One of the many oddities of Bob Dylan's long and unruly career has been the rather cursory recording treatment given his stint as ringleader of the Rolling Thunder Revue. It's a shortcoming that's rectified with the release of Live 1975. Prior to the appearance of this two-disc (plus bonus DVD) collection, Rolling Thunder's eclectic road show was chronicled only in the infrequently screened, Dylan-directed Renaldo & Clara film and the bafflingly brief and one-note 1976 live set, Hard Rain. In contrast to its predecessor, this set, culled from four appearances made in November and December of 1975, captures the breadth and subtleties of Dylan's Rolling Thunder performances.

"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You", formerly a coda from Nashville Skyline, is given a rather incongruous bite here, while "It Ain't Me, Babe" is coloured brightly by multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield along with erstwhile David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, the spark plug of the gratifyingly ragtag group that coalesced on short notice. Solo acoustic performances weave through caterwauling full-band treatments of songs old ("The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll") and new ("Hurricane" and four other selections from Desire, which wouldn't hit the racks until early 1976). While the contributions of a number of caravan cohorts and guests are left out, Joan Baez shares the spotlight with Dylan on four numbers, most notably on the rarity "Mama, You Been on My Mind" and the traditional "The Water Is Wide". But despite its cavalcade trappings, it was Dylan's show, and this collection demonstrates finally just how close to his 60s peak the 70s Dylan was. --Steven Stolder

Bob Dylan's live albums are a discography all of their own, numerous so they are. This is one of the more recent ones, Volume 5 in the illustrious Bootleg Series. One live album had already been gleaned from the 1975 Rolling Thunder Tour, the fairly panned Hard Rain. Honestly I quite liked it, but this is widely regarded as the better of the two albums as far as both quantity and quality.

I disagree. Whilst undoubtedly the feeling and atmosphere at the gigs will have made this circus-like show much better, on disc it doesn't translate so well, much like the feature-length movie that went with it. Some of the readings of songs are radically different, and don't work. The blues-rock version of 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' falls flat, turning a hard-hitting song into a gonzo shuffle. Meanwhile, Dylan's solo performances of earlier (and, indeed, later) material are terse, blunt and without a lot of feeling, rendering classics like 'Twist Of Fate' and 'Tangled Up In Blue' uninteresting.

However, there are more than enough amazing performances here. Dylan is known for mixing up his gigs with old and new material, and here he does just that, resurrecting some classics, playing the recent stuff and giving a preview of songs not even on vinyl yet.

In the former category, Dylan digs up some classics from his 60s days. The show opens with renditions of 1969's 'Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You' and 1964's 'It Ain't Me Babe,' while opening the second disc is 1965's 'It's All Over Now Baby Blue,' closely followed by a rip-roaring 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry,' which he jokingly refers to as autobiographical. In the second category is 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door,' with newly invented lyrics Dylan wrote on the spot, which closes the show. In the third is material from the at the time unreleased, ethnically influenced Desire album. A great record, most of its best songs are present here in excellent form - 'Isis' is rocked up, 'Hurricane' is faithful but great.

Added to this is what we get with all of the Bootleg sets; a lavish, full colour, deluxe booklet with an extensive essay on the circumstances surrounding the gigs and what recorded sound we are actually listening to on the discs. As with Volume 4, it is a riveting read.

Overall, this is certainly worth buying. However, cut down to one disc of maybe an hour long, it might have been a better set, but it certainly wouldn't have been indicative of what the Rolling Thunder gigs were really like. If you only buy one Dylan live album though, make it Volume 4.

Bob Dylan is in strong and expressive melodic voice on this live collection which was recorded at four different venues in North American during November and December 1975. His backing musicians, who came out of the sessions for the album "Desire", were arguably the best band he ever had who were not THE Band. At the core was the bass and drums of Rob Stoner and Howie Worth. These boys were rock solid, impressively pushing proceedings along, but knowing enough to ease back when the time was right.

The large ensemble also included electric guitarists Mick Ronson, he of David Bowie / Ziggy Stardust fame, and T-Bone John Henry Burnett who went onto many great things, success as a singer-songwriter and as a record producer, notably of albums by Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, The Wallflowers (featuring our man's son, Jakob Dylan) and the exceptional debut by Gillian Welch. Much of the uniqueness of the sound of this group is owed to the presence of Scarlet Rivera who plays electric violin and to multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield who adds intricate colours on steel-guitar, fiddle and mandolin. Steve Soles' backing vocals manfully track Dylan when required.

Joan Baez and Byrd's main man Roger McGuinn were guest artists on this tour and Bob Dylan shares lead with each of them both. The four songs with Joan are perhaps more of historic and "feel-good" than musical interest, but their loving stab at the traditional "The Water Is Wide" is of special note. McGuinn makes the second verse of the suitably grand grand finale "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" his very own.

