WHAT I’M SPINNING NOW

SpinningBeforetheFloodBaja

This is the live album, Before the Flood, culled from Bob Dylan’s 1974 tour with The Band.  The tour doesn’t have a high reputation among Dylan fans, musically speaking — for some reason Dylan decided to spit out all the lyrics angrily, which bothered many people — but I saw three concerts on the tour and found them electrifying.

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6 thoughts on “WHAT I’M SPINNING NOW

  1. January 28th, 1974. Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, New York. My first of 51 (to date) Bob Dylan shows.

    I was 19 at the time and my mother had died just a few weeks before at the age of 49. This concert was my re-introduction back into a somewhat normal routine.

    BD and THE Band were loud and energetic. I think The Band’s performances (sans Bob) on this tour were overlooked by many, but they were absolutely terrific the night I saw them.

    For many reasons, the 1974 tour will always be with me. That’s a good thing.

    • I was 24 — it was a strange time in my life, too, and also the first time I heard Dylan live. Dylan’s fierceness struck a chord with me. As a friend remarked recently about the tour, “never has truculence sounded so good”.

  2. You guys are making me jealous (Paul, I’ve been to 51 as well, 1978-2010). I was 17, and a recent religious convert, and didn’t even mail in to try to get tickets for the Chicago shows, the tour openers. I read once that only one in four requests met with success. One takes comfort where it’s found!

    • I got stunning seats in the ticket lottery for one of the shows — 23rd row, dead center, in Madison Square Garden.

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