Oh my. A big box set of all of the available recordings of Bob Dylan’s 1966 live performances. (Amazon.com, Amazon UK) Apparently, this is a combination of recordings made by Dylan’s sandman Richard Anderson on a Nagra tape recorder, and a bunch of audience recordings, whose quality is not stellar.
36 CDs of live Dylan from 1966; a treasure trove. And at an affordable price: it’s listed on Amazon UK at about £105; it’s around $150 on Amazon.com. It’s due out on November 11.
What I find interesting is that this is the first time I’ve seen a pop, rock, or jazz box set priced like classical box sets. It’s not uncommon to have sets like this, or even larger, at low prices. Just one example: the recent Emerson String Quartet set, which contains 52 CDs, and costs around $100. With classical music, these are “compilations,” in the sense that they are reissues of records that have already earned enough money. The Dylan set is weird, though in that these are new releases. Since many of these are available as bootlegs, hardcore Dylan fans probably own them already, so pricing them low means they’ll buy the sets. And at this price, perhaps even casual Dylan fans will buy the set as well.
Here’s what the Amazon.com page says about the set:
A monumental 36-disc box set featuring every known recording from the mythic and controversial 1966 tour of the US, UK, Europe and Australia.
With the exception of the Manchester concert (May 17, 1966) released as Bob Dylan Live 1966 The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 in 1998, a pair of songs appearing on the 1985 Biograph compilation and a smattering of others, the overwhelming majority of tracks and performances on Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings are previously unreleased in any format–official or bootlegged–and are being made available now for the very first time.
All the songs on The 1966 Live Recordings were written by Bob Dylan (vocal, guitar, piano, harmonica) with the sole exception of “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down,” a traditional song arranged by Bob Dylan for concert performance. Dylan is accompanied on these recordings by Robbie Robertson (guitar), Rick Danko (bass, backing vocals), Richard Manuel (piano), Garth Hudson (organ) and Mickey Jones (drums). (Sandy Konikoff plays drums on the White Plains and Pittsburgh shows only.)
Meticulously researched, curated and restored for this extraordinary collection, Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings is drawn from three main audio sources: soundboards, CBS Records mobile recordings, and audience tapes.
It’s worth noting that this set is partially a copyright release: officially releasing these tracks before 50 years has passed allows Sony to retain copyright in the EU.
In any case, if you’re a Dylan fan, you’re going to want this set. (Amazon.com, Amazon UK)
Here’s a list of what’s on each CD:
CD 1 – Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
CD 2 – Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
CD 3 – Melbourne, April 20, 1966 (Soundboard / unknown broadcast)
CD 4 – Copenhagen, May 1, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 5 – Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 6 – Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 7 – Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 8 – Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 9 – Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard / audience)
CD 10 – Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 11 – Cardiff, May 11, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 12 – Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 13 – Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 14 – Liverpool, May 14, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 15 – Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 16 – Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 17 – Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
CD 18 – Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 19 – Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
CD 20 – Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording except Soundcheck/ Soundboard)
CD 21 – Glasgow, May 19, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 22 – Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 23 – Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 24 – Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 25 – Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 26 – Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 27 – Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
CD 28 – London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
CD 29 – London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
CD 30 – London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
CD 31 – London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recordings)
CD 32 – White Plains, NY, February 5, 1966 (Audience tape)
CD 33 – Pittsburgh, PA, February 6, 1966 (Audience tape)
CD 34 – Hempstead, NY, February 26, 1966 (Audience tape)
CD 35 – Melbourne, April 19, 1966 (Audience tape)
CD 36 – Stockholm, April 29, 1966 (Audience tape)
Worth it just for “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” and “Tell Me, Momma.”
(I kid because I love! But the set lists across these months of 1966 shows are pretty repetitious….)
Worth it just for “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” “Tell Me, Momma,” and “Tell Me, Momma.”
(I kid because I love! But the set lists across these months of 1966 shows are pretty repetitious….)