Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)

Me at the start of this: no way I can give bob Dylan a 1 Me 35 minutes later: I can't do this. I am giving him a star for every unique chord he plays

Pretty good concert. Hard Rain is significantly better, and this is furiously overrated, but it's still pretty good. See, people love this recording, and I simply can’t imagine why. Truly, it’s some of the best songs ever written, but… his voice. And see, I’m not one of those people who hates on Bob Dylan’s voice. I think he’s one of the greatest singers ever. But… he was stoned here. You can tell. He’s completely uninterested, listless, a non-presence. This makes the first side of the album complete dead weight, where even great songs are reduced to moments of annoyance. The second side is good. Probably the only reason this album has any stake as a good performance. That being said, Bob STILL sucks! His voice is STILL so whiny and annoying! The lyrics are still good but there are better versions elsewhere! This is boring! Go listen to Hard Rain! Rolling Thunder Revue! Something! Fuck you! 5.6/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: NO REASON: Bro’s stoned wtf he sounds so bad WHAT WOULD I REPLACE IT WITH: Hard Rain by Bob Dylan

I've realized that when I need to act like I'm drunk I pull a Bob Dylan impression with his bizarre musical phrasing and constant vocal swaying. It only took an hour and a half of listening to Bob Dylan to come to this realization. Two stars.

Let's give somebody who struggles with pitch and tone and staying on key a bunch of drugs and record him live.

I don’t really care much for Bob Dylan but the prominent use of harmonicas in his songs (which I love) is able to balance this out

You can hear charisma coming from this imperfect voice, just with guitar and harmonica, no wonder these songs are classic.

Disc 1: The 1st track is a 3/5, good love song(?) I enjoyed it, but I'm not adding it to my main playlist. The 2nd track is a 3/5, it's about trying to win a girl over? The 3rd track is a high 3/5, it's a past lover(? or like a lover) The 4th track is a 3/5, above a lover, I feel like this whole album is about a past lover. The 5th track is a 4/5, I'm enjoying it enough to add it to my main playlist., and I'm not even 5 minutes into the song. Yeah, I'm going to keep it as a 4/5 and in my playlist, but it's a lower 4/5. The 6th track is a 3/5, Dylan was talking about woman lovemaking, and how if you're bad at something, it's like your a woman making love. The 7th track is a 3/5, it's not bad, but not something I would go out of my way to listen to. Disc 2: The 1st track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 2nd track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 3rd track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 4th track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 5th track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 6th track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 7th track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. The 8th track is a 3/5, not a bad song, just not something I would add to my main playlist. I would give this album a 3/5, not bad, I saved 1 song to my main playlist, but not something I'm likely to go out of my way to listen to again.

perfeito

Easily my most listened to and treasured Bob album and the pinnacle of cool. Would recommend anyone watch No Direction Home to get the most background for this era.

Bob Dylan: bad at singing, can’t play the harmonica for shit, minimally proficient at the guitar, but overcomes most of that on the virtues of being one of the most talented songwriters of a generation. His vocal affectations/pubescent voice cracks are almost part of the charm tbh. Against my will, something I ended up enjoying this more than I expected. Not something I’d listen to for 90 mins at will in most cases, but nonetheless an album I’d crank while splitting a bottle of bourbon with Jon over a campfire. 7/10 Favorites: - Just Like A Woman - Mr. Tambourine Man - I Don’t Believe You - Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat - Like A Rolling Stone

Bob Dylan never fails to capture my attention with his unique ability to write songs so beautifully that it makes it easy to ignore how bad of a singing voice he has, in fact, it becomes part of the charm. This album was extremely listenable dispite the length, but after a while the harmonica does start to grate on the ears a little. Favorites: - Mr. Tambourine Man - Leopard-Skin-Pil-Box - Like a Rolling Stone Rating: 6/10

this was just not it. i didn't care for his voice, this was just boring.

Sympa mais j’écouterai pas tous les jours, un peu un album à écouter dans la voiture

Still a really good listen for a bootleg so many good songs on this and they sound great live I'm a big Dylan fan so was nice to hear this he has so many amazing songs

feels like bob dylan mocking himself first half is a slog to get through but the second half is great. they was jus hating on bobs electric era cuz they was jealous they're weren't as dope as he was. if your gonna listen to this skip disk 1 it sucks, disk 2 is so good might be my fav bob dylan project

Pretty good, I like the electric sections of the album a lot more than the folk, just not sure I really loved his vocals here too much. I do like Bob Dylan's vocals to be clear just didn't love them on this specific live album

I like some Bob Dylan songs but how can someone listen to this and enjoy it?

