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Before The Flood (1974)
(14 votes)
Tracks (Click song title for lyrics)
Disc 1
Album Info
Remastered version released March 31, 2009
Bob Dylan -- Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Vocals
THE BAND
Robbie Robertson -- Electric Guitar, Vocals
Garth Hudson -- Clavinette
Levon Helm -- Drums, Vocals
Richard Manuel -- Piano, Electric Piano, Drums, Organ, Vocals
Rick Danko -- Bass, Vocals
Phil Ramone/Rob Fraboni -- Recording Engineers
Rob Fraboni/Nat Jeffrey -- Mixing Engineers
Village Recorders -- Mixing
Kendun Recorders -- Mastering
Barry Feinstein -- Photography, Design
Recorded Live In Concert
Comments
The Band
No Rating
Surely the group was known as the Band by this time. When was "Music from Big Pink"? I heard Dyland with the Band in 1965.
Paul A. Recht
Return to live music
This is a very good live album and marks Dylan's return to a regular concert schedule. My favorite of the Dylan songs are "Most Likely", and the 3 song accoustic set. How does he remember all the words to "It's Alright Ma"? As far as The Band goes, their best song on here is "I Shall Be Released". Richard Manuel is awesome on this song.
Flood
strong album close to my heart !! I'm also a band fan!!
Based soley on the Dylan performances
I give it a 5 but that is only based on the dylan performances because I could careless about the band. His voice is really wild on this one and the 3 acoustic tracks he plays are the best for me along with most likely you go your way. A very powerful album(sound wise).
Before The Flood
It's not an album that is critically popular now, which is a shame. I love it - possibly because it was one of the Dylan albums I grew up with (along with 'Times...' and 'Another Side..'). One of my brothers had it and I loved side one - Most likely is a great opener, and the band cook. Dylan and the Band play so well together, really understanding eachother.
I forgot about it until a few years ago, when I heard 'It's alright ma' from the album on the radio. It is a fantastic performance. By this time I'd 'discovered' the Band. I went out and bought it and fell in love all over again. It is one of my favourites, showing the power of the songs and performer really well - better than almost any other live album I think - and offering, even on the solo songs, very astute and insightful re-interpretation of the songs. That, after all, is why Dylan is such a great song writer. The songs have a chameleon-like quality. Here, I think, the chameleon is in his finest and brightest colours. It's a genuinely exciting record.
Just a good live album.
SLUMDOG
It's a good live record as they go.
Bob and The Band
All you have to know is that when Bob called the guys who were "Levon and the Hawks" they were known as the best damn bar band from the south to Ontario Canada and more. Levon Helm (drummer of The Band) and his mates were knocking on the door of a record deal when Dylan offered them to go on the road and be his first ever "electric" band. The story is as amazing as the rest of The Bands career would become. During a time of psychedelic music taking off, The Band stayed true to themselves and created the original sound that will be cherished and live long past our lifetimes. Every one of these guys were originals and incredibly talented in their own right.
I highly recommend Levon Helms book "This Wheels On Fire". It is a gem to read and will enlighten you about where these guys came from. What an incredible story!!! See what Dylan says about the book if you don't believe me.
Before the Flood
No Rating
There may be better live performances...however this is a rare opportunity to hear Bobs first electric group (that he took on the road) recognized for who they are and who they became as "The Band" went on to become one of our countrys greatest original musical phenomenons in the history of American music! These guys were meant to play together and to ultimately create an incredibly one-of-a-kind sound that will never be matched again. I was blessed to be at "The Last Waltz" concert in 1976 at Winterland and to watch the dvd still brings tears to my eyes when Rick Danko sings "It Makes No Difference" while Robbie's guitar cries out loud. It was awesome to see Bob show his respect by playing several songs with them that night!
What an honor to have been present that night to witness such a bittersweet show and the end of a musical legend known as "THE BAND" God bless you Rick and Richard. RIP
Before The Flood of What?
I think there are better Dylan Live performances, such as the Bootleg Series Live 1975 from the same time period. But I do like the "Just Like A Woman" track here. I don't listen to this album often, because I'm not really fond of The Band.
most likely you'll go...,
most likely you'll go..., dont think twice, just like a woman, it's alright ma, rolling stone...
stage fright, the weight....
it's fun, it's powerful
it's what a live record must be
Before the Flood
Well, I love this album. I think Dylan's voice is incredible, and this is my favorite of "Lay, Lady, Lay".... hearing the depth of his voice here gives me chills.
Also have very fond sweet memories of falling to sleep to this album and waking up to it... My older sister was gaga over him, and this was one of the albums that was in her "stack" on the player at night...
My first posting, hmmmm... will i pass the captcha... math question?????????????????????? :)
To Dave
No Rating
Dave, if you are saying this for me, of course that doesn't offend me. The reason of this is sharing different opinions and let the people decide by themselves, and yours is as important as anyone's. When someone got offended was because of some words, but I think that was corrected.
At the Risk of Offending . . .
I will choose to rate this album a three. The whole point of this is to have some fun and share some opinions among people who love Bob Dylan's work. The fact that I don't return to it with as much regularity as others must mean I don't consider it to be one of my personal favorites. I also don't think this ratings section would be sanctioned on this site if it was that big a deal.
I do like the Band. I'm not a Band freak, but I give them credit. Certainly others are welcome to disagree.
I do love Most Likely You Go Your Way on here.
Dave
Bob's comments...
