Bob Dylan & The Band - Before The Flood (Live) (1974)

Info: http://www.bobdylan.com/

History

Before the tour even began, a live album release was already planned; a substantial number of the performances were professionally recorded. When it came time to compile the album, most of these recordings were taken from the final three shows at the Los Angeles Forum in Inglewood, California. After the tour ended, Rob Fraboni and Phil Ramone were both recruited to edit and mix the multitrack recordings so gained, drawing also on shows from New York City, Seattle, and Oakland.

The title of the album is thought to be taken from a novel (Farn Mabul) by Yiddish writer Sholem Asch; Dylan had a personal relationship with Moses Asch, son of Sholem and founder of Folkways Records. Another theory in regards to the album's title is that the live album was released before the inevitable flood of bootlegs could surface, and saturate the underground market.

A double album released on Dylan's then-label, Asylum Records, it was a source of contention for The Band, who at the time were struggling to gather enough material to fulfill their contract with Capitol Records.

Before the Flood was a modest commercial success, reaching #3 in the U.S. and #8 in the UK.

Reviews for Before the Flood were generally positive as critical consensus was strong enough to place it at #6 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1974. "At its best, this is the craziest and strongest rock and roll ever recorded," wrote critic Robert Christgau in one of the more generous reviews. "All analogous live albums fall flat. The Rolling Stones are mechanical dolls by comparison, the Faces merely sloppy, the Dead positively quiet. The MC5 achieved something similar by ignoring musicianship altogether, but while the Band sounds undisciplined, threatening to destroy their headlong momentum by throwing out one foot or elbow too many, they never abandon their enormous technical ability. In this they follow the boss. When he sounded thin on Planet Waves, so did they. Now his voice settles in at a rich bellow, running over his old songs like a truck. I agree that a few of them will never walk again, but I treasure the sacrilege; Uncle Bob purveying to the sports arena masses. We may never even know whether this is a masterpiece." Christgau graded the album an A.

Liner Notes

Bob Dylan – Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Vocals

THE BAND
Robbie Robertson – Electric Guitar, Vocals
Garth Hudson – Clavinette
Levon Helm – Drums, Vocals
Richard Manuel – Piano, Electric Piano, Drums, Organ, Vocals
Rick Danko – Bass, Vocals

Phil Ramone/Rob Fraboni – Recording Engineers
Rob Fraboni/Nat Jeffrey – Mixing Engineers
Village Recorders – Mixing
Kendun Recorders – Mastering
Barry Feinstein – Photography, Design

Recorded Live In Concert

Artist: Bob Dylan & The Band
Title: Before The Flood
Label: Asylum, Columbia
Genre: Rock
Released: 20 June, 1974
Codec: MP3
Bitrate: CBR 224 kbps
Total Time: 01:32:15
Size: 165 MB (incl. 10% Recovery record)

Tracklist:

Disc 1

01 - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
02 - Lay Lady Lay
03 - Rainy Day Women #12 And 35
04 - Knockin' On Heaven's Door
05 - It Ain't Me, Babe
06 - Ballad Of A Thin Man
07 - Up On Cripple Creek
08 - I Shall Be Released
09 - Endless Highway
10 - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
11 - Stage Fright

Disc 2

01 - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
02 - Just Like A Woman
03 - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
04 - The Shape I'm In
05 - When You Awake
06 - The Weight
07 - All Along The Watchtower
08 - Highway 61 Revisited
09 - Like A Rolling Stone
10 - Blowin' In The Wind