I LOVE live albums. This one is just a long studio recording where we get to hear Bob Dylan TUNE HIS GUITAR OCCASIONALLY!! WooHoo!! I liked this for probably 20 minutes, but the grating, self-important "poetry" and the horrific singing really began to irk me in a way I didn't know possible. That, mixed with the fact that once again we are forced to listen to an extremely unnecessary live album that is 90 fucking minutes and filled with pointless applause and guitar tuning. I want to revisit Bob Dylan's lyrics as he is often touted as a revered poet rather than a strong lyricist. I think it's mostly shallow garbage. He does what a 12th grader would do if you asked them to write something that sounded deep. It sounds like word association, rather than expression of a feeling that he has actually had. "Jeez Louise, she said "Ah Please" as she looked around for a place to put her knees. God looked around for a suitable mate, and found out that what's left is second rate." Just rhyme every few words, and make sure somebody important (deity, mother nature etc.) is saying something mundane too. Maybe, I just don't get it, or maybe it really is overblown tripe from an egomaniacal dork. Who knows? Musically, I have to say, this record is really uhh ok. You know, if you remove the horrible muppet-esque voice. Overall, this thing is far too long, not all that poetic considering how he is lauded, and inexplicably live. Another banger, guys! 2 HIGHLIGHTS: I hope this theatre clears out soon, I hear the guy who plays Bustopher Jones goes insane in the Evening shows

Is the harmonica ok?

2 because the second half was nice and the first half deserves nil

Gear: ZMF Bokeh Closed Artwork: 📸💇📰 Production: 🎤🗑️🪫 Music: 👢🦵 🤫 Rating: 🛃🛃/5

if it was just disc 2 it would be a 4.

I FUCKING HATE BOB DYLAN WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP?? I'm not American, BUT EVEN IF I WERE, I WOULDN'T STAND THE GUY. If God truly does exist, He sure as hell isn't merciful, because who in their right mind would let this guy have 7 albums on this list?? That's like 0.69% of this list being Bob Dylan. I could've gone my whole life without listening to a single song of his if it wasn't for you, meddling Robert, and your stupid list.

Exhilarating 60 years later.

Not a fan, even worse - a live album

Absolutely love Dylan, but this is just not my preferred way to listen. Somehow the live recordings just lack the same energy that is present on the album versions and I just found myself wanting to listen to the original records instead.

it was good

Full band part was good, skipped the solo part to give Bob a chance - I still am not completely on board with the voice but the last few tracks were great, it was a good live performance by the band, and Bob

Look, Dylan is an artistic genius and I would never deny that. However, I don't need to listen to 90 whole minutes of this man and his harmonica playing a bunch of songs that all have the same general sound as one another. Luckily, I spoke too soon in typing that above review and disc 2 is a full band! Things really picked up at that point and I really enjoyed that whole disc.

Music history is important, but you don't have to listen to ALL of it to get the point and you don't have to like it all just because others before you did. Did this need to be listened to before death? Probs not... Do I hate it as much as others clearly do? Nope.

being a prolific and historic rock artist, bob dylan not only had a large amount of released records, but also more rare, unreleased recordings that were passed around for decades before getting a proper release. this is one of those. audio from dylan performing live at the free trade hall in manchester. there's two discs, the first one is dylan performing alone and the second one features him performing with his band the hawks. the audience loved his solo stuff, but not as much with the band... there's audio of the audience heckling hin on the second disc. it was critically acclaimed upon release. ... i'm literally never going to get used to his voice. i'm never ever going to. he's so talented, he's so unbelievably talented but he sounds like mr. crocker. even with this in mind, he paints a large picture when he performs, words either strange and surreal or a little bit salty. he channels music in such a way where he disregards just about everything and everyone, isolating himself until it's just him sitting on a stool, playing the guitar and the harmonica. i do like the solo stuff better than his music with the band. even with my personal tastes in sound, i cannot disagree with the fact that this album is very historic, it's probably the clearest window of mid '60s musical history. i wouldn't actively take time out of my day to listen to the cds again and again, but this stuff is kinda museum worthy.

i fear this is too long, and i feel like i can't appreciate this unless like i'm a diehard bob dylan fan, since i don't really know what his songs are supposed to sound like, and i know he changes them up when playing. it's not bad but i just can't rate it highly either. at least the album gets significantly better on the b-side once there's more instruments than just the acoustic guitar and harmonica.

