Bob Dylan Plots Massive 36-Disc Set of 1966 Live Recordings
Bob Dylan played two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall in the spring of 1966, a year he spent much of on the road with the Band. On both nights in London, Dylan played the bluesy “Tell Me, Momma,” a tune he played frequently that year but never put on a studio album. The raw, electrifying version of the song premiering here comes from the first night, May 26th, 1966 – a little over a week after the release of Blonde on Blonde – and it will be coming out officially in a variety of formats later this year.
A massive new, 36-CD box set – The 1966 Live Recordings – documents many of the concerts Dylan played in the U.S., elsewhere the U.K. and Europe that year. The recordings are sourced from soundboards, CBS Records mobile recordings and audience tapes, and with the exception of the Manchester concert and a few other performances, much of it has never been released. It will come out on November 11th.
“While doing the archival research for The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12, last year’s box set of Dylan’s mid-Sixties studio sessions, we were continually struck by how great his 1966 live recordings really are,” Adam Block, president of Legacy Recordings, said in a statement. “The intensity of Bob’s live performances and his fantastic delivery of these songs in concert add another insightful component in understanding and appreciating the musical revolution Bob Dylan ignited some 50 years ago.”
The first Royal Albert Hall performance will also come out as the stand-alone release The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert. The title of this release corrects a previously released official bootleg from 1998 that identified a Manchester show – the infamous “Judas” performance – as having taken place at Royal Albert Hall. It will come out as a double-LP set on November 25th and as a double-CD set on December 2nd.
Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings Contents
Disc 1 – Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
Disc 2 – Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
Disc 3 – Melbourne, April 20, 1966 (Soundboard / unknown broadcast)
Disc 4 – Copenhagen, May 1, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 5 – Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 6 – Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 7 – Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 8 – Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 9 – Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard / audience)
Disc 10 – Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 11 – Cardiff, May 11, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 12 – Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 13 – Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 14 – Liverpool, May 14, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 15 – Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 16 – Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 17 – Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 18 – Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 19 – Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 20 – Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording except Soundcheck / Soundboard)
Disc 21 – Glasgow, May 19, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 22 – Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 23 – Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 24 – Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 25 – Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 26 – Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 27 – Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 28 – London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 29 – London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 30 – London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recording)\
Disc 31 – London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recordings)
Disc 32 – White Plains, NY, February 5, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 33 – Pittsburgh, PA, February 6, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 34 – Hempstead, NY, February 26, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 35 – Melbourne, April 19, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 36 – Stockholm, April 29, 1966 (Audience tape)