LIVE 1966... includes a 56-page booklet filled with rare photographs.
Personnel: Bob Dylan (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, piano); Robbie Roberston (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano); Garth Hudson (organ); Rick Danko (bass, background vocals); Mickey Jones (drums).
Recorded live at the Manchester Free Hall, Manchester, England on May 17, 1966.
Includes liner notes by Tony Glover.
Personnel: Bob Dylan (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano); Garth Hudson (organ); Mickey Jones (drums); Rick Danko (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Michael Brauer; Steven Berkowitz.
Liner Note Author: Tony Glover.
Recording information: Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (05/17/1966).
Editor: Mark Wilder.
Photographers: Don Hunstein; Hank Parker; Art Kane; Jerry Schatzberg; David Gahr; Sandy Speiser; Barry Feinstein; Larry Keenan; Jan Persson; Paul Kelly.
A bootleg so legendary its incorrect origin graces the title of the official release, the Manchester-recorded "ROYAL ALBERT HALL" CONCERT documents one of rock and roll's watershed moments. The folk prophet's embrace of electricity in the face of his audience's dissatisfaction with such a decision is among the finest rock myths. This performance, recorded in the last days of Dylan's epochal 1965-66 world tour, proves the music he was creating at the time every bit as extraordinary and complex as the greatest art of the 20th century; Picasso, Joyce, and Kurosawa spring to mind much faster than any popular musicians.
The show's first half consists of folkie-friendly acoustic tunes--though one wonders what stringent folkies made of the hallucinatory wordplay of "Desolation Row." When the Hawks join him onstage, the calm atmosphere becomes a deafening din, as coffeehouse introspection dresses up in garage amps turned to eleven, treating the stale traditionalists to a post-modern hootenanny. Robbie Robertson and Dylan trade electric guitar catcalls, like gunslingers grazing each other with bullets just for fun. Garth Hudson's organ rolls out a juke-joint groove. And the bard delivers a batch of songs bursting with ideas of self-identity and social existence that are, even today, standard-bearers.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.52) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (10/29/98, p.74) - 4.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...a vicious, exhilarating reminder that rock & roll...once had the power...to be a weapon of argument and vengeance....it often feels like Dylan and the Hawks are playing into a fierce wind, fighting the tide of attitude with venomous glee..."
Spin (1/99, pp.120-121) - 7 (out of 10) - "...His naysayers were probably right to reject his conviction as posturing, although the mod suit and pointed boots he wore that night were certainly no more `inauthentic' than his old hobo hat and coat....The audience tension admittedly pushes Dylan and company into an intense performance..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/16/98, pp.84-85) - "...From the snarl of Robbie Robertson's guitar to the carnival-carousel tone of Garth Hudson's organ to the prodding sneer of Dylan's voice, it's a joyful mess....that sense of exploration electrifies the music in multiple ways..." - Rating: A