His solo acoustic stuff just makes me so sleepy.

Questionable addition to the list. There are lots of other albums that I would include before this.

3 stars out of respect for Bob Dylan but this ain't it. Too long and tedious

I just don't care for Bob Dylan, especially live

Interesting to get what was originally a bootleg album on here! But man, I still don't think Bob Dylan is for me. The first half of this was a slog to get through, and I find it funny that the second half with the "electric" sound was so controversial at the time, because that's definitely the better half. Maybe it's just cause I like the Band? Anyway "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" "One Too Many Mornings" and of course "Like a Rolling Stone" were the standouts here.

Muy bien

I can't. He's peak bob dylan. I didn't believe the parodies, I am so sorry.

The first half can be a bit much with the harmonica, but it soon blossoms into something good. The second half brings it way up. It's the stuff Bob Seger likes (9/10, 5/5 on this scale)

3 songs in and not my cup of tea! Maybe wrong album, wrong place. I found the live harmonica too jarring while I was trying to work

Jag tror inte jag hörde att ord som karln sa

First disc is boring 1, 2nd disc is a great 4…

disc 1 was pretty meh, very classic laid back solo bob dylan (which unfortunately doesn't come to a lot) disc 2 picked up a lot more and was much better overall it was just enough to get it to a 3/5 in my opinion

No private session used for Spotify. The guy can't sing, but he can write great songs. The title of the album is "Royal Albert Hall" concert, but none of the songs were recorded there, it was all recorded at Free Trade Hall...what's up with that?

I'll take acoustic Bob every day. ;)

Folk-Dylan er bedre enn blues-rock-Dylan.

Veldig bra, men på ingen måte vits å ha på lista her.

Det må være helt grusomt å være på Dylan-konsert. Så ham faktisk på Roskilde en gang, men sto langt unna, så det var helt ok. Best på plate!

Bob Dylan the DJ set. That’s what the first side sounds like. Each acoustic song just kinda rolls into the next, and if you’re into the format and sound, it’s a pleasant experience. The second side is much more harsh and prototypical electric late 60’s rock. I didn’t like that one as much. I get that Bobby is one of the greatest songwriters of our time, but the guy in the crowd that calls him ‘Judas’ is a bit intensive. Artists switch genres and sounds all the time, why was he so bitter about Bobby doing the same? Front side is a 4/5, back side is a 2/5, let’s meet in the middle

As I approach the age of 30, I've actually found myself appreciating Bob Dylan a lot more lately! I'd maybe even consider Blonde on Blonde a current favorite of mine! The disappointing thing here is that there's not enough of that one, and what we do get from it includes the overrated "Fourth Time Around" and "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat". But you know, the acoustic half is great anyway (and I don't even like "Desolation Row" like that), and the electric half is decent enough, even if it's a bit lacking in songs I'd want to hear beyond "Like a Rolling Stone".

Why does Bob Dylan need to use the damn harmonica so much. So annoying and ruins the rest of the music. His voice is also terrible and his delivery is beyond annoying. The lyrics are ok to good, but everything else is so distracting and terrible I can't stand it. 1/5

3.8

Creo sinceramente que tiene una de las voces más desagradables de escuchar que he oído nunca. No me ha gustado absolutamente nada.

Same sound ... can't believe that is a live album.

More Bob? And it's live and that voice is jankier than ever. Lyrics are good; I just cannot listen.

An hour and a half of Bob Dylan live? Pass.

okay

I'd rather listen to his studio albums

halfway through this project i started dating a bob dylan fan and it has seriously affected the ratings i give him. you win this time, 60s harmonica twink bob.

Man, I am just not a David Bowie fan. I know he's super polarizing, but yeah it just doesn't do it for me.

