Customer Reviews

Live 1961-2000

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The rest of the jacket art reads, "Thirty-nine years of great concert performances." They could have done better. First, a complete track list:

Somebody Touched Me 2:42 (2000 Portsmouth, England) - Previously Unreleased / Wade In The Water 2:59 (1961 Minneapolis, MN) - Previously Unreleased / Handsome Molly 2:47 (1962 Gas Light) - Previously Unreleased / To Ramona 4:27 (1965 Sheffield, England) - "Don't Look Back" Outtake / I Don't Believe You 6:00 (1966 Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England) / Grand Coulee Dam 2:56 (1968 "A Tribute To Woody Guthrie, Part I") / Knockin' On Heaven's Door 3:49 (1974 "Before The Flood") / It Ain't Me, Babe 5:16 (1975 film "Renaldo & Clara") - Promo only EP / Shelter From The Storm 5:25 (1976 "Hard Rain") / Dead Man, Dead Man 3:56 (1981 New Orleans) - Cassette Single B-side / Slow Train 4:59 (1987 "Dylan and the Dead") / Dignity 6:35 (1994 "MTV Unplugged") Cold Irons Bound 6:49 (1997 Los Angeles, CA) - "Love Sick" import single bonus track / Born In Time 5:19 (1998 NJ) - Sorry, can't think of the name of the single. This is a bonus track off of another import single from the "Time Out Of Mind" record / Country Pie 2:48 (2000 Portsmouth, England) - Previously Unreleased / Things Have Changed 5:52 (2000 Portsmouth, England) - Previously Unreleased

(TRT 72:49)

I guess I'll complain first. If you have the "Don't Look Back" DVD, you duplicate "To Ramona." If you have the JP "Love Sick" or the Australian "Time Out Of Mind" with the extra disc, you will duplicate "Cold Irons Bound." Five more tracks are straight off regular releases. That wouldn't bother me if they had remastered the tracks on this CD. I don't own any of those records because of how bad they sound. I'll stop complaining now.

On the plus side, it's nice having "Dead Man" and the Guthrie tribute track on CD. The Portsmouth tracks are pretty darn good. Actually, "Somebody Touched Me" is outstanding, as are "Wade In The Water" and "Handsome Molly." The booklet is rather thick, with some good color pics, and all the lyrics in both JP and English.

I would have given this five stars if they had simply remastered the regular released tracks. They whole Dylan catalog is going to get overhauled. There simply is no excuse.

This disc would be a steep introduction. For someone who may not have all the live records, here's a sample of some of the performances, and their wretched mastering. In short, Dylan worshippers need to belly up to the bar, while the casual fan may actually come out ahead using this as a sampler before making further purchases. For the merely curious, I would first suggest a greatest hits package (or two).

So, there are a few great things on here: Grand Coulee Dam (Dylan at the very crest--just listen to the singing on the line "She comes OFF the Canadian Rockies, where the crystal waters glide..."), Somebody Touched Me (in Dylan's current touring, what makes the music really great is the fantastic bluegrass/country style of the backup musicians), Handsome Molly (a very pretty, though a bit innocuous, bit of very early Dylan). Wade in the Water is also, I suppose, very good, though I find his grisled old bluesman voice from the pre-Freewheelin' days pretty affected. The rest is the typical hit and miss of Dylan concerts, with emphasis on "miss": Dylan's sound is generally an intimate one, even when he's doing rock (She's Your Lover Now, Tangled Up In Blue) and, in my opinion, it does not lend itself to the necessarily ham-fisted approach of big-scale concerts. Still, there are concerts where the sheer might of his performance (and the vitality of the then-new songs) triumphed, as heard in the Bootleg 4 "Live '66" album. Also, a live performance which is essentially a studio set-up (MTV Unplugged) can yield good results. But these concerts have already been released, as have some decidedly mediocre and poor Dylan performances (Budokon, the Dead). Why, if Sony was going to do a live album, couldn't they have dug into the vaults just a little deeper? A lot of great stuff is floating around on bootlegs--bootlegs so widespread and well-known that they're catalogued in books--why not reward our shelling out so much cash with a few of these...

This CD contains 16 tracks of live concert recordings, eleven of which are labeled, "rare or previously unreleased." Three of the songs are traditional songs and one, "Grand Coulee Dam," was written by Woody Guthrie. The sound quality is exceptional and you really get a feel for the excitement in the air as Dylan takes the stage.

My favorite track is "Wade in the Water." This has an incredibly gutsy sound. Close your eyes and see if you can't imagine an aging blues singer from the South or maybe a smoky Chicago blues club. Open them to see a skinny white dude from Minnesota!

