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

First three tracks just sound like terrible versions of Bob Dylan songs. People make fun of his voice which I disagree with, but here outside of the studio its really not good. Just Like a Woman is the first fully enjoyable song. The electric stuff is easily the best sounding. Still Dylan and still decent just a pretty wide mix of good and bad music. Really love the drumming on Like a Rolling Stone at least

This was mostly mating cats in a bagpipe recycling facility.

The only bit of enjoyment I got from this was The Band. Still though, I didn't even finish the second disc.

⭐⭐

I feel like the entirety of Bob Dylan fandom is a psy-op. I hear the consensus that he's an incredible writer and lyricist but I don't feel that many of these songs stand out. I don't enjoy his voice or music. I can't understand how folks can laud him so lavishly when someone like, say, a Paul Simon exists contemporarily? Heck, I'm sure Simon like Dylan. I just can't glom onto the thing that makes him enjoyable.

Hell has possibly frozen over: I’m at a 4.5 that I’m going to bump up to a 5.

Somehow, someway, Bob Dylan has done it. Granted, the last time my group got an album from him was 428 albums ago, so I’ve heard a lot of fucking music since then that’s perhaps reshaped my approach to listening to someone like Bob Dylan. My brain feels way more attuned to understanding the more flowery poetic language from the folk music of the 60s, thanks to listening to way more albums from the era. Hell, even when we got those albums, I gave them a 3.5 & a 4, so it’s not like I hated the guy.

Coming back to some of these songs a year later, a lot of them have clicked more nicely in terms of my ability to interpret them, and that added skill adds a bit of depth to both sides of this performance. As far as the first side goes, I think the intimacy of Bob Dylan, his harmonica, and his guitar, to a fully silent crowd, hung up on his every word, all there to witness his poetry… there’s something really, really cool about that. It’s very easy to picture in the mind too, so closing the eyes to imagine being there adds a lot to the atmosphere. Is it sort of goofy? Yeah, of course – Bob Dylan’s vocals in a fully acoustic setting are more exposed, more raw, and more prone to the shaky flaws that other people were motivated to parody in the many many years since. For some reason, though, I found that open-air atmosphere to feel vulnerable & endearing. Combine that with a good tracklist, and I really found myself enjoying the first half.

Of course, for my tastes, the electric half is where this album shines; nowadays, there’s something silly about the idea of “tainting” folk music by giving it a rock & roll lean, but I guess it was something to be heckled and jeered for back then. Bob’s backing band does a great job throughout the whole set, and by today’s standards, they’re not doing anything THAT crazy. Hell, even for 1966, this is just one year before psychedelic rock came into the mainstream at a higher level. In terms of albums we’ve gotten on the list, there’s albums from The Byrds, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, the Velvet Underground, & of course, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, all released in 1967. Bob Dylan’s just opening the door at this point, really. As a whole, it’s not like he’s sacrificing that much – a lot of the storytelling on the electric side of the album is still there & present, and his vocals honestly sound pretty good with the heavier tones of the band covering up the shaky flaws in the first half.

I really want to point at the version of “Like a Rolling Stone” on here in particular – the Judas intro is one thing, but what struck me the most about it is how much the slightly slower tempo affects the vibe of the track in a really, really cool way. It creates just a bit of a psychedelic vibe, especially in the way Dylan slows down that famous “how does it FEEL” line. It’s a small change, but it does so much to let Bob’s vocals hang in the air just a bit longer. Combine that with the way the band is totally in sync with each other, and with Bob & his harmonica, it feels specifically focused & motivated just to shut this one heckler up and make him realize that this is the direction music’s gonna go in. There’s something really special about that specific recording, and it’s the cherry on top of a pretty good album. It’s honestly what gives this the bump up from a 4.5 to a 5 for me.

So, yeah, it’s a 5 for me. Does that mean Bob Dylan has finally clicked for me? I dunno. There’s a chance the rest of these studio recorded albums that we’re bound to get don’t appeal to my sensibilities like this one did, and as a whole, I think I’m still just a bit shaky on the guy. Granted, that shakiness was an average of 3.75 (and I suppose now a 4.16), so perhaps I’m overstating my case. At the very least, I think I’ll have a much healthier appreciation for the rest of the Bob Dylan albums we get from here on out, and if nothing else, this album lived up to the “important document in the development of popular music” line on its Wikipedia page. Good on you, Bob. Play it fucking loud, indeed.

