"Hard Rain" is one of Dylan's overlooked masterpieces. It was recorded at the tail end of his 1970s career renaissance, when his singing voice was at its sharpest and most expressive. Many of the selections come from "Blood on the Tracks" (1975), and the rest are radical re-arrangements of some of his more obscure 1960s work. Dylan is backed by a large band that includes former David Bowie lead guitarist Mick Ronson. The sound is best described as ramshackle. Dylan has a tendency to simply begin songs without warning, leaving the rest of the band to fall in behind him. The record is an emotionally draining experience, due to the song selection and the extreme rancor and bitterness that comes through in every note sung by Dylan, who was in the process of being divorced from his wife Sara at the time. Even a song such as "Lay Lady Lay", originally recorded as an innocuous little love song, is given a strange, lurching arrangement, and a scenery chewing vocal. In short, this record is the sound of Dylan at the height of his improvisational powers.
The tracklist: 1. Maggie's Farm 2. One Too Many Mornings 3. Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again 4. Oh Sister 5. Lay Lady Lay 6. Shelter From The Storm 7. You're a Big Girl Now 8. I Threw It All Away 9. Idiot Wind
The band: Bob Dylan--Vocals and Guitar Mick Ronson--Lead Guitar on some songs Scarlet Rivera--Violin T-Bone Burnett--Guitar and Piano Steven Soles--Guitar and Backing Vocals David Mansfield--Guitar Rob Stoner--Bass and Backing Vocals Howie Wyeth--Drums and Piano Gary Burke--Drums
Postscript: The Rolling Thunder Revue also featured performances, both solo and in duets with Dylan, by Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, and Bobby Neuwirth, though none of them appear on the official recording. Bootlegs from this tour, which began in November of 1975 and ran until May of 1976, are not difficult to come by, and contain more complete versions of the concerts, with the expected loss in sound quality. One exceptional show was the 12-8-75 benefit for Hurricane Carter, at Madison Square Garden, which featured appearances by Baez, Neuwirth, Joni Mitchell, and Robbie Robertson of The Band. The 1975 shows tend to be more light-hearted than the '76 shows, though the drunkenly ferocious 1975 version of "Just Like a Woman" must be heard to be believed.
Hard Rain is probably the noisiest of all Bob Dylan's albums, recorded live in concert during his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour, at the peak of his electric rock and roll period. The Bootleg Series Volume 5, 'Bob Dylan Live 1975', is taken from the same tour, and I've heard it's much better - but alas, I haven't had the chance to find out for myself yet.
Best played at maximum volume, this album includes material off of albums from The Times They Are A-Changin' through to Desire, re-interpreted as heavy rock with yelled-out vocals and seriously amplified and often distorted electric guitar. As an album, the sound can sometimes get a little samey; but it must have been an incredible concert, and some songs work much better with the rockier slant they are given here than they did on the original album recordings - Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again stands out, and when I'm in a loud enough mood the Hard Rain version of Shelter from the Storm is my favourite ever recording of a Dylan song.
That playlist in full:
printable version chaos
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