From the Vault #44 (May 29, 2026) Here we are with my fifth Bob Dylan album (at the time of writing. Who knows what order this album will be rolled in?) Can't say I'm stoked to be hearing more blown out harmonicas (hardemonicas, as I prefer to call them), though it could prove to be a good time. Dylan strikes me as a smooth talker, so maybe there's some entertaining audience interactions on this album. Anyways, I might as well get into this one. Here goes. Man if this guy can't fucking sing. I mean, what does he think he's doing when he busts out those stretched vocal chords at the end of his lines? I get the impression that he's trying to sound suave or seductive or whatever, but the breathy, nasally tone just sounds so shitty. Time for me to go through the rigmarole again. I've known for a good while that Dylan is revered as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, but I just don't understand why. He's not a particularly articulate lyricist, and all of his songs are built around these tepid folk guitar melodies, shitty, blown-out harmonicas and strained, directionless vocals. He's not a good vocalist, and he sure as shit ain't a good songwriter or instrumentalist, either. If there was ever a silver lining to this listen, it's that I have one less long-as-fuck album to sit through. Fuckayoooooooooooooou, Bob Dylan. I might just assemble pre-written reviews for his two remaining albums so I don't have to deal with the pain of listening to them when they appear on my project. Book time. Part-folk hymns, part-electric guitar rock music. The reaction from his audience in the mid-60s was apparently mixed, with folk purists not appreciating the change in direction. The blending of rock music with Dylan's folk stylings during these live performances apparently marked the beginning of folk rock. Dylan's second set on this album was apparently met with boos and upset from the audience. I don't recall hearing such a reaction, but it's a funny detail nonetheless. Dylan's backing musicians were The Hawks, who would eventually become The Band. Dylan "...[spits] out the lyrics like poisoned arrows." Truer words have never been spoken. Someone from the audience called him a Judas at the end of his "Ballad of a Thin Man" performance, though that doesn't appear to be on the streaming version of this song. Based. Wikipedia says this live performance was extensively bootlegged in the decades leading up to its official release and is "...an important document in the development of popular music during the 1960s." The streaming version of this album does appear to have all of the heckling removed given that the runtime listed on the Wikipedia article is six minutes longer than that of the streaming version. Honestly, I'm kind of interested in playing back the uncut version of disc 2. I'm sure an excessively hostile audience makes for an interesting listening experience. The album garnered a glowing reaction from the handful of critics that reviewed it, with Elvis Costello and Jimmy Page being among the fans of this album. The album had moderate chart success in the handful of Western and European countries where it charted, but nothing remarkable. It did peak at No. 10 in the Netherlands, however. I'm favourable to this nomination. It has a lot of things going for it and the premise of a live album where everyone likes the first set and fucking hates the second is certainly unique. I cosign this inclusion.

90 minutes of Bob Dylan :| I understand his influence and I think he is very important to popular music, but I just do not enjoy listening to his voice. Lyrics were good and sometimes quite charming. The recording quality was a bit all over the place.

Like a lot of Dylans work if you enjoy him you will love it. If you find his voice grating you will hate it. If you don't like Bob skip it. It's not going to change your mind, in fact it will make you double down because it's a live show. This is a great album. It captures a great picture of his work and what a live show was for him. It's clear, well recorded and you feel the space. It's him on a stage. That's what this is and it works very very well. Great album.

NOT THAT HARMONICA AGAIN. And why is the voice mixed so loud? Sounds truly horrendeous.

I don't like live albums in general and I feel like there are already plenty of Dylan albums on this list.

Well done, Bob! (Prefer Cat Power, though) 🤯 5

Back when Bob actually played his hit songs live. A good live album though I would rather just listen to one of his studio albums. I don't think any of these versions compare of the original recordings unfortunately. Favorite track: Ballad of a Thin Man 3.5/5

Simply the best of both worlds from Bob Dylan. Disc one features an all-acoustic repertoire—classic folk with vocals, guitar, and harmonica—while disc two delivers the power of electrified music. Flawless. 5 stars.

His singing is not very good.

Not the best start

This felt like the final boss of this project to me.

Overrated in my humble opinion and I can't stand the harmonica. I'm out.

I'd have paid to just listen to him play harmonica.

Not a fan of Bob Dylan (to put it mildly), and not a fan of Live albums, so seeing this album come up filled me with dread. Turns out that feeling of dread was entirely justified. How on earth did people sit through this performance? Why are they applauding? Do they even have ears? I'd literally have walked out within the first 30 seconds, or at least as soon as he started with the harmonica. Composition is basic, bland guitar. Bob Dylan can't sing for shit. The lyrics are drivel. His harmonica playing is somehow even worse. Literally makes me angry that this is on the list.

