Rolling Thunder Revue: 75-76 Video Anthology

This is one of the first DVD's I've rec'd from the club and it is perfect. So many good songs with other people. I rated this a 5; the filming was good, sound quality very good. Thanx

I watched the televised Hard Rain special when it was originally broadcast. Ever a fan of acoustic Bob, I was hoping for something like his Concert for Bangladesh performance. I wanted Folkie Bob, not strident, loud, quarrelsome Bob. He seemed angry, and I wasn't prepared for how very differently some of his songs-even recent ones like Shelter from the Storm-were performed. At the time, after huge anticipation before the show, I was deeply disappointed. But now? What a tremendous treat to see it all again through different eyes. What disappointed me then delights me now. I just watched D361 for the second time, and liked it even more than the first time through. In these performances (Hard Rain, Clearwater, and Renaldo and Clara) you'll find passion, commitment to the lyrics, and songs we don't hear anymore. What a wonder to witness his performances of Sara, Hurricane, I Pity the Poor Immigrant, and I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine. To cling to the belief that his performances and his songwriting declined after 1966 is to ignore just how lofty his achievements remained in the 70's. This collection is a document of a rollicking, impassioned, improvisational, Rolling-Thunder carnival. It's a jewel and a treasure to see the effort, the care, and the emotion on his face in closeups that fill the screen.
HIGHLIGHTS: Sara, Idiot Wind, Hurricane, Poor Immigrant, St. Augustine, Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Oh Sister, One Too Many Mornings.

I may still love the Bangladesh performances, but I have come to appreciate that a master is at work here, as well. Grab this one, and hold it close.

This 2 DVD set ranks among the very best of unofficial Bob on video. If I were allowed only one DVD (ok 2), Desert Isle etc, this would be a very strong contender. Dylan and his RTR cohort in all their glory.
Priceless.

Almost 30 years after I first saw HARD RAIN on late night German TV I finally got this excellent copy by a very generous gesture of Vygi (thanks again!). The image and audio quality is as good as you can expect from a video concert document of the seventies. I´m glad someone was finally able to track down the original masters since my own tapes were 16th generation and almost unwatchable after many analog transfers over the years.
Keep in mind that HARD RAIN was one of the very first concerts being recorded with the then brand new portable color video cameras. It´s a document of raw intensity, Dylan biting his way through the songs, playing lead guitar on most of them. It might not be ranking among his best performances, but it surely is one of the most heartfelt and intensive ones and this is what still amazes me after all these years and so many times I´ve seen it.
With this DVD edition you might have the chance to see it like it was your first time ever. And for those who haven´t seen it: I envy them for having the pleasure of seeing it for the first time. The Japanese version is a fun thing in itself. You either love or loathe the crawling Karaoke-style-titles. I enjoyed it all the way through since the image quality is even superior to the US-version included on disc one.
This 2-DVD-set is packed with nuggets from the mid-seventies. The great collection of RENALDO &CLARA songs is probably everything most people ever wanna really see of this overblown extravaganza ( I can´t wait to see it again, though - and I hope someone out there has a copy of the German TV-broadcast ond DVD ).
CLEARWATER is a paling in comparising to HARD RAIN - relating to performance and image-quality, that is. But I guess Dylan had his good reasons why he dumped the lacklustre Clearwater-Show and set out for the raging glory of HARD RAIN. The original source tapes might not as easy to be tracked down since the show was never aired. I was delighted to see it anyhow and enjoyed the difference to HARD RAIN. The intimate JOHN HAMMOND TRIBUTE SET rounds up this brilliant mid Seventies compendium - and after more than 3 hours of Rolling Thunder you´ll leave very pleased. What else can you show me? - I´ll keep this treasure box in my shrine forever!