. Apparently there was heckling going on here, though they must have edited that out, because I didn't hear it. The beginning acoustic part definitely sounds more intimite. Not sure this is as important an album as the Newport folk festival performance but I guess that one wasn't released as an album. 3/5

For a song about a man with a tambourine, there's an awful lot of harmonica.

A really good live album that features acoustic and electric Dylan, side-by-side. Some of the tracks (eg, Visions of Johanna) are amazing. On other tracks (eg, Mr Tambourine Man), Dylan’s lyrical delivery is like every parody of his delivery. He is certainly a lyrical and musical savant, and he gives a great performance here; but he also displays his main weakness— he really has no idea where to put the emPHAsis on his lyrics. Recalls the scene from the documentary about the making of “We are the World,” in which Stevie Wonder shows a confused Bib Dylan how Bob Dylan woukd sing his assigned lyric. This is a provisional 3; could be a four on another listen, if I decide the gems here outweigh Dylan’s awkwardness vocally.

Tuo Bob Dylanin laulutyyli on kyllä niin erikoinen miten se vääntää tuota melodiaa. Ja ohan se hyvä soittaa tuota huuliharppuakin. Alkukeikan Bob veti yksin, toisella puolella bändi tuli mukaan. Hyvä, sillä jos koko levy olisi ollut täysin akustinen niin se olisi käynyt aika pitkästyttäväksi. Parhaat: Just Like a Woman, Mr. Tambourine Man, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Funny voice on this guy. I completely don’t know him, by the way

The second half of the concert was way better than the first half. Bob Dylan is a great songwriter but he needs a full band like The Hawks (The Band) to accompany him.

3 stars I generally don’t like live albums. And this is a bootleg to boot! But the recording was better than I had anticipated. I can see why people like this so much, but to me it is long and not really what I would want to listen to in hearing Dylan. It’s a nice document of the time, but i wouldn’t consider it a top album.

-i’m afraid i’ll just never really be able to get too into Bob Dylan. none of his work is “bad” but it just does nothing for me. very light 3 stars honestly -apparently the second half had the audience jeering and heckling? that would have been interesting to hear. although i actually liked the second half better, it kinda made the album for me -Favorites are I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) and Baby, Let Me Follow You Down

Sure. Bob Dylan. Live. At Royal Albert. Meh. Next.

I love Dyland but I'm not sure this really needed to be on the list. He's not bad as a live performer but his genius is mainly in his writing. I suppose it's interesting in terms of the history of his style as he switches to a full rock band halfway through the set, but as a live album I don't think it adds much to the recordings.

Second half is much better, 6/10

Dated.

Bob doesn't play gigs like this anymore.

Disc two is much more interesting and fun. Really like Baby Let me follow you down.

Version on Spotify didn’t include play it fuckin loud -_- still great live album! But missing some of the boos and jeers that I’ve heard make this one so famous

Pretty good - definitely picked up in the second half

The background about this album is fascinating, so it was good to listen through knowing the controversies and the way the audience reacted. It's a sort of window into mid-60s culture and the changes happening at that time. As to the sound itself, it's all solid early Dylan. The acoustic set is pleading and folky, while the electric set is raucous. I do think I would've been better served listening to the album in pieces rather than straight through, as at some point I got a bit tired of it.

It's Bob Dylan, so of course it's good. Some tracks have a great live composition, but if this is the most essential Bob Dylan live performance then I'm disappointed.

Love the 2nd disk, the more folk is not my thing

6/10 Bob Dylan sang some songs. Good for him 7-24-2025

Fairly pedestrian folk performance, livens up considerably on the second disc 😉

Apparently this is one of the most bootlegged performances of all time, and is considered wildly influential. I respect it for its place in history, and even enjoy some of the cuts on here, but I'd be lying if I said I was over the moon for it. Maybe I'm just not a big enough Dylan fan to love it that way.

Bra, inte så spännande dylan-låtar

I am not a huge Dylan-head, but it was enjoyable to get a live snapshot of his shift away from the folk music. First side of the record is him with acoustic guitar and harmonica, not my favorite but as always some moving poetry in there. Second side you get proto-The Band playing with him, which is much more my style. Ballad of a Thin Man sounds very modern in arrangement and playing for instance. To know that half the audience was hating it is also extremely funny and bizarre.

Despite it's name this is a recording of the legendary Manchester Free Trade Hall concert where a heckler called out "Judas" from the audience at the start of the electric set. The acoustic set includes "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "Just Like a Woman", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", while the electric set ends with "Like a Rolling Stone". It sounds a tad dated, so unless you're a fan, I probably wouldn't bother.

You'd had to be there...

I love Bob Dylan but this live concert does not make justice to some of these songs.

A fun snapshot in time, but nothing that made me say wow

Ah yes, bootleg live recordings. The kind you need hear before you die. Or not.

i like bob dylan but i don’t like live albums in general unfortunately

HOW DOES IT FEEL HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ON YOUR OWN WITH NO DIRECTION HOME

quiet good! living legend man, soft voice+instrumentals, but not catchy enough - got no wow-effect

Kult nok, en del klassikere. Ikke helt min greie, hvert fall ikke per i dag.

