Before the Flood [Original recording remastered]

Bob Dylan, The Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 31, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B001SF8G1G
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,495 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #32 in Music > Rock > Country Rock
  • #78 in Music > Rock > Folk Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Dylan has issued a large number of live albums in his day, but 1974's Before the Flood deserves special mention because of the presence of the Band behind him. Dylan had recently brought the Band into the studio to record the chart-topping (yet still somehow underappreciated) Planet Waves, which was the first (and, as it turned out, only) studio record he made after leaving Columbia for Asylum. He then asked them along on the subsequent tour, which at the time became the most successful rock tour in history. The fruits of that partnership are contained on this two-CD set, which actually ignores Planet Waves completely in favor of older classics. Although the album includes several strong collaborations, the highlights ironically come during Dylan's solo-acoustic portion, which yields powerful and gritty versions of "Don't Think Twice" and "It's Alright Ma," and during the Band's own exhilarating numbers with Dylan sitting out. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

For his 1974 tour, Dylan reunited with The Band-the only group that could possibly keep up with his spontaneous new spins on his classics. This double-album document of that immensely successful tour features Highway 61 Revisited; Like a Rolling Stone; Ballad of a Thin Man; Lay Lady Lay; All Along the Watchtower , and more including Band tunes like The Weight and The Shape I'm In !

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2009 Remaster is a brilliant upgrade., April 21, 2009

By 

Scott McWade "dubs" (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Before the Flood (Audio CD)

I've been vexed by this release ever since some old friends of mine used to rave about it. I just couldn't warm up to it. I thought the Dylan songs were just not like the studio ones I was familar with and the sonic limitations (of the orignal CD release) definitely did not help its cause. Now I can say it was soley the sonics that kept this on the shelf for so long. The improved sound is just brilliant, the high end rides above a solid bottom whereas this used to be a muddy mess. I can finally recommend this. Many diehards will lament the lack of any bonus material whatsoever. This is how the Dylan machine operates, he uses his bootleg series toward that end and he keeps the legacy material tried and true. I applaud that and I think brevity is sometimes its own reward.

64 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dylan is great, Band is great, but Dylan w/Band, less so, December 30, 1999

By 

John Stodder "a.k.a. Juan La Princi" (livin' just enough) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before The Flood [Live With The Band, 1974] (Audio CD)

This one is a tough call. Some of the best live versions of Dylan's folk songs like Don't Think Twice, It's Allright, appear on this album. Also some of the best versions of Band chestnuts like Stage Fright and the Night they Drove Old Dixie Down. It is also the only album where you can hear them do Endless Highway.

BUT: When Dylan and the Band play together, as they do on about 8 cuts, the results are mixed. Dylan seems to feel the need to shout, rather than sing, over their support. The worst example is Lay Lady Lay, which loses all its delicacy here. Other collaborations come out somewhat better, but you get the feeling that Dylan is nervous singing in front of the arena crowds that had begun to characterize rock touring by 1974. This was Dylan's first real tour since the 60s, and maybe all the fistpumping populism freaked him out. Who knows?

If you love Dylan or the Band, you'll want this. But if you don't have any other Dylan, don't start here.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Energetic and Passionate, June 7, 2002

By 

B. Rosenthal "Frank-o-phile" (Westerville, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before The Flood [Live With The Band, 1974] (Audio CD)

Dylan's music is closest thing to American folk art produced in the 20th century. Always evolving, his songs remain works in progress even after 40 years of recording and touring. His most recent tour, with moving remakes of his classics and brilliant new songs from Love and Theft, proves Dylan is never content to rest on his laurels.
Before the Flood is nothing short of a brilliant live album, featuring an energized and passionate Dylan, putting into his songs a vitality that a studio cannot hold. Versions of "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine," "Rolling Stone," and especially "Watchtower" are among the best ever performed, reaching a breathless level of intensity. The acoustic numbers are uptempo, clearly stated and articulate. The Band is tight and focused, economic in their playing, sometimes following Bob, sometimes challenging him to keep the pace, but always with brilliant interplay. Their solo numbers are as intense as they have ever recorded, on a par with Rock of Ages. True Dylanphiles rank this record with the best of the many bootlegs which capture his greatest performances. Those with only a casual familiarity with Dylan can listen to this album and learn why the leading figures in rock and roll history count Dylan as a major influence.