Bob Dylan – Build a Ladder to the Stars, 1974

Bob Dylan
1974 BUILD A LADDER TO THE STARS
Pink Panther Records

Thanks as always to Nellie at Expecting Rain for this compilation. As per usual she has included an enormous amount of information in the text files which I have not included here (but do remain in the download) in order to save space.

Tour ’74 is a much misunderstood part of Dylan’s live performance canon.
The early concerts are quite different to the later ones which formed Before The Flood.

There have been various great compilations of Tour ’74 in the past,
most notably the silver boot Phantoms Of My Youth (Capricorn) and
Bob Meyer’s amazing Nineteen74 from 1981, a “best of” from his exhaustive, and at the time definitive, “1974 Project”.

However, since then, many pristine complete soundboards (& bits of soundboards) have emerged,
along with great audience tapes from Chicago and Hollywood. This new compilation reflects this.

One of the great surprises is the performance & sound quality of The Band songs, which are also included here.

Sound quality here is generally very good to excellent, but some tracks only exist in fair to poor sound.
Unfortunately, the first three tracks from Chicago are in poor sound –
if you don’t like these completist tracks, use the “skip” button.

Hope you enjoy it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Lies, damn lies & statistics:

All the songs performed by Dylan & The Band on Tour’74.
20 of a total of 41 concerts represented here.
86 tracks.
59 different songs.
1 Bob.

Chicago Stadium
Chicago, Illinois
3 January 1974

1.Share Your Love With Me (Briggs/Malone)
2.Holy Cow (Alain Toussaint)
3.Life Is A Carnival (Robbie Robertson – Rick Danko – Levon Helm)

First concert of the 1974 Tour of America with The Band.
This was the only time that Dylan played during The Band’s set.

LB-2635;
From Les Kokay audience set

Chicago Stadium
Chicago, Illinois
4 January 1974

4.Hero Blues
5.It Ain’t Me, Babe
6.Tough Mama
7.Long Black Veil (Danny Dill – Marijohn Wilkin)
8.All Along The Watchtower
9.Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
10.The Times They Are A-Changin’
11.Love Minus Zero/No Limit
12.The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
13.Nobody ‘Cept You
14.It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
15.The Shape I’m In (Robbie Robertson)
16.The Weight (Robbie Robertson)
17.Forever Young
18.Something There Is About You
19.Like A Rolling Stone

LB-2636;
From Les Kokay audience set

The Spectrum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6 January 1974
Afternoon

20.To Ramona
21.Mama, You Been On My Mind

LB-9309;
Fix of LB-2637

The Spectrum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6 January 1974
Evening

22.It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
23.Song To Woody
24.Mr. Tambourine Man

LB-2638;
From Les Kokay audience set

The Spectrum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7 January 1974

25.Girl Of The North Country
26.Wedding Song
27.Nobody ‘Cept You

LB-2647;
From Les Kokay audience set

Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
9 January 1974

28.It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry

LB-9312;
Fix of LB-2650

Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
10 January 1974

29.As I Went Out One Morning
30.Love Minus Zero/No Limit

LB-7073;
As I Went Out One Evening (Be Twisted / BTCD 020-21)

Boston Gardens
Boston, Massachusetts
14 January 1974

31.Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
32.Lay, Lady, Lay
33.Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
34.It Ain’t Me, Babe
35.I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
36.Ballad Of A Thin Man
37.The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robbie Robertson)
38.This Wheel’s On Fire (Rick Danko – Bob Dylan)
39.I Shall Be Released
40.Up On Cripple Creek (Robbie Robertson)
41.All Along The Watchtower
42.Ballad Of Hollis Brown
43.Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
44.Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
45.Just Like A Woman
46.Something There Is About You

LB-1497;
Compiler: Les Kokay;
Part of The 1974 PA Tape Collection upgrade;
Sources:
first disc PA recording;
second disc – first 5 tracks PA recording, last 8 audience;
best known sources.

Except:
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.

LB-9378;
Taper: Bill Graham;
Source: Wolfgang’s Vault (WV);
Streaming capture: JTT;
Lossy FLAC from mp3 capture;
Incomplete soundboard;
Equipment: Soundforge PRO 10b, FLAC Level 8 Align on Sector Boundaries.

