BOB DYLAN : THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 5 - LIVE 1975 - THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE

 

Disc One (50:55)

  1. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
  2. It Ain't Me Babe
  3. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
  4. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
  5. Romance in Durango
  6. Isis
  7. Mr. Tambourine Man
  8. Simple Twist of Fate
  9. Blowin' in the Wind
  10. Mama, You Been on My Mind
  11. I Shall Be Released

Disc Two (50:49)

  1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
  3. Tangled Up in Blue
  4. The Water is Wide
  5. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
  6. Oh, Sister
  7. Hurricane
  8. One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
  9. Sara
  10. Just Like a Woman
  11. Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Label : Columbia

Release Year : 2002

Venues : Forum de Montreal, Montreal, Canada + Harvard Square Theatre, Cambrige, MA + Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA + Memorial Auditorium, Worcester, MA

Recording Dates : November 19, 1975 - December 4th, 1975

Review (AllMusic) : The biggest criticism of The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975 - the third installment in Columbia/Legacy's excavation of the exhaustive Bob Dylan vaults (the first was a box set, containing three volumes) - is that it's a compilation of highlights from his Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975, one that doesn't set out to replicate a set list but instead offers two discs and 22 tracks from this fabled tour. Apart from that, there's very little to complain about on this superlative set, which offers the first official release of Rolling Thunder material. Yes, this had been heavily bootlegged over the decades, plus it was documented on Dylan's notoriously unwatchable film Renaldo & Clara and there was Hard Rain, a collection culled from the post-Thunder 1976 tour that was similar but sour and nowhere near as good the 1975 material, as this superb set illustrates. Hearing this is a revelation, even for serious Dylan watchers - those so serious to own several bootlegs, even a full shelf of Dylan, but not as obsessive as those who track Bob's every move - and those who aren't as dedicated, yet still harbor a serious interest, will find this equally absorbing, since this is simply tremendous. It has become legend that Dylan will change arrangements and switch lyrics at the drop of a hat, which was evident on his jaunt with the Band in 1974, preserved for posterity on Before the Flood. Even so, he's looser, wilder, and more alive in this careening, thrilling album, a record where "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" gallops along as if it were "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat." As that suggests, the wildest thing about this is the electric cuts, where an unwieldy band turns out an overpowering sound that sounds inevitable, as if it's the only way these songs could be played, even when you've heard these songs countless times before in other arrangements. The acoustic moments don't pack the same charge, nor do they contain many of his duets with Joan Baez, yet they're intimate, passionate versions of the songs. In fact, there's not a bad moment here, and if it doesn't replicate the Rolling Thunder tour list to the letter, it does indeed capture the essence of this legendary stint, which is why it's necessary for every serious fan.

Review (Wikipedia) : The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue is a live album by Bob Dylan released by Columbia Records in 2002. It documents the Rolling Thunder Revue, led by Bob Dylan prior to the release of the album Desire. Until the release of this album, the only official live documentation of the Rolling Thunder Revue was the lackluster Hard Rain recorded during the second leg of the revue. The 2-CD set got a warm reception from critics and fans, though some lamented that it does not document, or emulate, a typical complete show from the tour. Fans have also expressed exasperation at the omission of certain revered performances, notably the cover of Johnny Ace's "Never Let Me Go". The album reached #69 in the U.K. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart on December 14, 2002 at number 56. It spent 9 weeks on the chart. It was certified and awarded a gold record on March 12, 2003 by the RIAA.