The three tracks from the hotel room in Glasgow are from a very interesting session with Bob and Robbie Robertson on acoustic guitars. Bob's voice is rather smooth, with a slight hint of the Nashville Skyline voice.
After a very rockin' Leopard-Skin with great guitar, you can hear the very angry crowd. Bob mumbles till they stop and he says "when I was just a baby - remember, I was a baby once" before going into a great One Too Many Mornings. These electric songs aren't in quite as good sound quality as is the acoustic set.
At the London show (which is also sourced from vinyl, with related noises), before Leopard-Skin as Bob's introducing the song he stops and responds to a heckle: "It's called Yes I See You've Got Your Brand- oh...oh God. Are you talking to me? *laughs a bit* Come up here and say that." He then introduces the song and man they really rock it out. All of these London songs are wonderful. Ballad Of A Thin Man has a spine-tingling guitar riff by Robbie near the start, then the song's done very well with Bob spitting venom all over. Like A Rolling Stone is in better sound quality than the rest. This is the one in which Bob introduces the band for the first time ever, says they're all poets, then dedicates LARS to the Taj Mahal. He's really getting into this, as he just belts it out and even starts to lose his voice.
Genuine Live 1966 : A (A-/A)
Click on the disc number to see it's review: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Info on each of these can be found below, and each disc gets its own rating. The letter grade in brackets next to the disc number before the review is the performance-quality letter grade. The sound-quality rating is in brackets next to the source of the songs on each disc. The concept of this 8 disc collection of shows from '66 was to assemble all the line recordings available at the time, so this is all in pretty good quality sourced from either soundboard, radio or TV broadcasts, or whatever other form of line recording. This set does a good job to show the great music in '66, acoustic and electric, and also to show what Bob had to push through. It was intense and this set is well worth getting.
Disc 1 ("A-"): This first disc in the collection is the acoustic set from a show halfways through his '66 tour. It's quite good throughout. This is a somewhat unmixed line recording so the sound's upfront but raw at the same time in a way: the harmonica's very upfront.
Disc 1:
04/13/66 Sydney, Australia: ("A")
1. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - start is clipped - tape fluctuation at 0:06-0:07 causing part of a line to be clipped (these are on original)
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
3. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
5. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - very small gaps at 5:34 and 5:42
6. Just Like A Woman (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
7. Mr. Tambourine Man (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
Disc 2 ("A-"): This is the electric set of the show from disc 1 (discs 1 and 2 make up the only complete show in this collection). It's in the same upfront raw quality except that the harmonica's no longer as upfront, but Bob's vocals are very high in the mix. In my opinion, Bob's vocals got better later in the '66 tour. Someone keeps yelling for "Hard Rain" and Bob responds to this heckle.
Disc 2:
04/13/66 Sydney, Australia: ("A")
1. Tuning
2. Tell Me, Momma
3. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Bob on harp)
4. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Bob on harp) - written by Eric von Schmidt
5. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
6. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat - static scratch at 3:12
7. One Too Many Mornings
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano)
9. Positively 4th Street
Disc 3 ("A"): This is a recording from part of the 04/20/66 Melbourne show. This one is mixed better than the one on discs 1 and 2 from Sydney. Fourth Time Around is well done at this show. Before Visions Of Johanna, Bob announces that it's now called Mother Revisited. He then fiddles with the guitar tuning and complains that it's a good guitar but doesn't work well because it's a folk music guitar. The three electric songs are from a different source than the acoustic songs: they're from a TV broadcast instead of a PA recording (the sound's not as good on the electric as the acoustic). Before Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and just after Bob's spoken intro, as Bob's about to start the song, some people start cheering very loudly and everyone laughs. The radio interview, which is a partial interview, is on the end of track 9; it sounds like a bunch of clips pieced together in a hodgepodge way.
Disc 3:
04/20/66 Melbourne, Australia: ("A")
1. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - most of first verse is cut out at start (this is on original)
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
3. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
5. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
6. Just Like A Woman (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
7. Tell Me, Momma - all up to end of second chorus is cut out - smooth edit at 0:58 cutting out more lines (these are on original)
8. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Bob on harp) - written by Eric von Schmidt
9. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
04/22/66 Adelaide, Australia: ("B+")
Radio interview
Disc 4 ("A-"): Unfortunately the sound isn't quite as good on this disc as it is for the previous 3 discs. It's still upfront, but it has suffered from some tape fluctuation (some of which is mentioned below) and other noises associated with the deterioration of the source. Don't get the wrong idea: it's still very easy to listen to. This is almost (assumedly) the complete acoustic set from Dublin: we're just missing She Belongs To Me, and for some reason Fourth Time Around comes after Visions (it was most likely played before). This disc has more powerful '66 performances. One Too Many Mornings has great phrasing and Like A Rolling Stone is practically yelled out.