No Rating
Annie,
I believe Bob's comments were that he felt the album was a bit "impersonal" in that he didnt feel a close connection with the audience. He felt that the "stadium-like" venues made the performances a bit cold.
While that may be understandable, his performance on the tour and album were incredible. As far as the power of his voice, I read something where Robbie R said that he did the arrangements and changed some of the keys of the songs, and this opened the door to some great vocals. The whining style is gone, and in my opinion the three acoustic pieces he does on the album are among the best of his recordings. The harp playing itself is among his best.
As a I was saying about the Band tracks, they are good but I wish they were not on the album, i find they detract from the essential Bobness of the thing
The Worst Live
No Rating
As I'm new to posting, just wanted to make clear my first response defending this album was made in response to the comment entitled The Worst Live, right at the beginning of this discussion.
Before The Flood
No Rating
Brad, I agree. I love this album. I know Bob later said he thought there was "too much force" behind it all, but I think it is a tremdous live album featuring best of both individually and collectively. You're right, Bob's vocals and his harp playing are so powerful and The Band just drive it all from behind (and in front when it was their turn!)
Bob and The Band
No Rating
Annie Mc
With all due respect to your strongly expressed opinions, you must be joking. The collaboration between Bob and The Band (Live 1966, Visions of Johanna on NDH, The Basement Tapes, Planet Waves, Before the Flood and The Last Waltz) gave us not only some great music but more importantly was influential individually to both The Band and Bob as well as many other musicians, ie George Harrison, Eric Clapton have both publicly lauded the powerful influence of their work. Sorry, I love them both, individually and together.
strong live recording
No Rating
I think this is a good album, although in some ways I wish The Band tracks were left off. It's not that they aren't good performances, but I would rather seen them released as part of The Band catalogue.
One thing I will say about this album is that it has some of Bob's best vocals ever. very powerful with none of the grinding vocal style that can detract from the recordings. The version of Rolling Stone is outstanding, and the fact that they can breathe new life into Blowing in the Wind stands as a testament to the power of Bob and the Band.
.
No Rating
Yeah, well hey man, I apologize if seemed attacking. I love a good talk about Bob...
I could agree this second
No Rating
I could agree this second post, but I replied to the first, where you talked about absent minded people, idiots and ridicoulous. I don't think it's fair whether you talked about me or other people. Not everyone is a big fan, but I think that those who are writing and reading here probably are (no need to rate us), and if someone only has "The essential" it would be because he just discovered Dylan and is reading to decide what's the next he's going to buy.
I didn't say anything about your opinion about the need to rate because I have no problem with the opinion itself. Obviously I don't agree but I respect it. The only problem was that when you say that it's idiotic one might feel offended, and that was my reply.
Sorry to the other people for repeating thigs I've said in the first reply and for insisting in that discussion that probably should be private.
Seriously?
No Rating
First off, if we are all entitled to our opinion, don't I have the right to say what I said without your correction and justification? What I said was merely the fact that Dylan albums should not be rated in the first place, the entire point that you obviously missed completely, and yes, we are all Dylan fans whether you agree or not. But there are obviously bigger Dylan fans than others. I'm not saying I'm a bigger Dylan fan than you or the next guy, I just stated what I thought because I've seen it happen and it's what I feel and think. But you can't tell me that somebody who only owns and listens to 'The Essential Bob Dylan' is just as big as a fan as somebody who owns everything Bob has ever done on CD and Vinyl and listens to it all non-stop. I've met both people, and it's obvious that there are some real fans and some not-so-real fans. So that is merely my opinion, and if I am a bad person for writing my thoughts then you should be the bigger better person and tell me I am wrong and that the world is perfect and that everyone loves Bob Dylan the same because we all think and feel and act the same, right?
Reply to mcdeezno
No Rating
mcdeezno: what really there's no need to is to insult. Let us have our opinion and express it if we want to. If you don't want to express it don't do it, and if you don't agree you can say it if you want. But ther'es no really need to tell other Dylan fans (because we are whether you tell so or not) idiots, ridicoulous or absent minded, please, whatever is our opinion.
Ratings?
No Rating
The fact that people are rating this album is, in a way, extremely idiotic. The fact that you rate any Dylan album is idiotic...It proves, yet once again, that people are so absent minded and too ridiculous to understand that this is another one of Dylan's changes. And if you really don't respect it then that's ashame. These are very good songs, and maybe, at times, they are very overrated but still, good. But this is obviously the define point that this is not Dylan...It's Dylan and The Band...If you don't like the way the songs are played out in this album then you are obviously not familiar with any of Bob's live stuff. Coming from a musicians perspective, Bob has a true art to changing up familiar songs into something completely different. Maybe it's boredom? Maybe Bob was a little too bored for this album...Overall, you really need an acquired taste for this album. Only very big Band fans, and Dylan fans, are going to get this and like it...If you don't like it then listen to it again because you just don't get it. Thumbs up to Dylan and The Band for doing something like this. As for ratings, you can't you shouldn't there's just no need.
Song pummeling
Forget all the hype (again) about what's been said about this "arena" tour between The Band and Bob. The Dylan songs undergo a transformation (the first of many) and perhaps the intimacy is gone, but know this: Dylan is hammering these tunes with a ferocity like never before. I don't know if he trying to bury them or simply trying to communicate to masses of people. Either way, these songs can barely move after these renditions. This is all part of the excitement for this listener.
The worst live
I talked in the Planet waves section of the influence of the Band, that I think becomes to the worst here. The songs without Dylan are absolutely prescindible, and the others have been better in any other version, so the interest of this album for me is unexistant.