Music : The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall |
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Rating:  - * The amazing close of Dylan's fist era ... Well, if you don't have this do yourself a favour and buy it. The package is great with great photos from the show. As for Dylan, he is in high spirits and most possibly stoned out of his mind as he laughs, shares jokes, forgets lyrics... He is also delivering all songs passionately making this one concert a very special indeed. A mere three months later he was recording Bringing It All Back Home and by doing so he was also a new Dylan. Rating:  - * \"I got my Bob Dylan mask on...\" ... "Play it f***ing... well." Bob Dylan's Philharmonic concert doesn't have the historical cache of its more contentious Bootleg Series brethren- the 'Royal Albert Hall' recording is the one that everybody talks about- but it's still a performance of incredibly high quality and emotional staying power. Recorded on Halloween of 1964, it captures the bard at the tail end of his tenure as the shining light of the Greenwich folk scene. Within months, Dylan would "go electric," showering the world in sparks of amplified blues and amphetamine poetry. This concert doesn't really foreshadow any of that- even the new lyrical bent explored on tracks such as "Gates Of Eden" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is precedented on earlier studio recordings such as Another Side Of Bob Dylan. No, this recording is- thankfully- a moment of pure music, without a trace of academia to spoil the fun. Listening to these two discs, one is wowed by its atmosphere, by its warmth, by its songs. It's the sound of a skilled performer, a young man who has managed to achieve his dream, to make a living doing what he loves. Dylan plays with glee and vigor, dragging out classic after classic and pausing only to a crack a few jokes. There is a noticeable, mutual affection between Dylan and his audience- perhaps this sounds a bit idealistic, but one gets the sense that they worship him and he wants nothing more than to please them. (Insert your thoughts on the irony of that observation in light of the next two or three years of Dylan's career here.) The set list is a virtual highlights reel. The only huge one that's missing is "Blowing In The Wind," but it's not missed. Not when this album contains such irrepressible gems as that surging, forceful rendition of "The Times They Are-Changin'," or an absolutely gorgeous "It Ain't Me, Babe" (which features Dylan in duet with Joan Baez). Other transcendent moments include otherworldly versions of "Gates Of Eden" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," and an impassioned "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." I also love it when, at the beginning of "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)," Bob forgets the lyrics and needs to be reminded by the audience. Or the sheer delight that all concerned parties take in the lurid sexuality of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Gotta Stay All Night)." The concert does drag here and there- the second half seems a bit anemic at times, and the first half has a couple of mediocre tracks too. But come on. This is waaaay better than any concert that you'll ever put on. Rating: - * One of Dylan's Greatest Live Albums ... Every time I get get a new Dylan album its almost like I am listening to him for the first time. Each album is unique and has its own personality.This will complement your Dylan collection if you haven't purchased it already. I recommend this to any and all Bob Dylan fans. Rating: - * Great for those of us who were there at the start... ... If you, like me, found Dylan early in his career, and liked the folk protest Bobby even better than the later rock and roll Bob, this item should be in your collection. It is the concert I missed, except that the one with Joan Baez I skipped was in Philadelphia, on the same tour. My friends wanted me to go, but I had my first girlfriend in my life and couldn't afford concert and train tickets for both of us, so I passed on it. The romance lasted seven rocky years. My enjoyment of Dylan has been sporadic, but has somewhat endured for 45 years or more. My liking for Joanie went on for nearly 20 years. Many, many times I wished I had gone to Philly even if it had made girlfriend mad. This is recorded quite well, overall, except for the duets with Baez that conclude the concert. Joan was singing along, but a word behind Dylan, and that isn't as effective or affecting as it should have been. Otherwise, this shows listeners who never "knew" the folkie Bob Dylan what the initial buzz of his career was all about. This is a good price, although I found my copy in a used bin at my chain music chain for half the listed price, so I am even more content. But the cost, considering that you get 100 minutes of the young but already legendary singer songwriter, is quite reasonable. Don't be afraid to buy this if you are a fan. Rating: - * Makes me wish I had a time machine ... This live album catches Bob Dylan on Halloween night 1964, right between Another Side and Bringing It All Back Home, and that is one hell of a time to catch Bob Dylan. He opens with "The Times They Are A-Changin,'" and though the crowd loves it he evidently doesn't. His performance makes the song sound like an unpleasant obligation, as if to say, "Aw man this is so lame, I don't care about that junk anymore, why can't I get out of playing this generation-defining single I recorded earlier this year?" Once that's out of the way he doesn't play "Blowin' in the Wind," which would be a little like if Nirvana had refused