The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert" [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 1998
Nineteen ninety-eight: The same year he dances with Soy Bomb at the Grammys, his record label finally issues Bob Dylan's ultimate live document. A classic case of not giving the audience what they want but what they need, Mr. Dylan's oft-bootlegged 1966 gig begins with lovely and supple folk that foreshadows folk music's turn from protest song to introspection. The album's true highlight is the legendarily ill received and rocked-out electric set, with Dylan backed by members of the Band. There are too many perfect, on-fire guitar solos by Robbie Robertson to count, and Dylan himself responds to the audience's angry bewilderment with equal parts menace, grace, and brilliance. --Mike McGonigal

Amazon.com essential recording
The greatest live recording in rock & roll history was--officially, at least--buried in the vaults of Columbia Records for more than a quarter of a century. But no more: Live 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert has surfaced on two discs mixed and mastered from three-track source tapes that put the myriad pirated recordings to shame. More important, Live 1966 documents a momentous artistic showdown between a willful, inflamed, and utterly fearless performer and his headstrong core following.... read more

The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert" [Live]

Tracks:

She Belongs To Me
Fourth Time Around
Visions Of Johanna
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Desolation Row
Just Like A Woman
Mr. Tambourine Man

Tracks:

Tell Me, Momma
I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
Baby, Let Me Follow You Down
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
One Too Many Mornings
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Like A Rolling Stone

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Nineteen ninety-eight: The same year he dances with Soy Bomb at the Grammys, his record label finally issues Bob Dylan's ultimate live document. A classic case of not giving the audience what they want but what they need, Mr. Dylan's oft-bootlegged 1966 gig begins with lovely and supple folk that foreshadows folk music's turn from protest song to introspection. The album's true highlight is the legendarily ill received and rocked-out electric set, with Dylan backed by members of the Band. There are too many perfect, on-fire guitar solos by Robbie Robertson to count, and Dylan himself responds to the audience's angry bewilderment with equal parts menace, grace, and brilliance. --Mike McGonigal

Amazon.com essential recording

The greatest live recording in rock & roll history was--officially, at least--buried in the vaults of Columbia Records for more than a quarter of a century. But no more: Live 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert has surfaced on two discs mixed and mastered from three-track source tapes that put the myriad pirated recordings to shame. More important, Live 1966 documents a momentous artistic showdown between a willful, inflamed, and utterly fearless performer and his headstrong core following. The Dylan of the mid '60s had made the leap from socially conscious voice of his generation to surrealistic electric poet, a transformation that was met with contempt by a vocal element of his audience. The most telling moment of the recording centers on the standoff: A folk zealot in the audience shouts, "Judas!" earning cheers from the contentious crowd. Dylan responds by snarling, "I don't believe you. You're a liar," then turns to his group, the Hawks (soon to become the Band), and, as the intro to "Like a Rolling Stone" takes shape, commands, "Play loud!" A crucial moment and, time has demonstrated, the correct call. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Bob Dylan: 1966 Royal Albert Hall.......2007-07-06

I resisted buying this CD for a long time, because I have a bad habit of assuming that overhype = bad. In reality, of course, overhype usually indicates that something is good, and worthy of hype, just not so MUCH hype. I finally bought it, mainly because it was one of the last real holes in my Dylan collection. I never, ever expected it to be a 5-star CD.

But it is. The whole audience/Dylan interaction is every bit as fascinating as its legendary status suggests. In fact, it's all so perfect, it's hard to believe it wasn't planned: the "Judas" cat-call comes right before the very last song; and what is the last song? Only the all-time greatest Dylan classic, "Like a Rolling Stone." Dylan's response, too, is great. It's not witty at all--in fact, it reveals that the "Judas" accusation really caught him off guard. He is silent for about 10 seconds, just keeps on fingerpicking the intro to the song, and then he leans into the microphone and says in an even tone, "I don't believe you." It seems like he had to spend about 10 seconds to even convince HIMSELF that the Judas charge wasn't true! Then he delivers his verdict very calmly. But after thinking about it for another five seconds or so, he becomes more self-assured, and yells, "You're a LIAR!" People think of this concert as a defining moment for the Cult of Dylan, but when you listen to it, it seems like it was really a defining moment for Dylan himself. He may have decided, on that very stage, that he would never turn back from his rock experiment. He was plugged in for good.

So, if you are buying this set for the novelty factor, you'll get you're money's worth. However, the first disc--the acoustic set--is a real treasure, probably even the better of the two discs. I don't own much live Dylan, so I can't compare to other concerts, but in comparison to the studio versions this stuff is really great. I mean, solo acoustic versions of Blonde on Blonde songs sounds awesome, but it is even awesomer than you think. "Just LIke a Woman" and "Visions of Johanna," in particular, are way better here than on the original albums they came from.

All in all, despite my original expectations, this is a 5-star CD. Get it soon.

Must have.......2007-06-09

This is a must have for anyone interested in rock and roll hisotry. Someone earlier said it's not worth listening to multipule times, but I disagree. This is one of my most played CDs ever, every track being a great version of the original. "Like a Rolling Stone" might be even better live, with so much energy from Dylan and the band. Any Dylan fan will love this!

Monumental.......2007-05-04

A Dylan fan is occasionally asked what album they would recommend to someone who is interested but not yet sold on Dylan. With 40+ albums representing a wide range of work it is almost impossible to limit a choice to one album.

But this -- more so than any studio album may be the place to start. You get some of the highlights of his 60's legendary trilogy (HWY61, Brining It All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde). This is Dylan at his absolute peak. He's done other phenomenal work -- but nowhere else is this so clearly heard as in the two sets that make up this concert.

This is arguably one of the greatest single act concerts in the history of rock and roll. It is also an important milestone in the history of one of rock's and culture's more important contributors in the last half a century.

Bob Dylan at his best........2007-03-17

Not only is this a great live album, but it's also a slice of Rock and Roll history.

The first disc is Dylan, acoustic guitar, and harmonica. It's classic folk era Dylan.

The second disc is Dylan backed by the Hawks (later known as the Band).

There was a major backlash by folk music fans, because they didn't want to hear Dylan with electric gutars and drums.

SOme of the songs are booed and one fans even calls Dylan "Judas", which Dylan responds to by finishing the concert by having the Hawks play "Like a Rolling Stone" "f*cking loud".

big dylan fan.......2007-03-14

I got this after loving "Visions of Johanna" live acoustic from "Biography." I like having acoustic version of some classics. "Just like a Woman" and "Tambourine" are my favorites. ("Visions" is better on "Biography") The long drawn out harmonica is interesting. On the second cd, the electric cuts, I think people are looking at this with I
love Dylan rose colored glasses. All it is is an important historical document. By any stretch it is not great music and will not bare repeated listening. I agreed with the crowd even though my favorite Dyan albums are Blond on Blond and Modern Times. It's awful, even the song selection is lame. The few times Dylan says anything he sounds like a stoned nerd. (Also, by the way, from some of the included pictures, I now know what they are talking about when they say that in the Dylan biographical movie a woman is going to play him for a few years of his history.) So anyway, it is impossible to give Dylan less than four stars, but I would buy this only if the first cd might hold your interest.

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