Live 1962-1966 Rare Performances from Copyright Import

This is a welcome official release and more or less a stop-gap until the next Bootleg Series release. The first disc features 16 solo recordings taken from the three extremely limited 50th anniversary collections released a few years ago (something to do with preventing the recordings from legally entering the public domain in Europe). The second disc features eight tracks from the download content that featured in the prohibitively expensive Collectors Edition of The Bootleg Series Volume 12: The Cutting Edge, with the final five tracks taken from The 1966 Live Recordings box set. Wonderful stuff, it’s incredible how good this music still sounds over 50 years later. Sound quality is variable but on the whole everything is more than listenable. Housed in a jewel case with a few archive photos and no liner notes, the combined playing time of both discs is 2 hours and 26 minutes.

I agree with a fellow reviewer that this latest release of "Live" Bob is a good stop gap between official Bootleg releases. I'm not going to dissect each CD of this two part collection or each track - I believe that is for others. What I will say is that this collection has certainly re-ignited the interest in Bob's live work of the period and I am contemplating investing in the 'The 1966 Live Recordings' Box Set.A couple of things I am not actually pleased about is that the dark blue text on the CD case and inside booklet is very hard to read indeed. No thought was given to colour clash or colour blind people. I don't think I am colour blind but the clash is not helpful at all. Also, the book itself is missing a trick and could have even invited Bob himself to have penned a few words? (Sadly this loses a star in my opinion).Price was and is good for the collection. Like others, I recognise that much of the collection has been released previously but there are a couple of good nuggets... Overall, it is Bob. He is the master. And for that reason, it is worth investing.Now Bob, if you're reading this, please can the next Bootleg be all about the outtakes for albums: 'Desire' 'Street Legal' and 'Infidels.' and maybe 'To Fall In Love With You' from a Townhouse London Recording Session back in the 1980s?

In Scorsese's film No Direction Home, Dylan says that very few of his best performances are to be found in the studio. Here is some supporting evidence. If there are better performances out there than the concert performances here of Bob Dylan's Dream, Boots of Spanish Leather, One Too Many Mornings, Hattie Carroll, It Ain't Me Babe, Ramona and Chimes of Freedom, I'd like to hear them. Is it worth buying? I bought it primarily for the six 1964 tracks, mainly from the Royal Festival Hall concert which really deserves an official release in its own right. So it depends what you've got already but if there's anyone out there who has never heard the 1963 Town Hall and Carnegie Hall concerts, the Festival Hall concert and one of the 1965 Don't Look Back concerts, start here. You won't be disappointed even if you have to squint at the sleeve notes to see what's what. And Visions of Johanna from Belfast in 66 is wonderful.

Bob Dylan has been performing for over 56 years and still attracts accolades and new fans. For me, the sixties showcased Dylan at his best. Although I acknowledge his recent 'Make You Feel My Love' is truly outstanding it was 'his voice of a generation' albums that made him unique. With regards to value for money you can't go wrong, £8 for 29 rare recordings is a bargain in anyone's books. With regards to audio quality, this CD also scores top marks, though you have to accept that the original source material, especially the 1962 and 1963 recordings, isn't brilliant. The 1964 Royal Festival Hall recordings are easily the best on Disc 1, whilst the 1965 recordings are the best on Disc 2. I recall the BBC showcased Bob Dylan around '64 or '65 but the live concert tapes were subsequently wiped or lost. Shame, because it was watching these concerts that made me acknowledge his musical genius. Not music in the literal sense, because Dylan was the best singer or musician around. No, music in the sense that he had something to say, and I listened and suddenly I was thinking about many things for the first time. So, rounding up, a bit of a mixed bag, but essential collectors items and worth it for the Royal Festival Hall tracks alone. Basic sleeve notes, nothing to write home about. Delivered on time, great value.

This excellent Bob Dylan 2-CD set contains 29 rare live acoustic and electric performances spanning his early years from 1962 to 1966.The powerful and memorable songs cover a wide emotional range and were recorded at various locations in New York, Newport(Rhode Island), Los Angeles, Sydney, London, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh & Belfast.Anyone who still questions the greatness of Nobel laureate Bob Dylan should hear the nearly two-and-a-half-hours of magnificent live music on this double CD.

Riveting! It's easy to forget just what a powerful and trenchant voice he had during his "Protest" period and the way in which he could nail a song like no-one else on the planet. Seven Curses is utterly archaic, dark and powerful, and Boots of Spanish Leather is his greatest love song bar none! (Even allowing for the masterly Blood on the Tracks! - I eagerly await the forthcoming bootleg series box set!) Listening to disc 1 you can appreciate why the Folkies wanted to pin him down but he was bigger than that. I am still fixated on disc 1 and yet to play disc 2! If Dylan is Mount Everest there isn't even a K2 as I can see. Timeless.

Couldn't help but bring a tear to your eye hearing His Bobness perform so many of these extraordinary early songs with such conviction and passion - what about the even sadder take of One Too Many Mornings? - before he got bored and contemptuous of the folk scene, of course then going on to write even more equally extraordinary songs.

To listen to this stuff over 50 years on it is amazing to think that at the same time the Beatles were writing pop songs in the vein of She Loves You. Dylan was clearly well ahead of the curve and this double CD release shows the dynamism of his live performances on an incredible set of tunes that, at the time, pretty much constitutes his greatest hits.The recorded quality is fine but not of the quality of most of his official releases, so for that reason, I'm docking it a star. But for the money this is something of a non-brainer for both the committed fan and the casual browser.

I've just spent all night playing this album over and over. It is absolute classic Dylan and, in my opinion, if this were the only thing he had ever recorded it would be enough to guarantee his reputation as a musical genius. Fortunately for us, this is only the tip of the iceberg and there are mountains of albums - studio, live, bootleg, etc. What a privilege it is to be on this planet at the same time as Bob.

I enjoyed some of the performances which have not been previously officially released, and there are some good versions here from that particular era which makes it a worthwhile acquisition for the keen Dylan fan.For a double album, it is worth the money, and could also be interesting for those who are not big fans but would like to trawl through some of these performances.

Yes, came and was all securely packaged excellent - no complaints only compliments. Seller is recommended, and do there utmost to oblige they are approachable and sort out any blips quickly - great.

Not quite worth 4 stars. This cd seems like an attempt to counter all the various semi-legal cds about. Still a good cd. Worth getting/listening to

Fantastic,if you like Dylan.My copy was faulty,but replacement offered immediately.So lots of browny points to the supplier.

Various live performances . Not essential for Casual fans. Nothing on here to make me sit up or play it a second time. Maybe for hard core fans only

Brilliant, very good compilation of live performances