BOB DYLAN / THE 'BAND' - R ALBERT HALL CONCERT 1966: NM

	£		25
	$		33

BOB DYLAN/THE BAND - ‘ROYAL ALBERT HALL’ CONCERT 1966        

Original near mint 1st pressing

Single vinyl album, TheSwinging Pig (TSP-LP-009), released in 1989, Mono, manufactured in Europe. Matrix Nos: TSP 009 A & B.

This was Dylan's first 'electric' tour and was met with a bewildering level of hostility, so bad in fact that Levon Helm from the Hawks (who would later become the Band) who were backing Dylan left the tour as a result of the constant abuse. This gig and recording is best known for its inclusion of a brief but heated verbal exchange between a member of the audience and Dylan, the former calling the singer/song-writer “Judas” to which Dylan responded by snarling "I don't believe you - you're a liar" before turning to the Hawks who were then playing the intro to Like a Rolling Stone and commanding them (to) “Play [it] loud!”, and the resulting increase in the music’s intensity drowns out the noticeable supportive cheers for the heckler from the restless audience.

It’s one of rock’s seminal moments, showing how well - and correctly as time has since demonstrated - Dylan judged the situation as he was making the leap from socially conscious voice of his generation to surrealistic electric poet, albeit in the face of - relatively minor, as it transpired - disappointment from sections of his admirers.

And, almost appropriately, this recording’s title is also a mis-nomer as the concert in question was actually at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall on 17th May 1966, not that at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 27th May.

Having played an acoustic first half to the show, Dylan and the Hawks don’t mess around as they start the second half with an unashamed electric rendition of Tell Me Momma which elicits some slow hand-claps and booing but, contrary to some accounts of this historic concert, these shows of dissent don’t mask an overall appreciation of the performance, particularly at the conclusion of the songs, and even during the playing, they aren’t - generally-speaking - noticeably intrusive.

However, as if in an attempt to appease the discontent, the singer plays the first few notes of the next song, I Don’t Believe You, acoustically, only to then say “It used to go like that, but now it goes like this!” and switch into an electric style, clearly - and maybe intentionally - snubbing the discontented elements in the crowd.

Somewhat inevitably after this, a certain amount of booing and slow hand-clapping is noticeable and greets the intro to Baby Let Me Follow You Down - the third number in this section of the concert - but it’s not sustained and the song concludes with appreciative applause, a respect that carries through to the last track on the first side of this album, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.

And the overall positive mood continues with Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat which not only sees Dylan making an introduction to a background of relative and respectful quiet, but also has some clearly upbeat clapping along to the first half minute or so, with another round of enthusiastic applause at the end. For anyone looking for disharmony, there is some sustained clapping during the introduction to One Too Many Mornings but again it fizzles out fairly quickly and the number proceeds without obvious interruption.

If the singer found the audience reaction disappointing, he doesn’t make his feelings that clear, except possibly on a few occasions when his vocal delivery verges on a sneer, as arguably might be the case with the penultimate song Ballad Of A Thin Man where a couple of the chorus lines - “(You know that) Something is happening, But you don’t know what it is!” - were far more appropriate to the time than they, the audience - or at least many of them - realised!

Whatever the preceeding mood, there is however no mistaking the open and undoubtedly sour verbal exchange noted above just prior to the thunderous 7+ minutes of Rolling Stone - itself notable for the frightening intensity Bob gives to the lyric "Didn’t You?" during the first verse that bring this historically memorable album to its close, and with obvious audience appreciation at that.

In the musically fast-moving days of the mid-sixties, this was one of the major events and, for Dylan in particular, with his mysterious motorcycle accident - that would prompt an 8-year hiatus in his concert appearances - just around the corner (July 1966), it marked a significant stage in the still early days of what has since become a five-decade long career.

It’s also a thoroughly enjoyable performance - and arguably one of the gutsiest rock ‘n’roll concert performances ever - that stands alongside the best of his live recordings.

The white vinyl (with the odd grey/black/brown fleck) has been well looked-after and, having been kept in a customised TSP poly-lined inner sleeve since being purchased, the result is two beautifully-shiny surfaces which have been played no more than a few times in all, so are pretty much as new. Suffice it to say that, even when viewed in direct light, the only visible marks are just the odd really light hairline kind that can occur when removing the record from its sleeve and replacing it.

And a pre-auction play-through shows that from the moment the needle enters the run-in groove on each side to the time it leaves the run-off, you hear a full-bodied and clear sound which is every bit as pleasing as its appearance as, not only are the run-ins/run-outs near-silent, but also there is only the very occasional and minor click or pop in the way of extraneous sounds both during and between the tracks and, on this basis, the vinyl is graded “mint (-)”.

Also, as you might expect from an album with so little playing, the black labels have little, if any, sign of any wear either to the spindle hole or the area around it, nor any writing, stains, labels or any other kind of blemish and, consequently, they are also rated “mint (-)”.

The cover, which has also been kept in a sturdy plastic cover since purchase, is a single pocket and at 20+ years old, inevitably shows some signs of wear: most noticeably there is some creasing adjacent to the spine, with a few very minor surface scuffs or similar marks and, just about visible in strong light, the vaguest hint of ring-wear. Otherwise though, it is in exceptionally good condition, with very bright colouring, sharp edges, a well-shaped and easily-read spine, little if any open-edge feathering, no seam splits and very clean surfaces with no tears, no writing, no sticker-marks, no stains or other serious blemishes. Overall then, this first-class sleeve is graded “excellent (++)”.

This album also comes with its original TSP poly-lined inner sleeve which has just the odd light surface mark/crease, but is otherwise in superb overall condition, and consequently also rated “mint (-)”.

8 Tracks

Side 1: Tell Me, Momma; I Don’t Believe You; Baby, Let Me Follow You Down & Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.

Side 2: Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat; One Too Many Mornings; Ballad Of A Thin Man & Like A Rolling Stone.

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