I liked the second half more than the first half, when he plugged in and started to rock a little more. Crazy that this wasn't looked upon fondly at the time.

I didn't find the recording to be very good, which was distracting. Some good songs but really hard to listen to this. My least favorite Dylan album we listened to, not because of the content, but just because I didn't like the recording at all.

It’s certainly mostly listenable

Great songs. Pretty shitty recording.

I’m running out of patience with the acoustic stuff. The electric disc, on the other hand, I enjoyed more than I expected and am beginning to understand from it why Dylan was so influential.

good live album. i like bob dylan as much as the next folk enthusiast, but i don’t want to listen to him for 90 minutes straight

Oh my god. His voice is just terrible. From the first few seconds of the album all the way through minute 90(!!!!!). His nasality and generally lazy vocal delivery quash any chance his lyrical ability had at shining through. Also, the harmonica is at a level beyond grating, and the entire first half of the album is painfully driveling accoustic folk. The second half of the album finally shows some energy, but no amount of average rock can save the travesty that is the first half of this record. Overall, this album is pure torture; a test of endurance that only the most masochistic person would put themselves through.

Disc 1 - I am not a massive fan of his voice and the songs can be a bit samey, he also really needs to use that harmonica less.

Disc 2 - Much better and a lot more energetic, however the harmonica is still there in some songs.

Overall I prefer disc 2 over disc 1.

Veers a bit too much in to quite annoying noise too often for me.

Excellent stuff....huge Dylan buff.

Ok, I know he's an amazing composer and all, but I really don't think he deserves that many spots on this list. He already has many albums on it, the last thing this list needed was a live record from him as well. Also, almost all the covers of his songs are better than the originals.

I love the dichotomy of this album, it feels like two different people are performing when it's just Dylan scaring off some close-minded folk freaks with some good ol' rock 'n' roll. And it's some DAMN good rock 'n' roll at that. I love the loud, chaotic instrumentals mixed with the barely audible heckling to make for perhaps one of the rawest musical experiences up to that point in history. I do think the quiet tracks on the first part are good too, I just feel like Dylan likes to drag a tad more there when it comes to length vs. content, but damn if there isn't some good tracks to drive on a lonely road to. A great live album, I was fearing this one due to its length and infamy, but this is one of my favorites from him.

I sometimes forget that Dylan can be a bit of an acquired taste for some. Surprised to see how low the average score is. I suppose faced with a 90 minute bootleg live album it might be hard to acquire the taste but I have faith that some of the low scorers would get there given mote time.

One weird thing though. I see some reviewers saying they didn't hear any heckling. I suspect they didn't get to the second disc. Or maybe they listened to the Real Albert Hall boot somehow.

Anyway, my considered opinion is that Dylan were not a bastard.

Bad album.

Spent all day trying to listen to this with my 3 yr old in the house. Turns out she hates the sound of the harmonica so this album didn’t stay on for long… thankfully she’s not rating this or it would get 1 star.

Now she’s in bed in getting to enjoy this album, I am a fan of Dylan but not a massive fan of live albums. But I did enjoy this, feels like it’s an important album being both a bootleg and showing the impact of Dylan moving from folk to rock music live and the crowd’s reaction.

Both these points make this an album you should listen to before you die, but it’s not as enjoyable to listen to as Dylan’s best studio albums, so will always be below them in my ranking. But still an album I’d have to recommend, for the points mentioned above.

Torture. Over an hour! My ears were bleeding by song two! This dude sounds like a cat in heat.

I was dragged to see this dude live in NYC in the 80’s. He was barely coherent and didn’t last long. That experience may actually have been preferable to this album.

So close to a 5. The first disc is all acoustic and is prime Dylan - Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 era.

The second disc is electrified and this is where it loses a star - mainly because the top of it is not great. The end of it is banger after banger.

I caveat all of this with - if you hate Dylan you’re going to hate this 90 minutes.