Bob Dylan / Newport Folk Festival 1965 / 1CD / ZION
Festival Field, Newport, Rhode Island, USA 25th July 1965
The 1965 Newport Folk Festival brought about a shock that changed not only Bob Dylan’s career but also the flow of the music world at that time. Although there have been sporadic releases of video and audio recordings of the historic moment when he appeared on stage with his band, there was not enough excavation to document that shocking stage. Rather, it may be said that it has been neglected to an unexpected degree. Certainly the band set had all the songs on the market early, but in fact Dylan had performed on the previous day’s stage as well, and in addition it was a traditional singing stage.
Therefore, the band’s set was the only focus of attention, and the previous day’s stage was wrapped in a veil. However, when the 21st century arrives, a fulfilling excavation is realized in both sound sources and images. With the video release of “NO DIRECTION HOME” and “THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR”, there is a feeling that not only the band set on the second day but also the whole picture of the first day’s singing stage became clear at once.
Still, it’s strange that there was no release that compiled this legendary stage. It was the same for maniacs, and already more than 10 years ago, files that were put together using the sound sources that were on the market at that time were spreading only among core maniacs. There, not only the performance scene, but also the sound of the band rehearsal scene glimpsed in the festival documentary film “FESTIVAL” was recorded, which was a meticulous content unique to enthusiasts.
This time, we will further update and restore based on this file. The problem is that in “NO DIRECTION ~” and “THE OTHER ~”, there was clearly an afterthought effect.
Because there was a legend that the stage where Dylan accompanied the band was booed for performing a rock performance at a folk festival. However, although the actual sound source certainly conveyed how the venue was noisy, I could not hear the booing at all. Therefore, when “NO DIRECTION ~” and “THE OTHER ~” were produced, a new booing sound effect was added to the long-awaited stereo sound board in order to produce a legend.
Above all, the part where the performance of “Maggie’s Farm” ended was too dramatic. Therefore, this time, the ending of the same song is replaced with the stereo sound board sound source of past items such as “FOLK ROGUE” to eliminate the booing. Still, there is still a little booing sound before the next “Like A Rolling Stone” starts, but this editing eliminates the awkwardness at the end of “Maggie’s Farm” at once.
In addition, the shocking fact that came to light in the 21st century was that the new song “Tombstone Blues”, which had not yet been recorded, was played on the singing performance the day before. Also in 2015, a clear and complete sound source was announced, and it was released as a bonus track of “LEICESTER 1965” immediately. However, this time, instead of diversion from there, it was recorded after deleting the noise that was mixed in the latter half of the performance by going back to the original sound source with the latest technology. This was an adjustment that could not be done when “LEICESTER 1965” was released.
Also regarding the next day’s band set, “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” (although the song title on the day was “Phantom Engineer”) was announced in 2015 instead of the “FOLK ROGUE” version. Replaced with the new mix.
And in the original file produced by Mania, “Mr. In the original file, the pitch dropped at the same time as the source was switched from Dylan’s harmonica solo, but it was reborn as if it was a strange state.
When I listened to the performance put together in this way, I realized that if Dylan, who had let me hear him play and sing as usual the afternoon before, suddenly changed into an electric band the next night, the audience at the folk festival would be delighted. I can’t help but be confused.
In particular, “Maggie’s Farm” is a hard performance with Mike Bloomfield’s roaring guitar, and its destructive power has not yet faded. The next performance, “Like A Rolling Stone,” was released as a single, and of course, it was the first live performance itself. In other words, the live premiere of this song, which will be Dylan’s eternal masterpiece, was Newport.
Moreover, Jerome Arnold, the bassist of the Butterfield Blues Band, who plays the backing, raised the sound to an unfamiliar tune, and Al Cooper, who should have played the organ, played the bass instead.
As you can guess from this incident, on the day of the concert, Dylan found a new toy called the Butterfield Blues Band, and asked him to back up, but he only had time to practice three songs. Because of that, while playing with momentum like “Maggie’s Farm”, “Like A Rolling Stone” becomes a clumsy performance like a school festival band. And another new song “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” was played by Bloomfield’s guitar. So much for playing in the band.
While it was a shocking performance, the fact that Dylan’s stage ended after only three songs is said to have caused the venue to become noisy. In order to deal with this situation, he had to show off a singing performance, which seemed to be a disappointing result for him. It is also transmitted from the earnest state of PP & M’s Peter Yarrow who actually pleaded with Dylan to play and sing.
“You will be able to understand the flow of such turbulence with this single sheet.” And the bonus includes a band set with a monaural sound board (old familiar) recorded by the filming team of the movie “FESTIVAL”. If you listen to this, you can see that although the venue was certainly noisy, you can not hear the booing at all. I see. In addition, mono has the advantage that you can feel the power of the band set. Literally a historical document album summarized on the full-length sound board!
ZION-237