to play "Teen Spirit" in 1992. Which come to think of it they may well have done. But anyway Woody Guthrie's heir apparent is well on his way to declining the role and mantle of his former idol. In a 19-song set he plays only six protest songs. Fortunately two of those, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" and "Who Killed Davey Moore?" are excellent non-album songs that I don't know where else you can find. Dylan plays three songs from his then forthcoming Bringing It All Back Home, two of which appear as works in progress. He introduces "Gates of Eden" as "A Sacrilegeous Lullaby in D Minor" and he introduces "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" as "It's Alright Ma, It's Life and Life Only" and then screws up the part about the man who lives in the vault. The crowd's total silence during these songs combined with Dylan's exceptionally slow and clear delivery suggest that the audience had never heard this stuff before. Surprisingly, some people applaud the opening of "Mr. Tambourine Man," though I don't know how they could have recognized the song five months before the album came out. If you're a Dylan fan (and honestly I don't think anyone else could possibly be interested in a 44-year-old double live album titled "The Bootleg Series: Volume 6"), then this set is worth hearing just for the pre-release airings of these songs. They sound like the ink's still wet. On the slightly weaker second disc, Dylan's girlfriend Joan Baez comes out and joins him for four songs. The almost painfully forceful clarity of Baez's famous voice has often reminded me of staring directly into the sun, but fortunately on this album she's usually a little bashful about turning on her vocal searchlight full power so to speak, and anyway Dylan's generally mic'd a little better than she is. So to my surprise I actually liked the first of their joint songs. Getting away from his protest folkie persona, the man is jokey, shucksy and, of course, brilliant. He can't say "In all seriousness" without bursting out laughing, and, just after Mr. Zimmerman notes that it's Halloween, he says, "I've got my Bob Dylan mask on." He sounds like a 23-year-old wunderkind having fun and already tired of taking himself seriously. He forgets the words of his own song "I Don't Believe You" and has to ask the audience how the first verse goes. Someone in the crowd asks him what he does for a living, and he replies, "Anything you say! I hope I never have to make a living." When Joan Baez says she's gonna play an early Bob Dylan song, he says, "Go ahead! See if I care!" Overall, this album made me think that Bob Dylan's genius was something that just sort of happened to him and that he wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. Song by song: Disc 1 1 The Times They Are A-Changin' *** 2 Spanish Harlem Incident *** 3 Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues *** 4 To Ramona *** 5 Who Killed Davey Moore? **** 6 Gates of Eden *** 7 If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got to Stay All Night) *** 8 It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) *** 9 I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) *** 10 Mr. Tambourine Man *** 11 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall *** Disc 2 1 Talkin' World War III Blues *** 2 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right ** 3 The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll *** 4 Mama, You Been on My Mind (With Joan Baez) *** 5 Silver Dagger (With Joan Baez) ** 6 With God on Our Side (With Joan Baez) ** 7 It Ain't Me, Babe (With Joan Baez) ** 8 All I Really Want to Do *** |
In Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch, devotees of the dram can peruse the latest revised edition of the 1989 work. In 336 pages brimming with maps, photos, and informed overview of factors such as geography and flavor components--even proximity to the sea--Jackson sketches the evolution of Scotch whisky, from the prebottling days, when shopkeepers like Johnnie Walker and the Chivas Brothers would create their own blends for sale, to the late-1960s and 1970s' surge of individual distilleries marketing their own bottlings. Lamentably labeling the former as a time when "orchestrations drowned out the soloists," Jackson provides some sweet sheet music of his own: 294 pages are devoted to an A-to-Z review (including full-color labels and tasting notes) of more than 800 singles from "every Scottish malt distillery that has ever witnessed its product in a bottle." It's the perfect book to take to your local liquor store next time you're trying to navigate the high shelf of Scotland's highlands, lowlands, and islands. You may laugh at Jackson's description of Auchentoshan Select's "oily" nose with "hints of citrus zest" or Aberlour 10-year-old's "mint-toffee" bouquet. But you'll be laughing out of the other side of your haggis when you actually smell them. All the notes are well researched and designed to appeal to Cardhu-carrying connoisseurs, as well as those who'd just like to know more about Bowmore. In his introduction, the author describes a whisky's finish as "a crescendo, followed by a series of echoes. When I leave the bottle, I like to be whistling the tune." Scotch drinkers will find plenty to wet that whistle in Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch. --Tony Mason
 Compact and easy, to use the MyFi offers 150 XM satellite channels. |
The MyFi comes with a densely packed carton of accessories, including everything from headphones and antennas to a remote control, belt clips, and separate docking apparatus for integrating the receiver with your home and car stereos.
