Released to coincide with a live-concert TV special, Hard Rain was recorded at the end of the Rolling Thunder era, when Bob and band alike were arguably burnt out from performing. By the time they’d reached these final shows, whatever fun had permeated the first leg of the tour hadn’t lasted. The overall sound of the album is abrasive and chaotic; “Maggie’s Farm” in particular stops and starts too many times. Some tracks feature as many as five guitars, a sawing violin and ragged harmonies. “Lay Lady Lay” gets a startling makeover, a seduction without any romance, and the “songs about marriage” on side two—three of which come from Blood On The Tracks—are even more agitated than their originals. (“Idiot Wind” is especially nasty.)
As a last gasp of sorts, Hard Rain is not the best representative of the Rolling Thunder era—that was still a ways away—but certain moments rise up. This one has certainly improved with age, especially taken in the context of his other live albums. (In typically perverse tradition, the album includes songs not on the broadcast, and vice versa. Perhaps an official CD/DVD/Blu-Ray revamp would raise its stature even higher?)
Bob Dylan Hard Rain (1976)—3
Best live album ever
ReplyDeleteYes, "abrasive and chaotic" -- that's good! I prefer the second half of the RT era. The first part was a show (a great show) but in retrospect calculated as a circus; the second was an experience out of which came some intensely uncomfortable, emotional music. (I caught that half in Mobile.) I've always enjoyed the widely-bootlegged TV-only duets, but I think the album works better without them. And "Shelter from the Storm" is some of Bob's best singing ever. Play it loud!
ReplyDeletei heard of a (japan)remaster of this cd , anyone hear it? any improvment?
ReplyDeleteThere are several things that are interesting about "Hard Rain". One is that it was quite different from what the Rolling Thunder Review started out sounding like. I saw an early show on that tour, and was shocked when I watched the tv special.
ReplyDelete"Hard Rain" marks the point were Dylan started re-working his songs. Up until that time his live performances used more or less the same arraignments as had appeared on the studio recordings.
It is also one of the very few Dylan live sets that documents what he and his band sounded like at the moment in time the recording was released. Most of the time live Dylan albums document what he used to sound like, at some point in the past. This was the Dylan you'd get if you went to a show a week after it came out.
I like it. It is raw, but it is also fresh.
Truth be told, I got this early in my Dylan quest, so it didn't quite make sense at the time. But a couple of decades later, it's really grown on me. Hence my positive review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, folks!
It seems that the older we get, the better Bob's albums sound. Hmmm. Could it be that we have grown into them? Or, that he was light years ahead of us when they were released?
ReplyDeleteI think the genius has always been there for us to find. His work rewards repeated listens.