The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975 - The Rolling Thunder Review (2002)


 

Disc One
  1. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
  2. It Ain't Me Babe
  3. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
  4. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
  5. Romance in Durango
  6. Isis
  7. Mr. Tambourine Man
  8. Simple Twist of Fate
  9. Blowin' in the Wind
  10.Mama, You Been On My Mind
  11.I Shall Be Released
  
Disc Two
  1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
  3. Tangled Up in Blue
  4. The Water is Wide
  5. It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
  6. Oh, Sister
  7. Hurricane
  8. One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
  9. Sara
  10.Just Like a Woman
  11.Knockin' On Heaven's Door

 

In the wide constellation of Bob Dylan’s live releases—both from official channels and the ever-expanding Bootleg Series—this particular entry stands as one of the most vital. It is not merely a companion to Hard Rain, which was released around the same era and ostensibly drawn from the same tour, but a document of a uniquely charged moment in Dylan’s live performance arc. Recorded some six months prior to Hard Rain, during performances in Boston and Montreal in the latter months of 1975, the energy here is more focused, the arrangements tighter, and the atmosphere positively electric.

The band—a rolling, at times chaotic collective dubbed the Rolling Thunder Revue—was infamously large and spontaneous, sometimes to the detriment of consistency. Where Hard Rain polarized fans and critics alike with its raw looseness, this recording benefits from a rare alignment of clarity and spontaneity. It captures both the meticulous musical execution and the ragged spirit of the tour, a synthesis few live albums ever achieve. This is not just performance; it’s performance elevated—raucous, polished, and emotionally charged.

The bulk of the set leans heavily on the Desire material, with six out of nine tracks from that album featured. Rather than serving as promotion, these live renditions often surpass their studio counterparts in intensity and immediacy. The ever-iconic A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, dramatically rearranged here, no longer simply retreads past glory—it reimagines it. It’s off-kilter and free-form in the best possible sense: not sloppily revised, but revived with theatrical purpose.

Joan Baez’s guest appearances on the final trio of songs from disc one provide an essential counterpoint—both vocal and symbolic. The musical and personal history between Baez and Dylan lends these duets a layer of resonance that borders on mythological. They’re not mere cameos; they’re summits, and Baez’s presence softens and sharpens Dylan’s edges simultaneously.

What’s most remarkable, perhaps, is the audio fidelity itself. Bootlegs from this era are known for their charm more than their clarity, but this release is pristine. It’s unlikely that even the most sought-after original bootleg tapes captured the Rolling Thunder Revue in such crystalline quality.

There are 22 tracks in total, and not one feels perfunctory. This is Dylan at one of his last truly untethered peaks—before the Gospel period, before the long wilderness of uneven tours—and it is immortalized here with stunning success. Whatever expectations one brings to the table, this album clears them with ease. It may be archival, but it feels urgently present.

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