Disc 4:
05/05/66 Dublin, Eire: ("A-")
1. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - tape fluctuation from 4:34-4:36 (this is on original) - fades-out at end
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - tape fluctuation at 0:32, 0:44, 1:30 - small gap at end (these are on original)
3. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
4. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - tape fluctuation from 1:34-1:35 - dropout at 3:00 (these are on original)
5. Just Like A Woman (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - dropout in right speaker from 2:04-2:05
6. Mr. Tambourine Man (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - dropout at 1:51 (this is on original)
7. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Bob on harp)
05/01/66 Copenhagen, Denmark: ("A-")
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano)
05/20/66 Edinburgh, Scotland: ("A")
9. One Too Many Mornings
10. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on harp) - dropouts from 6:35-6:37 and a few after - skip at 6:54
Disc 5 ("A"): I've read that these Liverpool tracks were believed to be part of a live album for '66, which I could believe because they're quite good (in terms of sound and performance). There is a noteable sound problem for the two first tracks: when Bob's vocals get loud, some weird distortion occurs some of the time. One of the more interesting tracks is track 5 because we can hear just how angry some of the people in the crowd were. Bob dedicates Leopard-Skin to all those who read Time magazine. Leopard-Skin then features some wicked guitar playing by Robbie. The crowd can then be heard again well at the end of One Too Many Mornings: Bob responds with "there's a fellow up there looking for the saviour, heh...saviour's backstage we have a picture of him," before driving into Ballad Of A Thin Man. The final track from the Liverpool show, God Save The Queen is the music played over the speaker after the end of the show.
Disc 5:
05/14/66 Liverpool, UK: ("A")
1. Tell Me, Momma - distortion (see above)
2. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Bob on harp) - fades-out at end - distortion (see above)
3. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Bob on harp) - written by Eric von Schmidt - silence at end
4. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - silence at end
5. Crowd
6. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat - silence at end
7. One Too Many Mornings - part of musical intro is cut out at start
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano) - silence at end
9. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on harp)
10. God Save The Queen
05/19/66 hotel room, Glasgow, Scotland: ("B+")
11. What Kind Of Friend Is This? (acoustic)
12. I Can't Leave Her Behind (acoustic) - sound is distant from 4:14-4:18, 5:18-5:29 (this is on original)
Does She Need Me? (On A Rainy Afternoon) (acoustic)
Disc 6 ("A"): This disc features in my opinion one of the best acoustic sets in this whole collection. Not only is the sound quality stunningly wonderful but the performance is outstanding. If you were ever to get one acoustic set from '66, it would either have to be this one or the one on disc 8. At the end of Just Like A Woman, after some tuning, Bob says "this never happens to my electric guitar", he then goes into what is one of the best Mr. Tambourine Man's I've ever heard: I can just close my eyes and feel like I'm on that beach with my hand wavin free. The harp carries you around and when he does that long inhaling note, it feels like I'm holding my breath. I skip along with him, passing through the trees and wind, and everything else. Also his vocals are just perfect: very dream-like. I can really get carried off in this version, and I love it so.
Disc 6:
05/16/66 Sheffield, UK: ("A")
1. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - 0:10 silence at end
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - static at 4:29
3. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - gap at end
5. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
6. Just Like A Woman (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
7. Mr. Tambourine Man (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - small static noise at 7:53, 9:19, 9:32
8. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
9. One Too Many Mornings - volume decreases in right speaker from 3:11-3:20
05/12/66 Birmingham, UK: ("A-")
10. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano)
Disc 7 ("A-"): The Manchester songs aren't extremely useful to have anymore because they've been officially released. On this disc, the show's not even complete and it sounds sourced from vinyl with related noises. The show's of course great (one of my favourite shows from '66), but you might as well get the complete show in great quality on the official release.
Disc 7:
05/17/66 Manchester, UK: ("A-")
1. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - static scratch at 0:45
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
3. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
5. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - cuts out and ends after the line "At midnight all the agents"
05/26/66 London, UK: ("A-")
6. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - volume is quiet from 0:29-0:56 (this is on original)
7. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - volume is quiet for first 0:13 seconds (this is on original)
8. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
9. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
10. One Too Many Mornings
11. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano) - gap at end
12. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on harp) - gap after Bob's intro and before music
Disc 8 ("A"): This is a historically important show: this was the last show in '66 and therefore the last show of a tour before the '74 tour. It's sourced from vinyl and comes with related noises. Bob's really trying hard to make this a great show and this acoustic set is one of the best from this set (disc 6 has a great acoustic set as well). Even from the start of She Belongs To Me you can tell it's going to be great (as he adds a little guitar part that's different). Before Visions Of Johanna, Bob gives this introduction saying how it's not a drug song, it's vulgar to think so, and he wouldn't even know how to write a drug song. He then plays the song, and for some reason an echo effect starts, but this actually adds in many ways to the feel of the song, which is played masterfully. Mr. Tambourine Man is also very well done with great harmonica (too bad it ends early). The final radio phone-in interview is from a session with Bob Fass and the whole thing is great to listen to. Unfortunately, what's included here is several clips from this interview pasted together; it's much better to hear the whole thing. Nonetheless, the clips here are still hillarious.
Disc 8:
05/27/66 London, UK: ("A-")
1. She Belongs To Me (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
2. Fourth Time Around (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - gap at end
3. Visions Of Johanna (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - first few words are cut out, sound becomes echo-y and moves towards the right speaker
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - gap at end
5. Desolation Row (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
6. Just Like A Woman (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
7. Mr. Tambourine Man (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp) - song ends early (before last chorus ends, cuts out final harp solo) (this is on original)
01/26/66 WBAI radio, New York City, New York: ("A-")
8. Radio phone-in interview