#49 BOB DYLAN - A Nightly Ritual (Live 1966) (Flac)

Bob Dylan & the Hawks
A Nightly Ritual - Live 1966

Disc One - Odeon Theatre, Liverpool, England - 14 May 1966
01  Tell Me, Momma 4:07
02  I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) 5:11
03  Baby Let Me Follow You Down 3:38
04  Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues 5:34
05  Crowd 1:55
06  Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat 3:19
07  One Too Many Mornings 4:03
08  Ballad Of A Thin Man 7:00
09  Like A Rolling Stone 7:29
10  God Save the Queen 0:46

The Hotel Room recordings track 11-12 have been removed from this post as they will be released shortly on the Bootleg Series Vol. 12

Disc Two - Gaumont Theatre, Sheffield, England - 16 May 1966
01  She Belongs To Me  4:02
02  Fourth Time Around  4:42
03  Visions Of Johanna  8:27
04  It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 5:51
05  Desolation Row  11:25
06  Just Like A Woman  7:51
07  Mr. Tambourine Man 10:30
08  Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat  4:26
09  One Too Many Mornings  3:27

10  Ballad Of A Thin Man  7:14           
track 10 from Odeon Theatre, Birmingham, England - 12 May 1966

 

Lineage: Silvers > FLAC (ripped with XLD v20110611, using FLAC 1.2.1 - level 8)
from Bob Dylan  - Genuine Live 1966 (Scorpio CD Box Set GBS66-1/10)

The superb review below is from:

DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES vol 84 Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000

 “Hats off to Messrs. Hudson, Jones, Manuel & Danko also. Individually stunning, collectively sublime”.

Liverpool:          
The '66 shows were frenetic, chaotic, rhythmic, melodic, sharp, cutting, primal rock and roll with heart, the likes of which had never been heard before. It was old and new and ahead of it's time, it was rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, soul, beat, garage, it was psychedelic before psychedelic even existed.
The '66 electric sets were all that this Liverpool has it all in spades. Previously uncirculating in its entirety prior to GL66, the first three cuts blow the roof off the place slightly harsh in sound yet still terrific, dominated by Dylan's bold vocals and the razor edge guitar fills of Robbie (check out the leads and fills on "I Don't Believe You" and "Follow You Down," for example), this is stunning stuff. Better than others?  Who cares, it's all subjective anyway, so just enjoy them all as singular performances.
A different source kicks in for the legendary "Tom Thumb Blues" and the sound is fleshed out with a bit more natural bottom a magnificent version - Bob & Robbie supposedly considered it the best also, as it became a b-side, eh! For the first time, we hear rumblings of dissatisfaction from the crowd, with folks yelling at the stage and Dylan taking a long break between "JLTTB" and a marvelous, rockabilly-like rave-up version of "Pillbox Hat" that finds Robbie at the top of his game and Richard's rollicking piano fills a treat to hear. Robbie lifts off again at 2:43 until the song closes half a minute later and into a "One Too Many Mornings" which further evidences how divinely the Hawks played for Dylan, whether loud and raucous or pulling back the reins a bit, as they do here once again, Robbie's guitar is front and center and he seems to step out and stretch it more on this show than on any others in my opinion, his greatest performance from beginning to end.

Similarly, when you focus in on, say, Garth or Danko or any of the Hawks individually, well, they all are over the top. A unique sound, for sure, and never duplicated since. Hats off to Messrs. Hudson, Jones, Manuel & Danko also. Individually stunning, collectively sublime.

More bliss ensues with the psych-freakout of "Thin Man," so full of tension and apparent doom thanks to the incredible dual sound of the organ and bass and Dylan's funhouse screaming vocals such a dark and forbidding sound and feel to the performance that it leaves you feeling spooked and thinking something terrible is about to happen.  It's like watching the classic 30's movie "Freaks," of which "Thin Man" could be the theme song. "Like A Rolling Stone" ends it all to thunderous, pulsating applause as Dylan thanks the crowd (not a boo or stray comment to be heard), then "God Save the Queen" closes the curtain on this most wondrous of shows.

“a brilliant performance in astounding sound quality”

Sheffield:      
The voice from on high. Absolutely gorgeous recording, so full and richly toned it will leave you stunned. Easily the smoothest, unflawed gem from a boxful of 'em. And, in a stroke of good fortune for us listeners, Dylan's performance goes from ridiculously phenomenal to sublime. Each and every tune holds you rapt as if a mystical figure is delivering the gospel through a shroud of fog but the sound is so clear when it hits you ethereal & mysterious describes it well, heavenly perhaps a little less so.

Dylan nails every tune and his harp playing is brilliant.  I can't help thinking that Dylan's wild, wooly and wonderful harp excursions are just as exciting as some of the improvisational gems of Miles and Coltrane. The most telling example is "Mr. Tambourine Man," a wonderfully rich version that ends with almost two minutes of Dylan playing himself into a harp maze from which there appears to be no escape you can hear him searching and ultimately extricating himself at 9:57 with one sustained note. Then, as if to say "hah, you thought I'd never get out of that, eh?"he wraps it all up less than 15 seconds later. The crowd sure appreciated it, judging by the applause and cheering.

To sum up, a brilliant performance in astounding sound quality. As if that was not enough, filling out the disk are improved versions of Sheffield electric "Pillbox Hat" and "One Too Many Mornings," and the Birmingham "Thin Man." A fantastic listen.

If the above review by "Deep Beneath The Waves" doesn't encourage you to download this one, then there is nothing I can say that would.

The official Bootleg Series Vol. 11 was originally planned to be the Blood On The Tracks sessions, hence their omission from this blog. The alternate Blood On The Tracks and it's companion would have made a worthy number one but it seemed pointless to put in all the work, only for it to be hit with a takedown notice.

This live '66 set, especially the acoustic Sheffield performance is a superb audio document and together with the official Manchester release you have some of the greatest live recorded music ever put to tape. As for that official Bootleg series by Sony/Columbia, all 12 volumes are featured and reviewed in a 52 page booklet, given away with the new issue of the music magazine "Mojo"