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An illuminated six-line LCD is your gateway to browsing XM's programming. You can browse by station, by category, or (our favorite) by currently playing artist. Thirty channel presets simplify access to your favorites, and a handy memo button stores artist and song data for up to 20 performances you'd like to look into later (or find again on XM).
Any satellite radio system requires a fairly heavy-duty antenna. Accordingly, the MyFi comes with four: one for the home (place it in a south-facing window), one for the car (mount it on the roof or trunk), a clip-on antenna for when you're hoofing it, and a built-in antenna. Our home reception was perfect--we never experienced a single drop out. Car reception was spottier, though still excellent. You just have to get used to the fact that where analog radio gets noisier in areas with poor reception, satellite radio drops out altogether; it's either all there, crystal clear, or all absent. And that's where My XM, MyFi's recording feature, comes in handy.
 The MyFi mounts easily in most vehicles. |
My XM lets you record XM programming to MyFi's onboard memory--perfect for time shifting your listening (as with a news program or a scheduled performance on XM Live) or for tuning in when you'll be someplace lacking XM reception (in a canyon, on a subway, in a windowless cubicle, etc.). You can schedule a recording or start and stop recording at any time you wish, and new recordings pick up where you last stopped. But you can't erase anything unless you clear the memory--which means you can't whittle away songs you don't like to retain your favorites. It's also important to remember that when you've filled the unit's memory (128 MB, or 5+ hours of full bitrate XM radio), it'll record over earlier material, starting from the top. During playback, however, My XM lets you skip easily from track to track and even pick from a list of all tracks.
You can configure the MyFi's LCD to scroll stock and sports-score tickers, a great way to keep an eye on important stats. The receiver also features a built-in sleep timer (15 minutes to 1 hour) and an alarm clock (wake to a beep or to XM programming).
What's in the BoxFor car use, you have a choice of mounting options for the vehicle cradle: flush mount, vent mount, or swivel mount. The cradle houses a power jack for a DC vehicle power adapter (included), an antenna input, and an audio output for use with the provided cassette-shell audio adapter. You can use the cassette adapter or the MyFi's built-in wireless FM transmitter, which turns any FM radio into an XM radio. (Audio quality is better using the supplied cassette audio adapter, however. You may also purchase a wired FM adapter, though XM asserts that the cassette adapter sounds better than that, too.)
 The Delphi XM MyFi comes complete with all of the accessories needed to enjoy XM anywhere. |
Positioning the car antenna can be inelegant, despite its heavy-duty magnet. You can have it professionally installed or live with an exposed antenna cord, though XM recommends using "existing holes, body grommets, and other wiring channels" rather than closing a door over the cord on a daily basis. The receiver's battery pack proved good for about five hours between charges. The included earbud headphones are neither comfortable nor particularly well made; a nicer set would represent XM's strong sound quality. --Michael Mikesell
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MyFi receiver with a clip-on antenna, an integrated rechargeable battery, a complete home accessory kit (with antenna and audio cable), a complete vehicle accessory kit (with antenna), stereo earbud headphones, a remote control, a remote battery, a belt clip/stand, a protective carrying case, and quick-start guides and user's manuals in English and Spanish.