I like Dylan's writing, but that harmonica noodling is just too much sometimes.

Sir bob. Arguably better live? The change to electric was fun

Holy harmonica, Batman! The first half of this album certainly felt the most like folksy Bob Dylan between the nasally singing, blaring harmonica, and simple guitar. It was perfectly fine. Just fine. The second half features more of a band assemble and is certainly move lively. But again, it felt just fine for me. I don't have strong emotions for Bob Dylan either way and this album didn't move the needle one way or the other, so I kind of just land square at a 3.

Going to be honest I only listened to 3 total songs on the first disc once I determined they were all going to sound to same. Acoustic Bob by himself is not very good. Disc 2 was much better with the full band. But something about his voice with the really bad quality of this album was really hard to listen to. The bluesy instruments were just good enough to get this to a low, low 3

Man I know Dylan is super influential and all but I just can't get into it. The entire first half kinda sounded like one long song. Second half is def better with an actual band it seems but still nothing spectacular, even though I'm sure it was at the time.

A lot of howling and harmonica. Not my fav Dylan record on here, but still some great songs. 3/5.

This a well recorded live album. And the band can fucking play. But it's not an essential listen. 3 stars.

Double albums are always just too much for me. Just too long, man. This is a neat concept though, an acoustic side and an electric one. I liked the electric side better. 3/5

it's a good album but not for me

It's amazing how the worst part about every Bob Dylan album is Bob Dylan himself. This is a great album with a giant Dylan-sized anchor around its neck; some of his worst and most grating vocals that I've heard. And yet the music is still really good. Makes for a very frustrating listen, as this would easily be a 5/5 if it was just someone else singing. Great performances all around otherwise

Just not my thing, on certain days I can stand it but today is not that day.

Cool, but nor for me.

Well it's the soundtrack of my childhood. Big Bobby Z fans in our household. These are all nice enough. I can't be blown away. I regret that so many of these albums just wash over me!

Here’s another freeloader. Just riding on the coat tails of Houmous & Chutney. It’s remarkable to think he got so far without anyone spotting just how much he copied Ken Chutneys dress sense! 3.2

The second half is much better than the first half, but that's because he had The Band backing him. I'm always 50/50 on live albums, but this was fine.

Was just not a huge fan of his voice. The writing is super solid but I simply do not enjoy his singing.

not for me

This legendary concert is as much historical document as it is live album. It captures Bob Dylan at the height of his controversial transformation from acoustic folk hero to electric prophet, complete with the infamous "Judas!" heckle from the crowd. The first half, just Dylan and his acoustic guitar, is stark and poetic, full of the pointed lyricism that made him a household name. Tracks like Visions of Johanna and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue have a haunting, brittle quality, and the stripped-down delivery lets the language shine. But it’s also quite dry in places, with long, winding verses that require your full attention — and patience. The second half, backed by The Hawks (who’d later become The Band), is where things get noisy — both musically and atmospherically. The electric set roars to life with Tell Me, Momma and Like a Rolling Stone, but not every song hits. Some feel bloated or dragged down by the tense energy in the room, as if Dylan’s defiance to go electric has him playing at the audience rather than for them. There's brilliance here, no doubt, but also a sense of exhaustion — from both the performer and the crowd. It’s a fascinating concert, and for fans of Dylan or rock history, essential listening. But musically? It’s uneven. The tension that gives it mythic status is also what makes it a slightly uncomfortable listen. Revered, yes. Enjoyable all the way through? That depends how much you love mid-song mumbling, feedback, and awkward applause.

That was a lot of Dylan. Definitely prefer his solo acoustic stuff, the second half was a bit more generic and his voice steadily got on my nerves. None of the ones that were in freewheelin were on here though I think the memories from that were often based on traditional songs still maybe he prefers playing the stuff that is completely his own. He does sound pretty true to his recorded sound and I like it well enough but not a huge fan.

I'm not the biggest fan of live albums for some reason. I'm also not a connoisseur of Bob Dylan. I have a couple of albums. I do though, really like this album.

Understand the historical significance of this live album. It showcases the two sides of Dylan considered controversial at the time, which was to play with an electric guitar. All in all pretty cool, but his inability (or unwillingness) to stay in tune is annoying at times.

