A once-in-a-lifetime, legendary tour between Bob Dylan and The Band was thankfully committed to official CD release, but there are those listeners who want the juicy bits. The rare cuts which contemporary recording label releases cannot offer. We want the scratches of tape, the thrill which comes from cutting in over the crowd to piece this song or that performance together. Chicago Stadium offers that, an unofficial compilation of Dylan and The Band, right from the heart of their 1974 Tour. A mighty, twenty-eight track performance can be heard here, and in incredible quality. Opener Hero Blues sets the scene tremendously, a song as reliant on the individuality and spirit of The Band as it is on the deep cuts and leftfield song choices from Dylan. A career-best performance for every man on stage.
All-time great songs like Lay, Lady, Lay, are given a tremendous instrumental overhaul. They would never sound the same again. Hard Rain, just two years on from this performance, would make sure of it. Nothing short of perfection from the likes of Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson, who bring on such a stellar instrumental tone in these early songs. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues is unrecognisable from its studio version, more because of the depths found in those The Band offerings and the lower octave Dylan is delivering this track with, than anything else. The result is a hugely different, yet still quality version of a song which is no doubt one of the better entries into Dylan’s lengthy discography. What these live performances offer, official or unofficial, is a refresher course in hits, a contemporary turn on deep cuts or lesser-known tracks, too. It reinvents a song you may have gotten all too familiar with. It happens too for Ballad of a Thin Man and The Times They Are A-Changin’ later in the set.
Countrified, electrified, these are the overhauls to Dylan’s sound, which made sense at the time. His return to the stage does not an offer to the original meaning, but a new purpose, an electricity which must now be considered a once-in-a-lifetime tour. These versions are lightning in a bottle; one after another, they come through on Chicago Stadium, a masterful compilation of live success. It is the standout moment from this tour, a new route to falling in love with Dylan’s work all over again. The Band has a chance to shine outside of their instrumentals, too, on I Shall Be Released, a stunning counter to the lower vocal range Dylan offers on this tour. As genuine and touching a performance of the song as you can hear, and well worth the download of this album alone.
Those latter stages of the show, when an audience can sense the end is near, hears The Band and Dylan strip back the braggadocious sound they had been creating. Forever Young is a shot to the heart, a direct and welcomingly hopeful song. For those who burnt through their 1974 Live Recordings CD set and are still hungry for more from that tour, then look no further than Chicago Stadium. Twenty-eight tremendous variations of classic Dylan tracks. Show closers Like a Rolling Stone and Maggie’s Farm are perfect examples of the differences, the welcome instrumental changes and the familiarity of their meaning. Dylan is the steady rock for all these inspired, often improvised-sounding routes through his best bits. Tremendous performances throughout which, compiled as they are on this unofficial release, hold their own alongside The 1974 Live Recordings. A must-listen for fans of The Band and Dylan tours.
