Fans of the legendary songwriter Bob Dylan were left split on the quantity of The 1974 Live Recordings.
The mammoth box set features twenty-seven separate discs of Dylan and The Band performing together on their monumental 1974 tour. The tour has gone down in history, with Dylan returning to the stage in what proved to be a lucrative tour ahead of Blood on the Tracks, which was released a year later. A post to the r/BobDylan subreddit saw a user share their recent purchase of the full box set, and those who had listened to the behemoth CD package suggested taking it slow. A post to the Reddit page reads: “I’m quite happy with this addition to my collection. Does anyone own it and can give me feedback?”
Feedback was received from many members who had listened to the whole CD collection. While many confirmed they “love” the release of live recordings, others suggested the performances can get a tad “repetitive”. One user wrote: “I just finished the whole set. It’s a lot of content and gets a little repetitive, but the highs are great. Dylan’s solo sets are mostly excellent.”
Another user added: “It’s repetitive but it’s been a fun background listen and really interesting to hear how the performances evolve (I kinda dig mid-tour when Bob stops giving a shit and starts really barking the lyrics before pulling his vocals back together for the last few discs’ worth of show).”
A third wrote: “I love it. I’d say take it slow and listen over a longer period of time so you don’t burn out, but I love hearing the progression of each song through the tour. I was also pleased that Bob’s camp didn’t charge astronomical prices for a big set like Bruce Springsteen is.”
Fans have since agreed that slow and steady listening is the best way to take The 1974 Live Recordings. One user wrote: “Slow and steady is definitely the way. I listened to every show back to back to back when this set first came out (because I dunno know why) and it basically just felt like a fever dream.”
Another added: “I agree with the suggestion to take it slow. A few of the shows are rather poor quality recordings, but keep in mind, they were not recorded with the intent to ever be released. The high points are truly stunning and powerful, though. Discs 17 and 25 are my favourites.”
Not everyone has managed to make it through the full set, however, suggesting the bulky box set is just too much to listen to. One user wrote: “I’m about halfway through and losing interest. Too repetitive. The acoustic parts (Nobody ‘Cept You) are very good. This tour isn’t Dylan at his best by a long shot.”
Another suggested taking a slower approach to the boxset, with many months worth of listening material to be had. They wrote: “I got it as a very kind Christmas gift and listened to it over the course of a couple of months!
“You’ll definitely learn over the course of listening which songs have an enduring appeal in which you never need to hear again, but it’s really cool to hear all the songs evolved over the course of the tour dates! In the middle of the box, the setlists are pretty much identical, but at the beginning and end of the tour, he’d switch things up more, and you get a lot of interesting surprise songs on those parts of the box!”
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