When I started writing this, I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to rate this album. And it wasn't for a lack of opinions on Bob Dylan and his music, I should make clear. I'd never thought about him enough to call myself a fan, but given how revered he is in music history, it's hard not to think something or other about him. No, it's because... Well, I'd had a bit of a hard time thinking about this as an album. In discussing live albums before, I've mentioned that some of them exist to capture historic moments. Y'know, stuff like Muddy Waters or Duke Ellington's Newport shows, or Johnny Cash's prison concert. But I don't think either of them have captured something as mythological and legendary to music history as this does: Dylan's turn to playing electric music. Now, this isn't the **exact** moment Dylan turned electric. Simply, this is an official release of the most widely bootlegged show from the tour where he did. In fact, from what I read, this might be the most bootlegged show in rock history? Where, somehow, no one realized this show wasn't actually recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, but that's besides the point. Just the fact that we have any release marking this tour is important. I mean, if you care about that sort of thing, anyway. As someone who often plays pretend as a wannabe music historian, of course I do, but if y'don't... Well, why should the average music listener, in 2025, not so interested in music history, care if Dylan started playing with a full band? Unless you were alive and aware of the scene at this specific point in the 60's, to maybe understand why exactly his fans felt so betrayed by the move... And I'm saying this even with a biofilm out there that covers this period in Dylan's life, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. And it's like, I **do** get why his fans were so incensed by the move. Folk music, to that point, was simple, honest, raw: nothing more than an acoustic guitar, maybe a harmonica, and a voice, speaking truth to power and pointing fingers at those who would do wrong. It was a music of the people, and that was the way they liked it, damn it. But y'know what they might've didn't liked? Rock music. The electric guitar — that's the **establishment**, y'know. **The man**. What they're singing isn't **real**. It's not the people! For the mass populace, more like. So, like, y'get it. Though, of course, y'might not if you don't even see folk music that way to begin with. In fact, you might see folk music as a lot of nonsensical gobbledygook sung by poets who think they're musicians just because they spend eight minutes straight plink-plonking along on their guitar and wailing tunelessly on their harmonica. Hell, y'might even think going electric was an **improvement**, 'coz at least now there's **melody**, despite the lyrics still being faux-deep mush. So once again, why should you care about Dylan's electric turn? And honestly, despite how long I've just gone on, I don't think I have a good answer. After all, once again, I don't even consider myself much of a Bob Dylan fan. I do enjoy pastiches of his sound, like Weird Al's "Bob", but lemme tell you, I watched I'M NOT THERE the other week and you can better your bet I didn't get a single percentage's worth of the deep-cut scholarly Dylan references in there. True, that's a film so dense with references that Bob himself might even be able to get all of them, but still, goodness... And actually, as a matter of fact, I'm not very much a fan of this singer-songwriter folk stuff to begin with. It's the kind of music where you're supposed to sit down, comb through the lyrics and ponder **really hard** about what they're supposed to mean. Y'know, it's poetry. And frankly, I don't have all too much use for that kind of material. More often than not, I tend to fall into the "gobbledygook and plink-plonking side of things." You can call me basic for this, but I tend to come to music for melody and hooks first, over everything else. That's what makes music music, y'know? And it's not that I find lyrics unimportant; there's a reason I don't just listen to strictly instrumental music. If I can attach a story to a song, I'm all the more down for it. It's just infinitely harder to do that with folk music, and specifically the brand of it Dylan is the face of. And that's not even getting into how my auDHD keeps me from understanding deeper poetry in general. And I've tried to be fair with this music, I really have. I don't hate this stuff on its face like I know a lot of people do. I figure, I've got to be able to find **some kind** of merit to it to justify why the old guard reveres it as much as they do. But then I end up thinking back to my complete apathy towards Joni Mitchell's COURT AND SPARK, and the disappointed 2's I have to Leonard Cohen's first two albums... And the two Bob Dylan albums my group's gotten before now, where I've made it clear the stuff I liked about them the most **was** the electric stuff... And I think my worry is that I'm stupid for not getting this stuff, when really, my beef is that I just don't have the time or want to truly "understand it." It's just not my thing. So maybe my reverence for this release and Dylan's electric turn is more just me buying into the legend without questioning it than anything else — "the legend" being another thing propagated by the old guard. And y'know, it's not that I can't see how this turn led to folk rock and caused the genre to evolve beyond simple acoustic guitar strumming, but... I'unno. Generally, singer-songwriter folk music just ain't my genre, man, no matter how much I try to force myself to like it. But that's all speaking generally **around** the album. More than 1,000 words in, I suppose I should actually say something about it directly. Well, off the bat, I'm disappointed it cut out all of the booing and jeering. I mean, that's the whole reason why I'd even want an album like this available for public consumption! There's not even the legendary cry of "Judas!" I mean, if Dylan figured putting focus on the performances was more important than including his audience's dissatisfaction with the change, that's his decision. Throughout the second disc of this album, though, you can hear the **very obvious** cuts they made to jump across the booing, and, like, being hyper-aware that it's **supposed** to be there... Kinda knocks a few points off this thing as a historical record, y'know? But whatever, the focus is on the music performances themselves. And, I mean, like I just said above, I was never gonna like the acoustic set as much as I would the electric one. It's a lot like BRINGING IT ALL HOME, in that regard, with just a little energy thrown in as the result of these being live performances. Heck, for that matter, it's actually a lot like Neil Young's RUST NEVER SLEEPS (group album #7)... And I want you to know, I tried this time. I really, honestly, tried this time to give the lyrics their proper due, and not just pass them up as nonsense. I mean, as of late I've been getting way better at taking in and understanding lyrics, so maybe this time...? Nope. Once more and again, I just don't have the time or patience to "properly understand them" — in quotes because it's not like there's one single "correct way" to get them... And I can't even muster up the energy to wanna figure out my own interpretation, either. And I promise you, I gave an honest attempt at due diligence. I mean, I actually found quite a bit of it **interesting**, and it sure helped keep the first disc from being an endless monotony of guitar plonking and harmonica honking. But in the absence of wanting to put the work in to actually connect to what's being said... Well, dang: I just can't. And as for the electric set on the second disc, well, it's a fine sound. Certainly, I don't hold the attachment to the stuff on the first disc to think too negatively about this stuff. I mean, there's far more going on here to hold my attention. But at the same time... Pff, I'unno. The sonic context provided by the guitars and organs does make me like this collection of material better, but the star of the show is still supposed to be the lyrics... And it's not like this proper rock music, with big riffs or solos or whatever. It's still singer-songwriter folk music, just a little louder. And, sure, I like it louder, but at the end of the day... Like, buying into the legend of this tour as much as I do, it honestly disappoints me that I'm not as up on this release as I feel like I should be. Of course, this thing doesn't deserve a 6 outta 5 just for being historically important, but, like, just consider how much I've written about this album to this point. It's within the range of words I thought I'd only reach with albums that're straight 5's for me (or that inspire me to gimmicks that pad things out — hello, BLACK SABBATH and SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW). Yet despite all of the time and gravitas I'm willing to allow it... It's still singer-songwriter folk music. And I'm just not a huge fan of this stuff, no matter how much it's supposed to mean. Honestly, I feel like I tend towards Dylan parodies more than Dylan himself because they're open about the fact that they're just nonsense. Weird Al's "Bob", or "Royal Jelly" from WALK HARD — the whole point is that they're just a collection of random words that don't mean anything, so I'm allowed to just enjoy it strictly by composition without having to worry about anything else. Also, they tend to be shorter and not **as** wordy, and that **does* help as well... In the end, I'm not sure if I know why I spent as much time writing about this album as I did. As a historical record, well, it's missing the most important piece of why I think it should exist at all. And as live music, well, as if I even need to say. I don't hate it, I want to be clear. I was more interested in the words than I wasn't, and once more, with feeling, I **do** dig the electric sound. I do feel like the guy who cried "Judas!" was maybe over-exaggerating a little. But... Yeah. I guess I figured out how to rate this after all. And I'll tell you, there's a part of me that's nearly as disappointed about what I came to as I was about those Leonard Cohen albums. I don't wanna lie about my feelings, though, so... Yeah. So hear this, Robert Zimmerman. I like you, I really do. And even despite everything I just said, I can still buy into the myth surrounding this tour whole-heartedly. It makes for a great story in the annals of music history. It's just not much that I would normally listen to, y'know? Historical document or not. But it still inspired me to write nearly 2k words about you, so, hey, take that for as much of a compliment as it's worth. (TL;DR: Yep, that was sure a Bob Dylan live concert.)

