Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan Live 1975 (The Bootleg Series Volume 5)

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Music reviews of Bob Dylan Live 1975 (The Bootleg Series Volume 5)

Music Review: Fantastic live document
Rating: 5 Stars

The Rolling Thunder Revue is an unusual and special landmark, even in the inimitable and storied career of the legendary Bob Dylan. After his '74 tour with The Band - his first in 8 years - in which he played arenas for the first time and charged the then-unheard-of price of $8 per ticket, Dylan was exhausted and fed up with touring. One listen to the live document of that tour, Before The Flood, and it is obvious that Dylan, at times, was merely going through the motions. He vowed to do the next tour on his terms.

The Rolling Thunder Revue was the result. A traveling caravan of musicians - incorporating about 15 permanent ones (including Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Scarlet Rivera on violin, and a young T-Bone Burnett; as well as people like Allen Ginsburg, scribe Larry "Ratso" Sloman, and even Dylan's own mother) - who were picked up from city to city, and would then perform several concerts in an area over a span of several days, in small halls and colleges. This looseness freed Dylan up, gave him control, and gave birth to some of the most remarkable performances of his entire career.

Although, when most people think of Dylan, they automatically picture the politically-heated climate of the 60's, the years 75-78 were, in fact, Dylan's most commercially fruitful period. It was this period, in my personal opinion, that featured Dylan's best vocal performances. A reinvigorated Dylan plows through these songs with true vigor and ferocity. The rarely-played Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You kicks off the set, with an entirely new set of lyrics and a new arrangement - no longer a C&W tune, this is now a driving rocker with a new vocal delivery to boot. Similar things are done with It Ain't Me, Babe, Hard Rain (which, despite its newfound vigor, does detract from the lyrics somewhat), and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll. These formerly acoustic new songs are all given new, rocking arrangements. On the other hand, the middle of the album features a solo acoustic mini-set from Dylan that is, for me, the highlight of the whole package. The version of the oft-heard Mr. Tambourine Man included here is the best I have ever come across, with Dylan's honey-sweet (yes!) voice oozing over the lyrics in a virtuoso vocal performance. I defy anyone who still questions Dylan's singing abilities to listen to this song and not be converted. A radically rewritten Simple Twist of Fate follows, and then - Joan Baez. Although it has become cool among Dylan fans to hurl every pejorative at Baez that can seemingly be uttered - and though the more unforunately extroverted side of her personality is on display here - one cannot deny that it is charming to hear her and Dylan singing perfectly in sync (a prodigious accomplishment in itself) here. Their reading of the Dylan rarity Mama, You Been On My Mind (yes, that's Dylan's mother that Baez dedicates the song to) is of particular note here. The second disc opens with more solo acoustic numbers (including a fine reading of the traditional The Water Is Wide), and then some more electric band numbers. Another thing that should be mentioned is that the songs from Desire included here (actually recorded before the tour started, but not released until the next year) are so good that they almost render the album versions superfluous. Personally, I have always found the Desire album to be overrated and it has never been one of my favorites, but this set confirms what I knew all along: it wasn't the songs; it was the production and the backing. Romance In Durango and One More Cup of Coffee, two songs which I never really liked on the album, are done much better here, and are, in fact, quite enjoyable. Tour-de-force versions of Hurricane and Isis (though lacking in bombast compared to the version included on Biograph) round out the selections, as well as an emotionally-charged version of Sara - witnessed in the audience by none other than Sara Dylan herself. That said, what was the next song Dylan played? You guessed it - Just Like A Woman.

The historical importance of Live 1966 aside, this is, far and away, Dylan's best live album. He is obviously having fun doing the show, and even responds playfully to the audience. When a heckler shouts out "Play a protest song!" Dylan doesn't lash back with "I don't believe you... you're a liar!"; but, instead, comes back with "Alright... here's one for ya" and then proceeds to jump into Desire's Oh, Sister (about as far from a protest song as you can get)... the audience doesn't cheer. On top of that, the aforementioned Just Like A Woman is actually a request ("Just like a woman? We know that, right? Alright, we'll try it"); and we learn that It Takes A Lot To Laugh is "an autobiographical song." Essential for Dylan fans, and rock historians, this album documents the last time in his career that Dylan would be commercially popular (and culturally relevant?), and he has never played onstage with this level of looseness and fun again.

Simply put, an essential purchase for both the Dylan fan, and the rock fan.

Description of Bob Dylan Live 1975 (The Bootleg Series Volume 5)

Classic Rock CDs

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• Folk
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