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 One episode of a phenomenal saga. Apr 26, 2009
I'm not a music purist so some of the bobbles and idiosyncrasies heard on this album don't irritate me as much as some reviewers. To me this was a very charismatic, engaging performance whose merits overshadowed the flubs. Though Dylan may not have given exactly the nuance to some of these selections which some expected of him, I thought they were all worthy renditions and performed with integrity. There was definitely a chemistry between Dylan and his audience which can be sensed on the recording. Even though he might be joking with the audience immediately before launching into some of his more powerful, serious numbers, when he began playing and singing, there was no doubt that he had his mind on the music and was going to do it justice. The feedback from the audience is contagious. Its obvious that they loved the Bob Dylan of this point in time and were awed by the dramatic power of songs such as "Who Killed Davey Moore?", "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", and "Gates of Eden". I was awed, too. Although in my long-ago youth, I had been an admirer of a small number of Bob Dylan songs, I somehow remained unacquainted with his larger body of work until I recently watched the Scorsese documentary "No Direction Home". What an enigmatic American phenomenon he has been! After seeing "No Direction Home", I was left with the feeling that the saga of Bob Dylan's career said something very important about the difference in perceptions between an artist and his public about what his admirers have a right to expect of him. The night of this concert, Dylan was still an affable, eager-to-please young performer reveling in the adulation of his fans. But there were scattered remarks throughout the show which seemed to foreshadow the rift between artist and public: particularly telling, I thought was his Halloween reference - "I'm wearing my Bob Dylan mask... Yeah, it's all a masquerade." - or words to that effect. I loved the songs and almost all the performance. Whatever anyone thinks of Bob Dylan, I can't see how it could be denied that he wrote some of the most intelligent, creative lyrics ever penned by an American songwriter.
Mama, You've Been On My Mind Mar 19, 2009
I was inspired to write this review by the scant mention of Joan Baez in the "highly helpful" reviews.
As fantastic as the opening set of songs are (my highlight is Don't Think Twice it's alright), the introduction of Joan Baez adds another - and ethereally beautiful - dimension to this bootleg. Mama, You've Been on My Mind reminds of June Carter and Johnny Cash singing together. Silver Dagger is a tremendous rendition of a Dylan tune, showing off the incredible strength and crystalline beauty of Baez's voice. With God on Our Side is not let down, either.
All in all - perfect music. I also recommend the '66 bootleg with the electric set.
-remingtn
 The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall Feb 05, 2009
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall is a tremendous live album and contains such classic Dylan tracks such as "The Times They Are A-Changin'", "A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall" and "All I Really Want To Do". The CD booklet is very nice and Sony Music Entertainment has not cut corners on this one. It contains very well-written liner notes by Sean Wilentz and has countless great photos of Dylan and the people he played with at the time. 4/5.
loyal dylan enthusiast Jan 11, 2009
it is sometimes a bit difficult to hear dylan's dialogue with the audience when the audience is clapping so loudly after a song or at the beginning of a song which can be annoying but it is understandable. i ordered this from amazon and it came right on time. the sound quality is actually very good but the harmonica can be a little too loud at times. all of the songs are definitely great to hear and are timeless indeed. i've always been a fan of dylan.
To Be Young Was Very Heaven Dec 23, 2008
As of late I have been railing against various secondary Bob Dylan materials that are mainly of historical interest. In those cases I was describing my reactions to a two-disc set "The Basement Tapes" of about twenty songs and another five volume set entitled "The `Genuine" Basement Tapes of about one hundred songs both done with The Band in 1967 while he was "hiding" out in rural New York after his motorcycle accident. I dubbed both items as strictly for aficionados. I also noted that I was less than enamored of the virtual cottage industry that has grown up around various bootleg, basement, cellar, barn, attic or other odd versions of Dylan's work, electric or acoustic. This archival material is nice for folk, rock and cultural historians but I would argue that Mr. Bob Dylan's usually well-produced mainline albums are after over forty years more than enough to listen to without having to get into the minutia of his career. And, moreover, somehow left to feel that one has missed something without this other more esoteric material in one's collection. Having said that, I am now have to eat a little crow and recommend one bootleg volume that is a notch above the others- the famous October 1964 Philharmonic Concert.
Of course this concert falls into the above-mentioned categories of being for aficionados and music historians. But this one also, unlike some others in these series, gives a glance at what Bob Dylan was like as a performer as he was rising to the top of the folk world before the old electric/acoustic controversy fouled the air. I would draw the reader's attention to a sharp contrast between carefree, light-hearted stage presence and response to his audience here and the later 1966 Prince Albert Royal Hall Concert (Bootleg Volume 4) where he is on the defensive with his British audience and at the end of it practically ignores that audience as a result of their negative response to his going `electric'. I would also note the distant and mumbled answers of his interview style noted in Martin Scorcese's documentary "No Direction Home" of a few years ago. Here, though add his duos on Disc Two with his `paramour', folk queen Joan Baez, and the mixture is practically irresistible.
Again, virtually all the material in this set is available in more polished and technically proficient studio performances and if one has to choose, or is a Dylan rookie, then that is the place to look for his copies of his work. However, for those of us who are aficionados (Hey, I never said I wasn't, did I?) then here are some things to look for: "Gates Of Eden"; "Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall"; It All Right, Mama (remember that classic line 'even the President must sometimes have to stand naked' as we enter the Obamian `new age'); and "Mr. Tambourine Man". Some of the more topical songs of the time (part of the true folk tradition and what keeps this genre moving forward) like "Talking World War III Blues" and "John Birch Blues" will require a translator or a click to Wikipedia to 'get' the references in those pieces. So do a little homework. That's okay here.
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