Not sure why a bootleg live album made this list, but I guess because of the controversy surrounding Dylan's use of an electric band for the second half of the set. I was intrigued as I wanted to hear the hecklers. Unfortunately this album that made the list cuts out all the in-between song banter. Luckily I was able to find a version with no cuts between songs. Still the crowd is hard to hear and you mostly hear Dylan throw things back at the crowd like, "this is not British Music, this is American Music". I would much rather listen to the studio tracks, as the quality is not great, but I guess it's great considering it's a 60 year old bootleg.

The solo half was kind of dull, the rockin' half was pretty good, but I prefer almost any studio album of his over the live performances. 3/5

Honestly kind of boring for a live show. His good albums are already on the list, so I’m not sure why this was included. Still good because it’s Dylan though.

Easier to understand than “Live 2025 (The Morris Performing Arts Center Concert)”

On the whole, I tend to find Bob’s voice too jarring, which generally leads to me not enjoying his albums. See a long live album didn’t exactly fill me with optimism. However, for whatever reason, I didn’t really mind this today. His voice is just as weird as I expected - cartoonishly so at times. And yet, I still foot my foot tapping away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still unlikely to seek this album out, but I still quite enjoyed listening today.

Think the solo stuff is generally better than the full band, but it's all good. I find it a little exhausting and don't always think Dylan is the most interesting songwriter in the world, but it's undeniable in its quality.

3/5

ouo

This is an album of two halves, the first being an acoustic set to keep the die-folkies happy. The second, which famously didn’t please them, is electric. The moment Keith Butler speaks for them by shouting ‘traitor!’ is sadly not recorded here. In retrospect I’m with Keith. You’ve got to be a pretty diehard Dylan fan to love side two; it’s wantonly ramshackle, even by Bob’s not particularly high standards. Side one works better. Fun note: the reason ‘Royal Albert Hall’ is in inverted commas in the title is that none of this album was recorded there; it’s all from the Manchester Free Trade Hall.

The music itself is decent, but many (most?) of these songs have been on other Bob Dylan albums I’ve listened to as part of this project, so it seems redundant. The live performance doesn’t seem to add or change much, and it’s very long. The harmonica started to annoy me in the first half.

The second half of the album was soooooo much better than the first half. Still not particular towards his voice, especially during the first half... the second half's instrumentals complimented his voice more though. Would have rated this higher if it was just the second half.

He is a great lyricist.

Very good electric set, but the acoustic side drags a little.

This was simultaneously great and terrible. I knew of this by reputation. The concert where Dylan switched from acoustic to electric halfway through and the crowd hated it, booing and jeering. Well it turns out the audience didn't really hate it all that much. Sure there's some dissenters after each song, but mostly applause.

i saw bob dylan live in 2015. his vocal range had been reduced to 2 low notes that sounded like the buzzes of carpenter bees, he stood rooted in a shoulder width stance in front of the mic almost the whole time like he was nailed down, and he only played songs from after 2000. i think someone actually had to help him get to the piano behind him at one point. it was a little disillusioning and i had a hard time listening to full dylan albums again after that. i love bob dylan, but i truly believe that the best thing he ever did was help The Band become a thing. i didn't enjoy this as much as i hoped i would. 3/5 don't smoke kids

I think it’s lame for any live albums to be on this list. I really want to rate them a 1 by default but let’s give it a chance. Speaking on Bob - not a fan and never have been. I get the appeal but give me Tom Waits if I have to listen to a terrible vocalist with good lyrics. This starts so gratingly boring and is so grinding to my ears it was really a slog to get through. Truly 7 or 8 listening sessions throughout the day and the first time I'm finishing an album in a time crunch. I am arriving on Side B at 10pm... Thank God for the second half. Without it I would have review nuked this into the ground. I'm sure the first half is sick if you're a fan of the man, but truly did not enjoy anything until The Band (lol) started playing. Complete 180, became a great listening experience. Evolves into something you absolutely need to listen to before you die, historically and musically. Too bad that first half is torture. Not an album you need to listen to before you die, but absolutely an improperly labeled bootleg to listen to the second half of and also read the wikipedia page for context before you die.

Let’s get this out of the way. It’s long and the first 45 minutes don’t really do much for me - except for Desolation Row. I love that song and still do after a 11:30 minutes of a live performance. This really kicks into gear when the full band comes out, Dylan’s voice is louder and the way he’s sneering into the mic as he delivers a billion lyrics over his super long songs somehow works for me. All in all, I get that this is a touchstone for music. It has moments of greatness and I like where he’s going not so much where he started. Strong 3/5

Great story behind this one. Helped me realize that I'm actually a fan of Dylan, but only whenever there's a band behind him drowning out his awful voice. I should just listen to The Band, huh?

I love Bob Dylan, I think he's a brilliant song writer, but I also wonder how many people slept through that first set. Great songs, but so much softer and more sublimated than the studio versions. The second picks up with some percussion and electrified guitar.

Love the music and the lyrics. Still working on loving the voice.

I can't do it. I can't listen to this album. I'm giving it a 3 just to be fair to the ratings but I cannot stand this shit. I didn't even make it through the first song.

I like many of the songs on this album, and I am a fan of Bob Dylan. But my guess is that this album belongs here more as a cultural/historical impact. Listening through here, I don't feel that this stands apart from his typical studio albums in terms of musical prowess or execution. It's a good live album listen, but with bootlegs kind of being a thing of the past in the easily sharable/searchable digital music age, I don't see why this would deserve to be on the list over other full length studio projects of Dylan's.

Like okay, but all the same all th 2 cds

je mehr ich dylan höre(n muss/darf), desto mehr gefällt seine musik. hier für mich teil 2 klar besser, weil akustik und dylans stimme dann doch auch anstrengend wird.

Meh

I want to shove that harmonica down his throat

Nice sounding tracks, he sounds the exact same live and in studio, good collection of his main tracks, worth a listen I must say.

The first of the album was just Bob, his guitar, and an intermittent harmonica. Although I have the utmost respect for his songwriting, listening to these tracks, one after the other grew tiresome to me. Things picked up during the second half with the introduction of the band.

I enjoy some Dylan, he wrote some great songs, but this is a lot of Dylan. The first side is fairly dull, and the harmonica is always a grating instrument to me. The electric side of the album is better, the Hawks are a fantastic band that went on to be The Band.

Not a fan, which surprised me. His voice annoyed me, but the mouth organ really bugged me. All the songs sounded the same to my ear.

Live, raw, visceral, and yet abrasive. This is what I spoke about a few days ago, I was a bob dylan hater. Somehow his live performances are so captivating, rich and full of soul but theres almost no ability to relisten. Beautiful album. A former bob dylan hater but lets not pretend he's a songbird. He's a fog horn on a steamship. However there is alot of beauty in the dichotomy of Bob Dylan's acoustic and electric sound. I dig it.