What is especially nice about this collection is the choice of songs; a little bit country, gospel, folk, blues and if all goes well in a few weeks, an academy award winner as well. What is missing are the old standbys, "Like a Rolling Stone," "Rainy day Women," "All Along the Watchtower," all of which are available on other recordings. Instead we get to hear some songs not often included in collections like this. Highly recommended.

This should get 5 stars for the music, 3 stars for Sony's track selection. As there is no shortage of rare and (officially) unreleased live Dylan covering his entire career, there was no need to include 5 tracks off of existing albums. For example: from the 1966 tour instead of "I Don't Believe You" (which many fans already have twice -- on "Live 1966" and "Biograph") Sony could have included "Just Like Tom's Thumb's Blues" (which is available only on a rare 7" and the Australian "Masterpieces" compilation). Likewise "Heaven's Door" from 1974's "Before the Flood" and "Shelter From the Storm" from 1976's "Hard Rain" could have replaced with additional tracks from the out-of print Woody Guthrie tribute album and rare promo "Renaldo & Clara" EP. From the MTV session, Sony could have substituted "Love Minus Zero" (which is currently available only on the video release) for "Dignity". And if Sony had to include something from Dylan's tour with the Dead, couldn't they have scraped up an out-take? In fact "Slow Train Comin'", "Dignity" and "Shelter" are arguably the three weakest tracks on this CD, making their presence doubly frustrating. As for the rest of it, from 1961 to 2000 the tracks are all good-to-great and, while not entirely unavailable before, not already in most fans' collections. For those 11 tracks, the CD is worthwhile.

This album, LIVE, 1961-2000: THIRTY-NINE YEARS OF GREAT CONCERT PRFORMANCES, is the same album as NEVER ENDING TOUR. Both titles originated in Japan. Musically, this is a great album, but why it should have two titles one can only guess.

An interesting and moving collection of Bob Dylan live presumably compiled with a Japanese audience in mind. The first song, a gospel hymn, "Somebody Touched Me," is worth the price of the album, as is the live version of "Things Have Changed."

What Sony Japan has published here is simply the most varied live album that any fan of Bob Dylan might be able to purchase. The selection spans his whole career, from humble folk beginnings to Elder Statesman of conscious, intelligent, creative fusion music. Surprisingly enough, two of the most exciting and freshest items, the opening gospel song 'Glory' and 'Times have changed', are among his most recent songs. An excellent compilation, featuring all the different shades and perspectives that a long-time Dylan fan might hope for when buying a newly issued live album from Bob Dylan.

.....This is a great collection of songs no doubt. And the sound quality is excellent so in that sense it is worth four stars (we should save five stars for exceptional albums). Actually, just the recordings of "Things have changed" and "Country Pie" from Portsmouth England are worth paying for, they're amazing! But if you are really considering buying this album I'd encourage you to shop around for a better price. (ebay)

This album has some great live performances by the nr 1 of the 20th century."Somebody Touched Me"(2000)the first song shows that Dylan can still perform.There are several songs that is worth while."Grand Coulee Dam" (1968} has never been released on a Dylan album,a great song, with Dylan's voice in a good shape.I have allready own the version "It Ain't Me Babe"(1975) but it still gives me THAT feeling."Dead Man"(1981) one to remember,it has everything that Dylan had in those years."Could Irons Bound"(1997) is just as good as his album "Time Out Of Mind" from that time."Born In Time"(1998)is strong and you can hear Dylan is really putting his skills in this one.All the songs i reviewed have never been released.That's why every Dylan fan should have this Live Album.It will put a smile on your face !

An exhorbitantly priced single disc from Sony Japan that is a poor representation of Bob Dylan's work on the concert stage.

Clearly, whoever slapped this together just grabbed whatever was handy because there is no rhyme or reason to this set. A handful of rarities, some good (the jubilant "Somebody Touched Me") but others unremarkable (an okay "Deadman, Deadman"), are sandwiched between several performances previously released on "Hard Rain" (an energetic "Shelter From the Storm"), "Dylan and the Dead" (an incoherent "Slow Train") and "Unplugged" (the forgettable "Dignity"). None of these performances come close to qualifying as Dylan's best, but here they are, singled out as if they represent the highlights in nearly four decades worth of performances. And, as an import, it costs considerably more than any of the excellent multi-disc sets in "The Bootleg Series."

If you absolutely insist on owning a live version of "Country Pie," or are a die-hard who'll buy anything with Dylan's name on it, this disc is for you. All others should beware.

Brian W. Fairbanks