The songs may be divided into two groups. The recently recorded "Desire" material (six selections in total) are tackled with gusto, with greater power and emotion than the studio versions. Dylan and his musicians are really "on" these songs at this point, really having worked them in. This is hot stuff and would in itself make this double CD a worthy purchase, but in addition Dylan offers up ripping versions of some of his significant back pages.

The combination of the leader in fine fettle and this talented and well-gelled, imaginative group of musicians gives us highly memorable versions of "It Ain't Me, Babe", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll" and "Just Like A Woman". Bob expressively, soulfully stretching and wringing all from out of his famous lyrics.

Dylan also played a few songs solo, just his voice, acoustic guitar and harmonica. There's yet another kind of magic beauty here, "Mr Tambourine Man" especially astonishing. He certainly did cast his dancing spell on this, one of the best ever heard versions. Put all this together and this is a highly recommended set, with some of the best, most exciting live Dylan available.

There really is a huge choice when it comes to buying a Bob Dylan Live album. From the beginnings of his career to the peak of his career there is much to go through. However, after buying quite a few you start to listen to some more than others. In the case of this album it's become my personal favourite. This stems from my love of the classic albums Blood On The Tracks and Desire. These albums marked a new period in Dylan's sound and when he went live he certainly pulled out all the stops. The Rolling Thunder Revue had the stage filled with musicians all adding to the power of Dylan's lyrics. Old tracks like A Hard Rain and Hattie Carol are given a new lease of life with a multitude of instruments. Tracks like Isis, Hurricane and Sara are some of the most moving, emotional and powerful performances I have ever heard from Dylan.
This truly was Dylan at the peak of his powers, highly recommended.

I well recall first hearing Bob Dylan eons ago when my friend Stephen came round and proudly displayed his vinyl copy of John Wesley Harding. I was impressed, but much more so by the sublime follow-up, Nashville Skyline. Before long I was hooked and of those sixties albums, I would say the latter and Blonde on Blonde rank as my favourites. Of his seventies work, Blood on the Tracks and Desire stand out for me. That is why this live recording is such a special treat, providing a good overview of this period and showcasing many songs from Desire.

You may wonder whether it's worth investing in what is - let's face it - a rather pricey limited edition. Well please do! Believe me you won't regret it. Not only is Bob Dylan on top form, but the atmosphere is positively electric, and he is surrounded by super musicians. Of these I would particularly single out the excellent violinist Scarlett Rivera (check out her later work with the Indigo Girls too) and supremely talented late, lamented guitarist Mick Ronson. As for guest appearances, the fact that the wonderful Joan Baez duets with Dylan on some songs is more icing on the cake. This just has to be one of the very best Bob Dylan albums ever. Truly a radiant jewel!

This the fifth volume in Bob Dylan's "Bootleg" series is a sprawling, colourful collection of 22 live recordings from the fabled "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour.
Dylan is accompanied on most of these 22 tracks by a large combo which includes guitarist T-Bone Burnett and violinist Scarlet Rivera, but there are also a number of solo performances, and while some may consider such a sentiment to be sacrilegious, those performances are often significantly better than the ones on "Live 1966".

"Live 1975" is less gritty than Dylan's previous live album from the same period, the 1976 LP "Hard Rain", but it is every bit as good. These passionate acoustic renditions of "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "Love Minus Zero" are simply fantastic, the definitive recordings of those songs, and Dylan's vocals are as good as anything you'll ever hear from him. He really is a good singer when he wants to be.

The track list does not attempt to replicate an actual Rolling Trunder Revue set list, but unless you were there you probably won't care about that.
Serious Dylan-philes probably own this set already...if not, they need to get a hold of a copy right away; this music is revelatory even for seasoned fans of His Bobness. But "mid-level" fans should find these superlative recordings every bit as absorbing.
Dylan sound so alive on this album...and the electric cuts are driven along by a big, unwieldy band which turns out an overpowering sound that feels almost inevitable, as if it is the only way these songs could be played, even when you've heard them a hundred times before in other arrangements.
They careen through a powerful "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" and an amazing hard rock rendition of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", and the wonderful folkish narrative "Romance In Durango" (which had yet to appear on record at the time) is another highlight.

But the entire album is a highlight, really. In fact, there's not a single bad moment here, and the track list doesn't replicate the Rolling Thunder tour list to the letter, it does indeed capture the essence of it, making "Live 1975" an absolute necessity for every Dylan-fan, diehard or casual.
All five stars and no hesitations at all. A wonderful document.