Thursday 29 October 2015

#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"


34 comments:

  1. Congratulations on a great project finished! That future addendums will continue is good news to all of us, I'm sure. I was late to the party, but just in time... actually, I'm kind of glad I didn't have to wait week by week, month by month -- I got to grab all I wanted by working through the archives within a couple weeks. It will be years before I can listen to all this stuff that I didn't already have, and you've provided upgrades to a lot of what I did have. I've already learned a lot reading the posts, and my music collection -- which I will continue to enjoy over the years, and pass on to my growing children -- is better because of you. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks JD comments like yours certainly make it worthwhile. Have fun listening and I hope you get a chance to see some of the artists/bands included here that still tour.

      Delete
  2. 100 thank you's for this excellent website. Looking forward to what 2016 brings. Very appreciated!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent!

    Thank you for all the work you've put into this blog! It's exposed my hears to some incredible recordings! I look forward to your future projects.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you so much for this, and all the other posts. Cannot wait to dig into this!

    Sounds like whatever you do, you'll have a receptive audience.

    Best.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you soooooooo much for all your hard work! You are a star and a saint ! Absolutely love your selections and your impeccable taste. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have enjoyed your insightful posts over the past couple of years. Congratulations on the completion and I am greatly looking forward to your next project! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is absolutely brilliant. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for this I have MP3 of the Scorpio set somewhere but having FLAC of at least some is great

    ReplyDelete
  9. A really amazing discovery for me, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fascinating blog - looking forward to what comes next. Really appreciate your efforts.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for the excellent work over the past years!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for your hard work! I've been following this site for a couple of years and have maybe 75 of you selections in my collection. Again thank you very much

    ReplyDelete
  13. Superb! Thank you very much. Please keep it going :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you for an exemplary effort, and I look forward to more in the new year. I will confess to the SLIGHTEST bit of disappointment in that I have the original Scorpio box on what was your #1 pick, so there's nothing new for me here, but hey, it just shows your taste is as good as mine. :)

    I'd put this one in my Top 10 Bootlegs, that's for sure!

    Your pal, DRaftervoi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers DR. It had been the plan to post "A Tree With Roots" at #1 but Columbia/Sony beat me to it and finally released the Basement Tapes, at long last.
      Stay tuned you won't have the next post!

      Delete
  15. So... how about a post with the comments section designated for "I think a best boots list should include..." suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That may happen. I had envisioned a post where blog users could send in their own top ten lists. I don't know if there would be enough interest as not many users post a comment, apart from a few regulars.

      Delete
  16. Thanks. Excellent, as ever. I'm going to miss checking in. How about 101-200?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It took a long time to get to 100, so unless my ISP starts providing rocket-like upload speeds for my area, then it is highly unlikely.

      There will be special posts throughout 2016, consisting of new bootlegs, some classics that were missed from the blog. There should definitely have been more Neil Young for example, so that will be rectified. Also some newer artists such as Laura Marling etc.

      Delete
  17. Anyone who wants more of this should look into the "Genuine Live 1966" box set which contains this release and six other discs of dylan/hawks from that monumental tour, all material stellar. Even more exhaustive (if spotty quality-wise in some places) is the 26 disc "Jewels and Binoculars" Vigotone set which attempts to collect every extant recording of the 66 tour. There's little variation in the set list from night to night, but for Dylan obsessives the task of absorbing this material wonderfully opens a portal into those heady times. The acoustic numbers are like sermons, with the glossolaliac eruptions of Dylan's sputtering, improvised harmonica accompaniment alone offering enough material variation to make every performance unique and worth hearing. The reviewer's comparison to Coltrane is not unwarranted in this respect. In terms of folk-rock you could make a case that this tour represents the apex of the form, at least in it's live variant. It's the height of *something*, that's for sure. Maybe rock as a religious experience.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Just wanted to say thanks.
    Awesome work.

    ReplyDelete
  19. takes a lot of work to do this... greatly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love Bob. I love this. I love you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wonderful Bob. Thank so much!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hard to believe this was 50 years ago.
    Do any recordings exist from this part of the year when Bob and the Hawks were performing in The US in places like Philadephia and Washington DC?

    ReplyDelete
  23. It is, when I first got into music around 1971 looking back 50 years that would have been 1921, scary!

    The World tour began in February taking in 21 dates in the US and Canada through to 9 April 1966 in Honolulu. The Australian and European dates quickly followed in April and May and these are the sources of the best quality recordings in circulation.

    As for your question, there are three dates in February that were recorded from the audience, all are in mono and incomplete ranging from 45 to 60 minutes in length, these are:

    February 5, Westchester County Center, White Plains,
    February 6, Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh
    February 26, Island Garden, Hempstead

    ReplyDelete
  24. I am brand new at this and my skills are limited. I have been able to get Bob in '63 at Carnegie Hall.

    Wow!!! Thanks so much for your effort.

    I'm trying to download Bob in Liverpool & Sheffield. I think I know what I am doing wrong.

    In any event, THANKS!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If your download is taking along time try and download at off peak times ie late at night or early morning. It will get to you much faster.
      Don't forget once you have the files you need a RAR opener. Enter the password and it will unpack the audio files.
      Welcome to the blog, you have just downloaded two of Dylan's greatest live performances.

      Delete
  25. I was fortunate enough to obtain the entire Genuine Live 1966 box for a hundred bucks and have needless to say never regretted it!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Fantastic effort and a worthy no1. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. These tracks are a lot of what you described them as being, but psychedelic they are NOT. Dylan was very anti-psychedelic. And btw, psychedelic did very much exist in 1966. Just check out the 13th Floor Elevators, who really got it started.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The review was published by Deep Beneath The The Waves.
      I included it because of the unknown writer's enthusiasm and passion. Yes, the hyperbole did tend to make the review veer a bit astray from accuracy but still a great article and after reading it who wouldn't want to download and hear it?

      Delete

>