Review of Bob Dylan & The Band The 1974 Live Recordings

In 1974 Bob Dylan and the Band made a stadium tour through the United States. It let to a live album that was released as Before the Flood. Now 40 years later we get a 27 CD box set of this tour. What is jt like?
#bobdylan #theband #1974recordings #live #tour #audiophile #vinylcommunity #review #rock

[@OWR0406]

i think the box set is the greatest present a fan could get

[@JordanSBatty]

I love it. Very exciting shows & it seems like the energy keeps building until we get to the legendary Rolling Thunder shows. Levon & the band are a powerhouse. This whole era seems like a creative explosion.

[@frugalseverin2282]

No one says you have to listen to the entire set in 1 sitting. If you're only going to play your favorites then why buy it. I'll be listening to each disc start to finish over a period of time. I did the same with the Budokan and Rolling Thunder releases. Savor each one, it's not homework. I agree Bob must have felt a bit intimidated at playing stadiums after an 8 year absence from touring. He sounds like he has a train to catch as soon as the concert is over. I like that he's concerned enough to put so much effort into his performances. I've seen him live twice, the 1st time he had on a cap and a hood pulled over it, it was hard to recognize what song he was singing. The 2nd time a few years later he was excellent, his guitar work was impressive too.

[@jameswilson7084]

I think most fans will play it through once, over time. And then revisit their favorites from the run of shows, once in a while. I'm glad we got this set.

[@sjbang5764]

I think old Bob is a genius. I've been listening to his music since 1964. So, for me it's the first album up through John Wesely Harding, with Blood on the Tracks and Desire later. And that's about it. Obviously, he's made many other fine records, but none of them reaches the heights of his earlier stuff, especially his 1960's recordings. Each release breaks new ground. Not just new ground for him, but for the entire music industry and the way we listen to and consider music. As for this box, as to paraphrase Mr. Dlyan, I'm gonna let it pass. All that I've typed is of course my considered opinion, nothing more.

[@fullschneider]

Bought it, love it❤

[@marcbolan1818]

All Bob no Band Tracks and not a lot of differences between the shows and set lists. Don't think the band or Bob are off form on any of these discs.

[@cerclesvicieux]

I call it a corporate shafting of Bob Dylan fans, no different than how they stick it to Hendrix fans.

[@AVOLdesign]

I have always loved the 1974 tour, so this set is everything I hoped it would be: every surviving soundboard and multi-track recording from the vaults. It's interesting to hear the sound develop as the tour progresses. They captured a lot of rare songs/arrangements and intense performances (check out the Largo shows).

[@johndonabie5150]

I wish they had added the songs performed by The Band as they did on Before The Flood.

[@stormbringercoming8105]

Probably because the demand isn’t as high. Probably not enough to battle with the legal issues of dealing with the estates and other things. Maybe there will be something in the future, but probably not of this scope.

[@Claus_Christenson]

It`s a sad way to reduce the band`s part of that tour. Anyway i`m gonna stick with my copy of before the flood, that` s good enough for me…

[@stormbringercoming8105]

No matter your opinion, at about $5 per disc, the price isn’t too bad. Personally, I prefer the best performance of every song should’ve been released as an encapsulation of the tour.

[@top5records796]

What do you mean no matter my opinion? What you say is exactly what I’m saying.

[@stormbringercoming8105]

@@top5records796 I didn’t mean “you” as in you personally. I meant you as in whom ever considers purchasing it. Sorry about any confusion.

[@davepounds8924]

I’m wondering if you’ve even heard much music from the box set?? You give a history of the tour and Dylan but you don’t talk much about the music in the box! Are you basing your opinion on the live album that came out 50 years ago? Seems unfair to judge the whole box on a single album from years ago Dylan fan!!!

[@top5records796]

I am not talking about the Before the Flood album.

[@candelise]

You made a lot of interesting points about an artists' stature and their insecurities. I, myself like a lot of Dylan's stuff, but I don't know if I am a truly paid up fan. If you like 70% to a 100% of an artists' material then you are a real fan. Anything lower, you are not. I am sure plenty will disagree. Still, the price tag for the '74 tour item is pretty good on the whole, especially if you love the performances, of course.

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Big Dylan sound. Period of transition. Pay attention to the charts. Dylan was going for an Allman Bros Steve Miller Band big band bold sound. The 3 lp/2cd BD and The Band BTF is all anyone needs.

[@antalantal2366]

I had bootlegs from that tour and I resold them... Not his greatest tour. I also lost somewhere somehow before the flood. Dylan's live performances are something very peculiar

[@top5records796]

I agree! They can be completely different from what you expect

[@antalantal2366]

@@top5records796 BD is a great artist. No doubt. "Blonde on Blonde", "Bringing it all back home" and "Blood on the tracks" are favs of mine. That said, I saw him in concert in 1984, 87, 91, 93 and 98. It is the artist I saw the most on stage. Only exception being, maybe, the 84 tour (with Mick Taylor on guitar) I regret all the money I spent and the travelling I did. Talking about the 84 tour it is interesting to watch on YT the Live on Late Night with David Letterman he did before start touring... Completely different vibe from what followed.

[@ChrisYossarian]

Still very much on the fence whether i buy this one. I bought “Before The Flood” back in 74 when it was released, and i kind of liked it, but not very much. I wonder if the released performances have all the same set list, or whether there are some variations, different songs played. I have an almost complete CD collection of Dylan, including all Bootleg Series. But after buying the “Real Royal Albert Hall Concert” and realizing it’s pretty much a 1 on 1 copy of the 1st Albert Hall release, i decided against buying the huge Box set with all the recorded shows from this tour, as the set list is the same, and some recordings are really low sound quality bootlegs. Wondering if the recording quality on this one is good on all recordings, and especially how many different songs are performed here. I certainly don’t need 20 or 25 lo-fi copies of ‘All along the watch tower’

[@candelise]

​@@top5records796 Dylan? What are you supposed to expect when he plays live?

[@maggiebryan2355]

Love bob anyway he comes

[@backbay2242]

Frankly I find it boring. Before the Flood ain't a great record.

[@allenmathes8517]

Life is too short to care about this.