Bob Dylan – It All Came Crashing Down Review

If there was ever a time to get invested in the endless bootlegs of an artist with what feels like an unlimited supply of songs, now is the time. BennyBoy strikes again – this time with an exceptional It All Came Crashing Down collection. That it did for Bob Dylan in 1976, the year these tracks were lifted. A period where Dylan let rage flow through him, leading on to the likes of Desire and a hard-hitting performance of Idiot Wind on Hard Rain. Dylan was in crisis mode. An avalanche of doubt and self-reflection would soon hit, but not before the Rolling Thunder Revue took its toll. Here comes the effects of this – a thirty-track collection which rightly ends with Idiot Wind, another sharp reflection from Dylan, the Blood on the Tracks piece which is filled with venomous intent.  

Take it all back to the beginning of this compilation. Isis is a neat slice from Desire as most of these tracks are, the absence of Hurricane heartbreaking as it always is when omitted from the live circuit. Live for the fiddle and crunch of instrumental excess. This is what makes It All Came Crashing Down such an essential listen. A collection of the finest performances across the year, ripping away at the eventful release cycle and by May you can hear the creaking and suffering. Weighty expectations resting on tired shoulders. You can hear flickers of strain and stress in Maggie’s Farm, an excellent and raucous performance which feels like a break from the expectations of playing these hits, of which there is many.  

Another wounded but intense performance brings out It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) as a man on the verge of breaking. Dylan sounds almost tearful, with a gruff voice and a strained focus on “no use in trying” pool one of the most powerful performances of the song. Such is the way forward for this compilation, a reflection of fine work through the mid-1970s, spurred on by a flailing, worried feel. At a time when Dylan’s audience began to wonder what else he can show them, the electric flurry returned. Bitter about something or other, a tour which would wipe him out and keep him from the recording studio for years. Tangled Up in Blue is a wild, rock-and-ready experience which begs the question of what could have been had Dylan rallied forward and the financial reception to the Revue had been stronger at the time. Hindsight is a mysterious gem. 

It’ll warm the soul, this compilation, as the threats of electricity companies knock on the door. Find comfort and heat in the embrace of a Dylan bootleg. What a wonder this one is – utterly essential for even the passive fan. This is a collection of the best experiences of his tracks, and for those who feel the praise of a man at the top of his game is too much, just hear how he reacts to the negativity which befell this tour. Outraged that it did not go better, the likes of Tangled Up in Blue, Going, Going, Gone and Like a Rolling Stone are filtered with this static fury at the world but also resentment of his better-known material. What a triumph it is, and how gracious we must be for the bootleggers plugging away, making sure every second on stage is accounted for.