Bob Dylan Music:

Live: 1961-2000 Track Listing:
1. Somebody Touched Me - Bob Dylan, Traditional
2. Wade in the Water - Bob Dylan, Traditional
3. Handsome Molly - Bob Dylan, Traditional
4. To Ramona
5. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
6. Grand Coulee Dam - Bob Dylan, Guthrie, Woody
7. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
8. It Ain't Me Babe
9. Shelter from the Storm
10. Dead Man, Dead Man
11. Slow Train
12. Dignity
13. Cold Irons Bound
14. Born in Time
15. Country Pie
16. Things Have Changed

Editorial Review:
Japanese exclusive release spanning 40 years of great concert performances, Tracks include, 'It Ain't Me, Babe' (from a promo only album), 'Dead Man, Dead Man' (live In New Orleans 1981) which was a B-side for a cassette only single release, 'Born In Time' which was previously released on an EP, 'Somebody Touched Me' (traditional prev. unreleased), 'Wade In The Water (traditional prev. unreleased), 'Handsome Molly' (traditional prev. unreleased), 'To Ramona' (traditional prev. unreleased) and 'Things Have Changed' (prev. unreleased live version) and many more. 2001 release. Standard jewel case.

Live: 1961-2000 Reviews:
sony are thieves
2008-07-05 - given that sony have the access to the original tapes, the financial resources to do the job, the market to sell the product to and the technology to do the job properly it is blatantly obvious that they simply DO NOT CARE about the stuff they are selling you. this could, and should, be a fantastic record - in terms of music alone it is - but it has been put together so sloppily, and mastered so poorly, that there is absolutely no aesthetic reason not to support the bootleg industry - the people who put bootlegs out paradoxically seem to care more about the artists heritage than the artists own label! it is a great shame that bob cannot profit from bootlegs, they serve him far far better than sony do. sony might as well be flogging you baked beans, or missile guidance systems (they do...) they could not care less either about you or the artists on their roster, it is quantity over quality every time. no wonder prince wrote 'slave' on his face. sony are disgusting, do not buy their products - in fact they are a fine argument for mass file sharing a la napster in the old days, if you got poor quality at least it didn't cost you. sony deserve to be pirated out of existence, their executives know NOTHING about music and may as well try to sell it by the kilogram for all the care they put into it's production. long live the independent sector!

Worth It For "Born In Time"
2006-07-21 - I have many official Bob Dylan CD's but I have never got into the bootlegs with Bob because it just is too much and too expensive for me to keep up with. That made this a good purchase for me because it had many songs from a broad time frame. I think all the songs on here are at least good and some are great.
I might be a neophyte here but I really think the live version of "Born In Time" is outstanding and is worth the price of this CD by itself. That version just shows what a great performer Bob Dylan is. I only wish the CD was a bit cheaper.
Finally I hope one day Dylan releases many more of his complete live concerts like the Dead or Pearl Jam have, particularly after reading Paul Williams 3rd Dylan book because it sounds like Dylan was doing much of his creating on stage in the 70's & 80's as opposed to in the studio. Ill keep my fingers crossed and make sure I tune in to XM radio on Wednesdays at 10 AM EST.

Whatever was handy
2004-10-13 - An exhorbitantly priced single disc from Sony Japan that is a poor representation of Bob Dylan's work on the concert stage.

Clearly, whoever slapped this together just grabbed whatever was handy because there is no rhyme or reason to this set. A handful of rarities, some good (the jubilant "Somebody Touched Me") but others unremarkable (an okay "Deadman, Deadman"), are sandwiched between several performances previously released on "Hard Rain" (an energetic "Shelter From the Storm"), "Dylan and the Dead" (an incoherent "Slow Train") and "Unplugged" (the forgettable "Dignity"). None of these performances come close to qualifying as Dylan's best, but here they are, singled out as if they represent the highlights in nearly four decades worth of performances. And, as an import, it costs considerably more than any of the excellent multi-disc sets in "The Bootleg Series."

If you absolutely insist on owning a live version of "Country Pie," or are a die-hard who'll buy anything with Dylan's name on it, this disc is for you. All others should beware.

Brian W. Fairbanks


May Be Worthwhile If You're A Serious Dylan Fan
2004-04-10 - We could have done better by Sony with this one. There are many fine live tracks here - and, granted, most of these performances are unavailable elsewhere (at least in "official" releases). As a serious-but-not-fanatical Dylan fan, I swallowed hard at the purchase price, took the leap, and have ended up enjoying the album greatly from start to finish.

BUT: not only are there several already-released cuts on the album, but Sony saw fit to only give us one CDs-worth of material. Even though this is an import, it's still awfully stingy of Sony not to give us more material - and more rare or previously-unreleased material - given the very hefty price tag of this item.

There are many, many albums out there by Dylan and others that provide more music and better music for 1/3 or even 1/4 of the cost of this album! So, unless you're a serious Dylan fan, I recommend passing this one over and instead buying two to four other Dylan albums with the money you would have spent on this live import... You'll probably also have enough left to buy a six pack of some fine import - which you can savor while listening to all the great music you just bought! On the other hand, if you ARE a serious Dylan fan, this album is certainly worth your consideration despite its steep price: every performance here is a strong one, most of the material is rare/previously-unreleased, and of the previously-released material there some cuts that were the only gems in otherwise lackluster albums.

Expensive, but Worth it For Collectors
2003-10-03 - In a way this material seems like it was all thrown together, but collectors are going to want to get it for the unreleased material that's been salted into it. "Wade in the Water" from 1961," gives us kind of a bluesy Mr. D. "Handsome Molly" recorded at the Gaslight a year later gives us a folksy Bob. "To Ramona" from the "Don't Look Back" film is a nice version, but maybe they could have left off the horrible "Dead Man, Dead Man" recorded in New Orleans in 1981. The stuff from the "Never Ending Tour," is nothing short of outstanding. This CD is worth everyone of those five stars even with that one stinker on it.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane