Best of the 1974 Copyright Collection Playlist

 

    Another year another Copyright Collection release. This time it's cleaning up the leftovers from the 1974 tour with The Band. In the face of the 27 disc set from earlier this year that covered the same tour in far better sound quality (i.e soundboard and multi-track vs. this set's audience tapes) I couldn't blame someone for skipping this one. There's nothing revelatory here, these are the same recordings which have circulated amongst fans for decades. For those of us who haven't torn through the 1974 audience bootlegs already though, and still have the stomach for it after the four-course meal that was the box set, this release seems like as good an excuse as any to engage with that material. 

    For 2019's Rolling Thunder Revue boxset, the compilers chose to include a disc of "Rare Performances" alongside the three sessions of rehearsals and five complete Dylan sets that made up that box. These tracks in general have poorer sound quality than the rest of the box but are still noteworthy and help paint a fuller picture of that tour. As I dug into the 1974 copyright collection I started imagining what a theoretical "Disc 28" of rarities for the '74 box set might look like. The playlist that came out of my musings also serves as a sort of "Best of" for the Copyright Collection.

1. As I Went Out One Morning (Toronto 1/10)

2. Maggie's Farm (NYC 1/31a)

3. Visions of Johanna (Denver 2/06a)

4. Desolation Row (St. Louis 2/04a)

5. Fourth Time Around (Memphis 1/23)

6. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (St. Louis 2/4a)

7. Blowin' in the Wind (Boston 1/14b)

8. Like A Rolling Stone (Chicago 1/4)

9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) [Reprise] (Boston 1/14b)

10. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Uniondale 1/29)

    Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent one off performances for the tour that only exist as audience recordings. "As I Went Out One Morning" is perhaps the most infamous, this fully backed electric version is the only time Bob has ever performed it live (as of 2024) and it's an incredible rendition. The other 4 tracks are all solo acoustic performances, all well delivered although "Fourth Time Around" does see a couple lyrical flubs that give it a particularly unrehearsed vibe.

    Bob and The Band tried "Maggie's Farm" 4 times across the tour, each time bringing a slightly different energy to the performance. This attempt from the January 31st afternoon show splits the difference between the versions from Chicago on January 4th and the Oakland show on February 11th. This is the sweet spot I think and may be the best the song was performed the entire decade.

    "Blowin' In The Wind" was much more prevalent in the set list compared to the previously discussed tracks. The version included here though represents one of only two times it was played solo on the tour, neither of which were included in the '74 box set. I opted for the evening Boston show recording as it sounds less washed out to my ears when compared to the Montreal show. There's also slightly less audience chatter, but to be honest that stuff does have it's own charm.

    In fact it's the crowd that makes track 9 so special to me. This version of "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) closed out the night in Boston and the crowd is hyped. The sound of the audience clapping along is audible from almost the instant the drums kick in and doesn't let up till the end. Somehow the performance still comes through. The surrounding feeling of excitement is a rare example of an audience tape having a distinct advantage over a soundboard.

    "Like A Rolling Stone" from the tour's second show is potentially the best the song sounded all year. Bob and The Band still full of energy drive through the song having eschewed the tepidness of the opening night's rendition. It's a shame that this was among the five songs from that night that weren't professionally recorded for one reason or another. Still this doesn't sound too bad especially when compared to the worst of the audience tapes (i.e Atlanta 1/22).

    We wrap things up appropriately with "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". The send off song of all time. This is the only performance of the song not included in the '74 box set and is somewhat unique. Bob's singing is much more strained here, reaching at notes that are just barely in his grasp and the effect is wonderful. The echoey sound also lends well to the delivery, creating a particularly desperate ambience. The next time Bob broke this one out would be on the last day of shows in a comparably more subdued version.

    Unfortunately the 1974 Copyright Collection appears to have been pulled from streaming sites. So even if you were lucky enough to be in a country where you could access it, you no longer can unless you have a download. I hope that Sony/Legacy eventually makes all of this stuff easily available to all fans, but assuming they don't, fan uploads will hopefully remain mostly untouched. Below you can listen to the five unique songs from the above playlist. A highlights of the highlights if you will. Prime material for a second instalment of "Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections" if they decide to do that again.