The generator gave me 100 days of grace before deciding to inflict the ultimate bob dylan torture on me. His voice is especially grating in this version, no post processing to save him ig The harmonica sounds like a cat dying at worst and some kind of insect at best The guitar playing is just not interesting, it's literally just strumming and chords... This was a bootleg rather than a proper recording and you can tell with how the audio quality dramatically changing from moment to moment. Since the last bob dylan album I've had the unexpected pleasure of listening to Nick Drake who, in my opinion, is the peak of the singer-songwriter genre. Comparing the 2 is like comparing a bed made of clouds to a bed of nails.

idk i think i understand the appeal but. if you're just gonna run a big stream of complicated lyrics in front of me, i would like to be able to spend my effort trying to figure out what they mean instead of what the actual words being said are. the back half is both better and worse because there's more to listen to than just a little bit of basic guitar but also the additional instruments and iffy recording quality make it even harder to get the lyrics.

80

Fascinating to hear Dylan "go electric" and not a bad album over all.

Eres un poco chapas, Bob

It's insane that the Spotify version cuts out the 'Judas!' moment that makes this one of the most famous concerts in rock history. But it also seems insane now that anyone called Dylan a Judas in the first place for 'going electric'. I mean this gig sounds great and you can tell what songs he's singing. No wonder latter day Dylan decided to really give people something to moan about.

Favourite Track(s):

Well... at least Mr. Dylan enjoys rising the pitch his voice at the end of every line and earshattering harmonica-solos every 5 minutes I guess... But I did not.

Nah

good

No me gusta la voz de dylan lo sientooo

Feels like Home.

Judas 🗡️🗡️

94

Huge Dylan fan.

Not a huge Dylan fan but this was nice

just an exhausting voice live

Overall it's fine. I can't call it back, because it's definitely not bad, but none of it stands out to me. A lot of it sounds same-y and I just can't get into it. The vocals are always a miss for me. Just not in love with this. I wish I liked it more, but just feeling meh about it.

Lots of conflicting thoughts on this. On one hand, It's good to really good and I really, really wish we had half stars because this is an easy 3.5. On the other hand, it's goddamn an hour and a half. That is too long. That is too much Bob Dylan. Disc 1 is, like, the perfect amount. The man is an excellent storyteller, but there isn't a ton of variety in his songs. Disc 1 is great. 7 Bob Dylan albums is too many Bob Dylan albums. He's great, I get it. I promise you that no one under the age of 75 either wants or needs to hear 7 Bob Dylan albums before they die. This isn't a huge problem in and of itself, but the closer to the end of this project I get, the more galling it is that certain artists have been left off this project entirely, while certain artists are massively overrepresented. Whether you like the music or not, there is no goddamned reason for there to be TWO Christina Aguilera albums, but not a single Tool album. TWO Paul Walker albums, but no MF DOOM albums. THREE Tim Buckley albums, but none from Deftones. I bitch about this all the time, so I won't go on, but the list of influential bands and albums that didn't make it while this project is crammed full of obscure 60s bullshit is staggering. Anyway, enough shouting into the void. At one point I was tempted to give this 4 stars but, man. 90 minutes is so many minutes and it just started to drone. Disc 1 was a borderline 4, Disc 2 is a definite 3.

As good as any Bob Dylan album I have heard. Sounded intimate

I like Tell Me, Momma The first disc was a bit hard to get through. I prefered the 2nd disc

Btw everyone go listen to the Girl from the North Country original London soundtrack, such a banger, best versions of all the Dylan songs fr fr. So the first CD was verging on a 4 honestly, Desolation Row was very good live. Second cd hmm gets a bit shouty for me, I definitely prefer acoustic Dylan. I'd be shouting JUDAS (Manc pride!)

Second live album in a row, i understand the historical significance this may have but still feels like a cheat in terms of the possible track listing over a traditional album. I have become relatively partial to a bit of Dylan with age, but this was a step too far. I listened to most of it crawling along the m25 to the m1 and this managed to make that even less enjoyable. Even the enjoyable tracks like ‘like a rolling stone’ just go on too long. You’d be mich better advised to listen to one of his studio albums

I barely have the strength to write a review for this album. There’s only so much Bob Dylan it is possible for me to take.

Urgh. I don't like Bob Dylan and I don't really enjoy live albums unless I really love the artist. Also I'm not even 50% of the way through the generator, and have been given 86% of the too many Bob Dylan albums on the list. I realise that it's better than the other way round, and having 86% of Bob Dylan albums lying in wait to jump scare me in the second half of the project, but still. I will say, as a general thing about the concert itself, I love that he chose to play the first half entirely acoustic, as expected by the audience, and then pulled the rull with an electric second half. Very funny. Still don't really want to listen to either version of Dylan live however. 1/5