The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert

In my opinion, Bob Dylan is overrated. Maybe his lyrics are great. If I want lyrics, I read real writers—not songwriters—or philosophers. I don't like his settings or his voice. 1/5

Harmonica goes brrrr

A kind of weird album to listen to. Feel like it has more value as a snapshot of an important moment in music history rather than something to actually listen to on its own merit. There are plenty of classic songs on the setlist here, but some of them sound a fair bit off from their respective studio versions. Like a Rolling Stone, in particular, sounds like someone doing a wacky Dylan impression rather than the man himself. That's what happens with live albums though, and it's why I generally don't care for them.

Favourite tracks: It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Mr. Tambourine Man, Baby Let Me Follow You Down

Every day I approach every album with an open mind cause there have been many artists so far where I haven’t liked one album but loved another. That being said when this popped up all I could say was bollocks, I hate Bob Dylan. I hated my previous two albums of his. I HATED disc one of this album. Disc 2 on the other hand was quite good surprisingly. I’m not gonna rush to listen to it again or anything but it was enjoyable enough.

Top Track - Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

It should be noted that this live bootleg was recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall during Bob Dylan's 1966 world tour, but was misattributed to the Royal Albert Hall for the longest time, hence the apostrophes around the venue name. The actual Royal Albert Hall concert has since been made available, but this record was chosen instead for the 1001 Albums series. With that tidbit out of the way...

I assume this bootleg is here to provide historical context for a phenomenon that has received more attention from the general public. With the release of the biopic film A Complete Unknown, more light has been shed on the time when Bob Dylan started recording and performing with electric instruments. As someone who was born decades after this period, it's hard to imagine a time when fans of folk music revolted against the very notion of an artist like Dylan flirting with rock. In that regard, this archived recording of his Manchester Free Trade Hall performance is probably the closest I could get to hearing an audience heckle and jeer at Dylan, accompanied by a full rock band in the second half.

I say second half, as the first half of this set saw Dylan play alone for a series of acoustic-only songs, followed by the "electric" set with backing band the Hawks, who would later be known as The Band. From a performative standpoint, Dylan and company played the songs off the electric trilogy pretty well, with a certain earnestness in the delivery. While I prefer the more rocking second half as they go off on the riffs amidst the raucous crowd, I accept that Dylan structured the set to likely ease his audience in, even if that ended up being a fruitless effort.

Also, if it is true that this album was included in the 1001 Albums series for historical context, then part of that context is missing here. A portion of the live performance has been removed, where an audience member calls Dylan "Judas", and his response was to tell the band to "play it fuckin' loud". The fact that this exchange has been edited out of the official release of this bootleg is a pretty bad look, as it was the defining moment of the whole controversy. A Complete Unknown references this moment, albeit recontextualized for a different performance, but at least they acknowledged it.

Regardless, this is still a solid performance from a rather poignant time for Dylan and his band, one that would prove to be a turning point for folk and rock music going forward.

An amazingly gifted songwriter (obvious statement), but the first half of this record lays bare the limited vocals and the inflection Bob puts on the end of each line gets grating by the fourth or fifth song. Unlike the audiences of the time, I was quite relieved when he had the backing of a full band in the second half but unfortunately I thought the actual songs selection was weaker than the first. Never satisfied, eh? Like most Bob Dylan, I can find enjoyment in a few songs at a time, but not a live double-album. 2.5

A genius at work - holding court in an audience that both reveres and hates him in equal measure. This is a masterpiece!!

Yes, I was grumpy and frustrated when I heard this, but DAMN Bob Dylan is so annoying live. It felt endless, and I heard it through two days!

I’ve seen Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall myself—though it was a good 40+ years after this legendary gig. I’m still not entirely sure why so many live albums make this list, but Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert) is certainly deserving of its place.

Dylan’s voice is in excellent form throughout. The stripped-back, acoustic performances are stunning, and the harmonica adds a raw emotional edge. You really go on a lyrical journey with these songs—it’s intimate, powerful, and beautifully captured.

Favourite track: She Belongs to Me is absolutely beautiful.
Least favourite track: Every song earns its place here.
Album artwork: A fairly standard Dylan cover, but it suits the mood.

Might be the best bootleg of his...

Most of you don't know the value of waking up and getting ready in the morning to a Bob Dylan album and it shows

That being said there isn't too much value in it

I like Dylan and the era, but this recording just doesn't grab me. Plodding pace and poor quality compared to other live albums on this list.

I thought Bob Dylan could not sound worse until I heard him sing for a live performance. Holy shit, few people sound worse singing live. I should not have to hear his mouth sounds right in my ear as he practically swallows the mic. An absolutely unbearable hour and a half.

Music historians love to talk about three big events that melted people’s minds: Elvis Presley gyrating his hips on The Milton Berle Show in 1956, The Beatles playing The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and Bob Dylan plugging in an electric guitar in 1965. Oh, and Woodstock in 1969, I guess, but there seems to be considerably less hand-wringing about that.
Like his shows from this time, this record is split into two sections: Disc 1: classic Bob sitting on a chair playing guitar and harmonica, and Disc 2: Electric Bobaloo. I think it’s important to note that electric instruments didn’t just change the musical delivery, they completely changed the sound. Disc 2 is very much a blues/folk rock record, and it’s understandable that people who like Chair Bob would resist Electric Bob. My hot take is that Electric Bob is the better Bob; all that extra noise really helps mask his objectively-not-great singing voice and adds some much needed flair. Again, plenty of people didn’t want that, and they showed up to the concerts to boo and cry about it.
I’ve never really been a Dylan fan (of any era), and I can’t listen to Bob without hearing Dana Carvey’s SNL impression. But I actually enjoyed Electric Bobaloo, and the back-end of Disc 1 (from “Desolation Row” on).

I like Dylan and I can point to other reviews to support that, but I’m not sure why we need a live album of his on the list. I’ve gotten the appeal of other live albums here (Sam Cooke, Allman Bros, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis — all energetic performers who brought a little something extra live). Not the case here.

And if we’re going to hear this concert, we really deserve to hear the part where the dude calls Dylan “Judas.” That’s the whole point of this concert!

https://youtu.be/RViHf4fABxI?si=cZS7a9SGHUoG8q75

3.5 enjoyable, but if you listen to Dylan early in the morning you would swear he placed the bagpipes.

Kinda feeling this the same as The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Went into it not expecting to be that into it, but coming out of it liking it quite a bit.

That said, with how much he already has on the list, do we really need a live album? I'd probably cut this one and probably another of his albums off the list to make room for underrepresented artists/genres.

I've listened to the whole thing twice - the unofficial one the second time so I could hear the grouchy crowd in the second half. I think I love it a lot!

It was a bit long, but fantastic all the way through. I think I enjoyed the first half with just Dylan a bit more, but both disc's were great.

Given Dylan's other albums on the 1001 list, we didn't really need this Live album... sure, the contrast (an heckling) between side one and two is an interesting Wikipedia footnote, but not enough to spend 90 minutes on.

One thing that I've learnt about myself during this 1001 albums journey... how much I dislike the harmonica!