This was the first Dylan live album I owned.  Listening to it again, I'm reminded how grim his live catalog was in the days before the Bootleg Series.  Dylan himself is in great form here, and certainly is an entertaining vocalist.  His selection of classic songs is a little unimaginative - especially compared to the huge reach of his Endless Tour setlists - but satisfying.  These songs, overexposed as they are, are hard to get tired of.

Dylan's solo acoustic bit is unquestionably the high point - he's in top form vocally and accompanies himself with rockier-than-usual rhythm guitar, which makes for near-definitive live versions of Don't Think Twice and It's Alright Ma.

But The Band - *his* band, the band he rode with to rock'n'roll glory on the 1966 tour - disappoint.  They're in soft-rock AOR form here, loose and ragged but with no sharp edges.  Guitar sound is uniformly bland and unappealing, and their vocals are surprisingly sloppy.  I can't say I'm a big fan of their material in general, but I enjoy the studio recordings well enough.  Live, though, they sound like the Canadian answer to Chicago, and that we don't need.

This approach extends to their songs with Dylan, which occasionally succeed brilliantly (Most Likely You Go Your Way, Highway 61 Revisited) but occasionally misfire (Like a Rolling Stone, the synth on Thin Man).  Mostly they're somewhere in the middle - but compare these performances to the performances on Live '66 or Live '75 and there's simply no contest.

The poor mixes and unsatisfying miking bear responsibility as well.  The bootleg series recordings are immediate and engorged with sound, and have a raw power that this distant and muddy sounding record just doesn't.
This was the first Dylan live album I owned. Listening to it again, I'm reminded how grim his live catalog was in the days before the Bootleg Series. Dylan himself is in great form here, and certainly is an entertaining vocalist. His selection of classic songs is a little unimaginative - especially compared to the huge reach of his Endless Tour setlists - but satisfying. These songs, overexposed as they are, are hard to get tired of. Dylan's solo acoustic bit is unquestionably the high point - he's in top form vocally and accompanies himself with rockier-than-usual rhythm guitar, which makes for near-definitive live versions of Don't Think Twice and It's Alright Ma. But The Band - *his* band, the band he rode with to rock'n'roll glory on the 1966 tour - disappoint. They're in soft-rock AOR form here, loose and ragged but with no sharp edges. Guitar sound is uniformly bland and unappealing, and their vocals are surprisingly sloppy. I can't say I'm a big fan of their material in general, but I enjoy the studio recordings well enough. Live, though, they sound like the Canadian answer to Chicago, and that we don't need. This approach extends to their songs with Dylan, which occasionally succeed brilliantly (Most Likely You Go Your Way, Highway 61 Revisited) but occasionally misfire (Like a Rolling Stone, the synth on Thin Man). Mostly they're somewhere in the middle - but compare these performances to the performances on Live '66 or Live '75 and there's simply no contest. The poor mixes and unsatisfying miking bear responsibility as well. The bootleg series recordings are immediate and engorged with sound, and have a raw power that this distant and muddy sounding record just doesn't.