BOB DYLAN : A PHOENIX IN APRIL

 

Disc One (52:23)

  1. She Belongs Me
  2. Fourth Time Around
  3. Visions of Johanna
  4. It's All Over Now Baby Blue
  5. Desolation Row
  6. Just Like A Woman
  7. Mr. Tambourine Man

Disc Two (47:18)

  1. Tell Me, Momma
  2. I Don't Believe You (She acts like we never have met)
  3. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down
  4. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
  5. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
  6. One Too Many Mornings
  7. Ballad Of A Thin Man
  8. Positively 4th Street

Label : GBS Records

Venue : Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia 

Recording Date : April 13, 1966

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Bob's Boots) : The Sydney show is a raw and powerful soundboard recording. It is surprisingly quite for being an analog recording from such an early show. Dylan is talkative between a few of the first songs of each set in the slow, stoned voice that typified this tour. The first disc contains the acoustic show. The first song cuts in, and the tape speed runs off for a second. The mic windscreen (pop filter) does not work well throughout the show. On Visions Of Johanna, virtually every line has a word that pops. It's not as bad on Fourth Time Around, which contains a momentary feedback. It returns on each "Baby Blue". On the solo of Desolation Row, Dylan plays a series of triplets on the guitar in double time, and blows a slide on the harp to compliment it for a strange effect that probably worked better live than it does on tape. The second disc is the electric set. The music is well mixed, but the vocals completely overpower it. Of course, because of the nature of the harder singing on this set, the pop filter is much more problematic. Dylan introduces Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues with a bizarre faux meaning of the song. The pop filter becomes so ineffective, that on some verses of LeopardSkin PillBox Hat, every word pops The highlight of the electric set is an erie, laid back Ballad Of A Thin Man that makes use of dynamics, and a play between the vocals and organ. All in all, this is a great recording. The sound is bright and full, and as good as the best know tapes. The discs are a tad short at 48 minutes each, but the overall package wouldn't have work so well by using filler material. The cover stays with the black, white, and red theme of the official Bootleg Vol. 4 release. The CDs were copied by Orange and released as a double entitled 'Live Sydney 66'.

Review (AllMusic) : Given the deserved attention paid to the U.K. leg of Bob Dylan's epochal 1966 tour with the Hawks, it's easy to forget that a month earlier the tour wound its way to Australia, culminating with an April 13 appearance at Sydney Stadium. The two-disc bootleg release A Phoenix in April captures the show in its entirety, and despite critical limitations hampering the original analog soundboard tapes, this is essential listening for serious Dylan enthusiasts. Per tour protocol, the first half features a solo acoustic performance while the second half comprises an electric performance backed by the Hawks. The contrast between the luminous beauty of the former and the muscular force of the latter is stunning, and it's clear the collaboration with the future Band has reached maximum velocity, highlighted by a dark, eerie rendition of "Ballad of a Thin Man" that may represent the song's apotheosis. However, Dylan's forceful vocals suffer from considerable popping (a problem resulting from the windscreen on his microphone), a distraction that is virtually impossible to ignore. That caveat aside, this is wonderful stuff, and Scorpio's lovely packaging vaults A Phoenix in April above other editions.

Review (Dime) : What hits you initially is the startling and crystalline quality of the recording of Dylan's voice, not to mention the full tones of the guitar and harp. The singular nature of the acoustic performances is awe-inspiring. The electric set is, as a whole, the best of all the Dylan/Hawks performances. It does not get much better than this. A monumental show and a blistering performance for the ages.