‘Bootleg’ an indispensable document

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 8:42 a.m.

Some years ago, a friend sent me a cassette marked simply "Dylan: Royal Albert Hall."

Recorded off scratchy vinyl, the tape -- which captured Bob Dylan playing eight live, electric selections -- nonetheless became an immediate favorite of mine.

Details on such concert bootlegs were sketchy in those pre-Internet days, but I later learned the same show had been released with significantly improved fidelity on CD.

When I eventually tracked down that upgraded version, titled "Guitars Kissing & The Contemporary Fix," I was also pleased to learn the show had also been expanded, to include a second disc of acoustic material.

Finally, in 1998, Sony's archival Legacy Recordings wing made the landmark performance available to all, issuing it in official form -- some 28 years after the appearance of the original bootleg LP -- as "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert."

The title is something of a misnomer, poking fun of the longtime misidentification of the show as having been from London's Royal Albert Hall.

In truth, the concert hails from another British venue, Manchester's Free Trade Hall, from May 17, 1966.

In part, the two-disc set is essential as a historical document, providing insight into the averse reaction many early Dylan fans had to his shift from acoustic folk music to electric folk-rock.

"Judas!" shouts one man near the end of the electric set, setting off a barrage of applause apparently supporting his position that Dylan had forsaken his core audience.

"I don't believe you," snarls Dylan, before encouraging his band to "Play (expletive) loud!" for last number "Like a Rolling Stone."

The strained relationship between performer and crowd is apparent throughout Disc 2, as disgruntled fans clap derisively between songs, as if pleading with Dylan to toss his electric guitar aside.

Interesting as the subplot may be, the concert is also quite noteworthy for the actual music played.

Disc 1 houses a solid acoustic set, with Dylan running through such classics as "Visions of Johanna," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Desolation Row" with just his harmonica and guitar as accompaniment.

The true gem is Disc 2, however, where Dylan and his five-piece band the Hawks (later known as the Band) charge through radically reworked takes on early favorites "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" and "One Too Many Mornings."

The "Bootleg, Vol. 4" moniker may cause some to wonder whether volumes 1-3 should be purchased before venturing into "Royal Albert Hall."

That three-disc set -- comprised of various Dylan rarities from his many years as a performer and recording artist -- actually is a bit more of a novelty item, suited more for hardcore fans.

"Vol. 4," on the other hand, should be owned by anyone with even a passing interest in the man and his music. Even if they never obsessed over a crackly bootleg copy first.

Artist: Bob Dylan.

Title: "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert."

Year of release: 1998 (Sony/Legacy Recordings).

Tracklisting: Disc 1: "She Belongs to Me," "Fourth Time Around," Visions of Johanna," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Desolation Row," "Just Like a Woman," "Mr. Tambourine Man." Disc 2: "Tell Me, Momma," "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)," "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," "One Too Many Mornings," "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Like a Rolling Stone."