Not sure I like Bob's voice from the earlier days. It's distinctive but most of the time I'm not enjoying listening to it. A shame cause I like the music behind it

There’s a bit to unpack here… Firstly, it's another album made in Manchester, so it was pretty cool listening to this on the commute past the Free Trade Hall. Secondly, Bob Dylan has never been an artist of which people say ‘oh he’s so much better live than on record!’ So why is this live album included? Well, it's presumably here to represent, in album form, the moment Dylan ‘went electric’ at Newport the previous year - a seismic event in popular music history, by all accounts. At first I thought this concert, some 6 months later, would be a poor substitute for Newport, but to be fair, ‘At Folsom Prison’ wasn’t Johnny Cash’s first prison gig either. And if the righteous indignation of the folk-loving public continued into ‘66 then I guess this recording could succeed as a document of that era. Unlike Cash's prison albums, though, I don't think the occasion comes across if you don't already have the context. There's a bit of crowd noise between songs, but I had to really listen hard to pick up any boos or heckles, which seems to defeat the point a bit... What about the actual music? The performance is decent, though some of Dylan's weird intonations (particularly during Mr Tambourine Man) grate on me here more than they usually do. The setlist is good too, featuring a lot of his best acoustic songs and a couple of his best electric ones. If you were to listen to only *one* Bob Dylan album before you die, perhaps this would be a good shout. As it stands though, pretty much all his studio albums from this era feature on the list; indeed 11 of the 15 songs from the setlist are already represented, so this album feels more than a little superfluous.

90 minute Dylan live album. This is a real undertaking. I'm ambivalent on Dylan. Listened to many of his albums, though I find him really hard to get into. She Belongs to me Not much to comment on. As Dylan as a Dylan track gets. Singing is odd, harmonica is good. Fine. 3/5 Fourth time around Opens quite well. Unrefined. Great storytelling. Doesn't excite me too much, but is a good enough song for me to not be completely disinterested. Fine. 3/5 Visions of Johanna Paints a somber atmosphere. Impressive worldbuilding. Some of the inflections on this track are unique to say the least. Never really goes anywhere interesting to me. There's a story here, and the writing is good just isn't something I'll be returning to. 2/5 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue Bluesy. I like the melody on the verse. Harmonica sounds great here, played really soulfully. Passionate delivery. Zoned out a bit, sorry. Fine. 3/5 Desolation Row Classic. I enjoy the narrative structure. Guitar melody is nice in the background. I appreciate how easy the story is to follow, and the picture it paints over the course of the song. The final verse caps off the song wonderfully. Great 4.5/5 Just Like a Woman First two lines set the tone well. Not sure if I like the chorus. Wish I had more to add, just nothing stands out too much. Enjoy the somber vibe. 3/5 Mr. Tambourine Man Yeah this one I can't rate fairly. Heard it too many times so not an actual first impression. I think it's an absolute classic. This version has a slightly different tempo and delivery. Prefer the studio version, still a 5/5. First half is good, just not entirely too exciting for me personally. Kept my attention through most of it. Had a good time in general. Tell Me Mama Opens quite differently. Appreciate the sonic difference brought by the electric instruments and the drum. Bluesy. Nice energy. Don't care too much about the lyrics. Decent. 3.5/5 I don't believe you (She acts like we haven't met) I notice the organ as soon as it comes in. Love when the multiple sounds of the band come together with Dylan's voice. Love the vocal performance here. I like the confused character of the narrator in the song's story. Ends well. Enjoyable track. 4/5 Baby, Let Me Follow You Down Unsure about the first minute. Chaotic. Guitar is played with a lot of feeling. I do not like the organ solo. Okay piano solo. Rounded out nicely. 3/5 Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues Sluggish. Whiny. Decent enough instrumentation. Some cool melodies there. Okay concept I guess, just really not entranced in anyway. Find myself a bit bored of it around the 3 minute mark. Average. 2.5/5 Leopard-Skin-Pill-box-Hat Repetitive. Nothing really to comment on, kinda funny I guess. Tounge in cheek lyrics. Fine. 3/5 One too many mornings First verse is well structured. Sounds like what it's trying to sound like. Executes its concept very competently. Totally okay with hearing it again. 3.5/5 Ballad of a Thin Man Classic. Vocals are really quiet. Complicated. I guess I don't really understand the lyrics. Am I stupid? I'm entertained by my own confusion. Can't say I'm not entertained. I like it I think? 4/5 Like a Rolling Stone Probably heard the studio version of this song 1 million times. I think it's just fine. Just never been my favourite. Don't like the sound quality of this version too much. The organ is too sharp in my headphones when playing the higher notes. I understand why he'd end with this song. Works great as a closer. Catchy, kind of bored of it. Rating on the day. 3.8/5 Was what I expected. Enjoyed most of it. Will probably prefer returning to more condensed Dylan projects over this one. His studio records are easier for me to listen too, though as a historic record I'm glad I finished this one at least. Fave track. Mr. Tambourine Man Least Fave track. Visions of Johanna

I just don't enjoy Dylan. His music is definitely very significant for this time. Nice to hear the early rock and folky roots.

I love Bob Dylan, but this album helps me see why many people don’t. I still enjoyed this album, kind of, but I don’t see me going back to it. The wailing harmonica alone kind of drives me away…and I love the harmonica. Just not played like this. I also appreciate the cultural significance of this album. It’s largely that reason that it belongs on this list.

Som inkarneret livealbum hater vil jeg sige at disk 1 var lidt kedelig og disk 2 var komplet magisk. Ville have givet min arm for at være der dog.

This wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be, I think most people find to cool to dislike Bob Dylan since everything he did here was aped to oblivion by plenty of other popular musicians in the intervening years. I preferred the solo set, with its minimalist hypnotic vibes. I didn't really get much from the electric set, it just felt so generic. I started to finally understand and appreciate the vocal delivery near the end of the album. I do feel vindicated in knowing that I too can tunelessly dick around with a harmonica. Rating: 3.0

A brilliant live performance from one of the best artists ever.

I wanted to like this more than I did. So many classics and songs that were new to me. But the classics showed that over the decades, he really polished these rough stones, and that polishing was really necessary to what ultimately became timeless classics. I've been listening to The History Of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast and recently learned a bit more about Dylan's early career (Episode on Song For Woody Guthrie), so it was educational and reinforcing to hear this album. I could imagine him in a Lower East Side coffee house playing this to a bored crowd wanting poetry, and then him getting better and the crowds flipping to people wanting this music and not the poets. Listen to that podcast series if it's not yet in your feed.

I am admittedly not a Bob Dylan fan, but this album was better than most of his other albums I've heard. 3.5

Not bad for a brutal singer

God don’t he go on?! It’s ok but none of the versions really add anything to the existing studio cuts, so it’s a no from me dog!

The original songwriter, Dylan really took signwriting and gave them true meaning. Gone of the days of "I wanna hold your hand" and "She Loves You" Dylan wrote songs with depth which see him lauded as one of the GOAT's. His singing voice is however not seen in the same breath, a club singer with the writing talents of the finest storytellers. *Visions of Joanna*

First side is boring and cheeks. 2nd half is good despite being a DAMN dipshit live album.

good live album. i like bob dylan as much as the next folk enthusiast, but i don’t want to listen to him for 90 minutes straight

I liked the electric set. Was a good recording overall Will I listen to again: 25%

I really want to rate it higher, but it's just fine. Good. Mellow. Blends together

Bob Dylan

3 - not my favorite bob dylan, but its still decent, passable music

De los pocos artistas donde me gustan menos sus live versions

As a document of a musically important moment in time, it's quite cool. At least it would be if they hadn't edited out all of the abuse. I think I would have enjoyed that more. It's fine. I prefer electric Bob.

I know that Bob Dylan was great and influential but his music mostly feels a bit outdated nowadays. It's still good but I just feel like it was shadowed by more melodic. I enjoy "Like a Rolling Stone" but the majority of the songs from this album just felt a bit meh.

Sounds better than when I saw him live.

surely calm me down :) still, not a fan of country music

A lot of songs that I liked with the element of a live album

Cool to hear the famous "Dylan Goes Electric" show. Can't say I loved his singing or rambling poetic lyrics. The Electric Half massively improved for me over the folk half. Could attribute a lot of that to the instrumentals of The Band.

It's 1.30 min of two songs, basically. If it was only one side, it would have been more enjoyable.

Live albums don't really do it for me, but having seen Dylan live a few times myself this is by far the best I've ever heard. This does feel like a compilation album though which doesn't necessarily qualify it for this list to me.

OK

I appreciated this more knowing it was a bootleg, but it's still way way too much Bob Dylan

I’m really not a fan of Dylan, I find his vocals flat out annoying, and every one of his songs sounds the same. However he can play the shit out if that harmonica, which I love. Great instrumentals, no denying that.

It's Dylan!

Not my style. Lyrically it’s amazing, it’s simple music and ultimately a bit boring.

I need to relisten with more intent. I really enjoyed the second half with the band but I'm afraid I didn't give the lyrics the due that they deserve in the guitar half. And this album is all about lyrics, clearly. I enjoyed it but I think.i could have loved it.

3.4

V dylan

Look I liked this a lot, but if I'm honest I can't really get behind a live album that doesn't at least make an effort to sound like a live album. Where is the stage presence??? Was it a decision by the producer to exclude any interaction between Bob Dylan and the audience or did he just sit up on stage with his guitar and harmonica and not utter a single word?? My favourite thing about live albums is getting to hear the artist's engagement with the crowd. Otherwise it just sounds very clinical. That being said, it was still a nice album to listen to, but I'm a little confused as to why you'd include this album over one of Bob Dylan's studio recorded albums.

Decent album, but it goes on a little long and if you dont necessarily already like dylan when you start listening, then youre not guaranteed to like him when its done. 3/5

As a live album, it's pretty good. Live albums are usually terrible, to be honest. Whilst this is pretty good, it's still not great. The harmonica in particular sounds awfully piercing at times.

This live recording sounds raw and intimate. The setlist mixes acoustic simplicity with electric energy. It’s a bit like early Neil Young but less polished. The transition from folk to rock is jagged, but that’s the charm. The audience’s reaction adds a layer of tension that makes it more interesting. It’s a snapshot of an artist in flux.

to było nawet niezłe

I empathise with the people who hate Bob Dylan who had to sit through an hour and a half of his droning voice and ear piercing harmonica. I love Bob Dylan, but a live album? Really? That's like having a 'greatest hits' album on a greatest list, I don't really think it counts. I get that Bob Dylan of all artists sounds completely different pretty much every live performance, but I really didn't want my first Bob Dylan album on this list to be this - it just feels disingenuous to rate some of my favourite Bob Dylan songs all on one album despite them all coming from different places. Visions of Johanna is one of my favourite songs of all time, so it was nice to hear a true-to-record version of that live. I also appreciated the first disc of the album. Honestly, sitting there for an hour and a half got pretty tiring listening to this. I really don't think a bootlegged live recording is a 'must-listen', but it's still enjoyable nevertheless. Tossed between a 3 and a 4 (I'd give this a 7/10 if it were on a 10 scale), but I think there's better Bob Dylan records out there to listen to, nor is this essential, so I'm gonna go with a 3.

Disk 1 Fourth Time Around - really enjoyed the way this sounded. Visions of Johanna - really enjoyed the lyrics on this one in particular, stopped me in my tracks to listen to the end of the verse lmao. Quality dips severely at the end which is unfortunate. Just like a woman - this one was great all around. Mr. Tambourine Man - Dylan really needed a lozenge at this point in the set. Some of the harmonica and vocals are a bit rough around the edges. The nature of the album is that it has some rough parts in recording quality. The harmonica parts were really rough on the first track in particular but got better as the album went on. Disk 2 Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat - the guitar solos in this were pretty terrible Ballad of a thin Man - really liked this track, shame about the audio quality. I must check out the studio version Like a Rolling Stone - I really like the studio version of this tune, instrumentally and vocally. This live version is very rough, audio quality is grim, and Dylan REALLY needs a lozenge his voice is blown out for 8 whole minutes. Tough to enjoy. Standard blues rock fare overall on this disk. Decent album overall, songs are a bit hit or miss for me. Not sure why a live album needs to make the shortlist. I prefer studio Dylan

i cannot tell you how much i fucking despise live albums. i really don't get what human being out there would rather listen to a live album. i can understand maybe right after it came out, giving it a listen once or twice if the performer tends to play unique renditions or is a real performer, but how can you prefer this to studio quality performings. this actually pisses me off that its on the list noone ever 'needs' to listen to a fucking live album, what they need to do is watch the fucking aritst live lazy cunts anyway its bob dylan so its still great, i refuse to write My Comprehensive Bob Dylan Opinions on a fucking live album so im gonna save that

Bob Dylan is one of those musicians who I’ve never understood why they were ever popular. He sounds like an antisemitic stereotype. I was surprised their were no songs written about his allergies or overbearing mother. I went into this thinking I’d give it a shot and I might find some way to enjoy an element of it. Nope. Shitty ass folk music for lead paint eating retards. I stopped listening after the second track and I’m not going back to listen again. It would only be a 1 so I’ll spare the group average by just marking this did not listen. Bob Dylan should have been on that plane instead of Jim Croce. REVISION: I went back to this album after extensive psychiatric intervention and also several recommendations that the second disc is good. I stand by side one being utter horseshit low quality poorly mixed garbage, however I will say the second side is quite good once the fella gets electric.

A minute into the first track I really thought to myself “fuck me dead, an hour and a half of this shit”. To preface, I like Bob Dylan. The first song on my giant playlist is The Man In Me, I think a lot of his songs are great. However he usually performs the worst version of the songs he writes. Anyway fuck my life the harmonica really hits badly on this first track and i was glad to see the mix in Fourth Time Around was a lot more forgiving on the ears. Thankfully so was the rest of this song: light and airy guitar work, great lyricism from one of the best to ever do it, so-so lyrics and unfortunately an annoying fucking harmonica. I don’t know what level of heavy metal poisoning you need to have to enjoy Bob Dylan fuckin annihilating your ears but I’m sure the dickheads clapping at the end of this track can let me know what the appropriate level of mercury PPM in your bloodstream allows you to enjoy it. Visions of Johanna, absolute classic. But that harmonica sneaks in and forces me to quickly hit the volume down button. It’s quickly becoming clear to me it’s going to be hard to give an album that has this and Like A Rolling Stone a 3 because of this annoying fucking harmonica. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue is a song I first heard covered by Marianne Faithful and then The Animals and then Graham Bonnett. All of these artists did it better than Bob Dylan. Desolation Row was alright, the mixing here is a bit shit but whatever it’s a bootleg. My thoughts about Just Like A Woman are the same as many of Dylan’s songs: “great lyrics, so-so vocals and instrumentals”. Mr Tambourine Man is where I really started to lose it with this album. These songs are long, Bob Dylan sounds like he is parodying himself and it honestly is disappointing given how great of a writer he is. Wow the second half of this shit really picks up. I’ll summarise my thoughts instead of wasting mine and everyone else’s time by trying to pad out my review. There is a special place in hell for those who said Bob Dylan sold out by going electric. At a concert someone called him a sellout and he called that audience member a Judas and told his band to crank up the volume. And thank fuckin god cause this shit is WAY better. This half would be a 4 or a 5 if it was its own thing and not burdened by side one which sounds like it was made by the USAF psyop guys who were too privileged to get sent to Vietnam. Closing thoughts on this half is that this version of Ballad Of A Thin Man rivals Kula Shaker’s cover which has always been my favourite. Like A Rolling Stone is a very special song to me and always makes me think of my father, if side one had not pissed me off so much it would have been enough to give this a 5.