Capital Centre
Largo, Maryland
16 January 1974

47.One Too Many Mornings

LB-9328;
Lineage: Low gen tape > CDR > Eac > Flac;
The Band sets are from a different tape [LK AUD set]

Hollywood Sportatorium
Hollywood, Florida
19 January 1974
Afternoon

48.It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
49.Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever (Don Hunter – Stevie Wonder)
50.Forever Young

LB-11892;
Hollywood Sportatorium (No Label / BDBA 11974)

Mid-South Coliseum
Memphis, Tennessee
23 January 1974

51.Going Back To Memphis (Chuck Berry)
52.Fourth Time Around

LB-2677;
From Les Kokay audience set

Nassau County Coliseum
Nassau, New York
28 January 1974

53.Gates Of Eden

LB-2694;
From Les Kokay audience set;
Master tape > CDR > EAC > CoolEdit2000 minimal HR > Flac

Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
30 January 1974

54.King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

Source:
Dylan related Wolfgang’s Vault Radio broadcasts Week 4;
Soundboard recordings captured, compiled and encoded by Arturo el Duderino, 14 March 2006;
128kbps digital mp3 stream > Creative SoundBlaster Live! > Wave (16bit, 44.1kHz, 2.0) > SoundForge 8.0 > TLH > FLAC

Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
31 January 1974
Evening

55.Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
56.Lay, Lady, Lay
57.Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
58.Ballad Of A Thin Man
59.Up On Cripple Creek (Robbie Robertson)
60.Ballad Of Hollis Brown
61.Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
62.Rag Mama Rag (Robbie Robertson)
63.This Wheel’s On Fire (Rick Danko – Bob Dylan)
64.Highway 61 Revisited
65.Blowin’ In The Wind

LB-9393;
Compiler: Les Kokay (LK);
The 1974 PA tape collection upgrade

Except:
Ballad Of A Thin Man,
Up On Cripple Creek,
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,
This Wheel’s On Fire.

LB-11118;
1974 Soundboard Collection (Wonderland Records)

Missouri Arena
St. Louis, Missouri
4 February 1974
Afternoon

66.A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
67.Desolation Row

LB-11762;
Taper: Bob Heyer

Coliseum
Denver, Colorado
6 February 1974
Afternoon

68.Visions Of Johanna

LB-2703;
From Les Kokay audience set

Alameda County Coliseum
Oakland, California
11 February 1974
Evening

69.Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
70.Stage Fright (Robbie Robertson)
71.The Times They Are A-Changin’
72.Just Like A Woman
73.Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
74.It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
75.Highway 61 Revisited
76.Like A Rolling Stone
77.Maggie’s Farm
78.Blowin’ In The Wind – The original FLAC file from my set was corrupted. I supplied a new one from my files with the same source – Mat

LB-4445;
Oakland Flood (Mainstream / MSBR 0016-17)

Except Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right:

LB-11118;
1974 Soundboard Collection (Wonderland Records)

The Forum
Inglewood
Los Angeles, California
13 February 1974

79.When You Awake

Source:
Bob Dylan (and related);
Wolfgang’s Vault Radio broadcasts Week 5;
Soundboard recordings;
Captured, compiled and encoded by Arturo el Duderino, 14 March 2006;
128kbps digital mp3 stream > Creative SoundBlaster Live! > Wave (16bit, 44.1kHz, 2.0) > SoundForge 8.0 > TLH >FLAC

The Forum
Inglewood
Los Angeles, California
14 February 1974
Afternoon

80.Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
81.She Belongs To Me
82.It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

LB-10164;
Before The Flood Complete (Original Master Series / 110-111-112-113);
Gold CD Limited Edition;
Digitally Remastered

The Forum
Inglewood
Los Angeles, California
14 February 1974
Evening

83.Mr. Tambourine Man
84.Endless Highway (Robbie Robertson)
85.Gates Of Eden
86.Maggie’s Farm

LB-10164;
Before The Flood Complete (Original Master Series / 110-111-112-113);
Gold CD Limited Edition;
Digitally Remastered

Bob Dylan – I Got Rosie On My Chest, Summer & Fall Tour 1999

Bob Dylan
1999 I GOT ROSIE ON MY CHEST
Pink Panther Records
the 1999 summer & fall “Paul Simon” concerts

As always (even when I forget to mention her) thanks to Nellie over at Expecting rain.

Bob played 49 concerts between 6/5 Denver & 9/18 Dallas.

These concerts were mainly double-header concerts with Paul Simon (where they alternated opening for each other every night),
along with some breakout club shows which were performed without Paul Simon,
along with the Crossroads benefit concert in New York with Eric Clapton.

Due to Bob playing with both the Paul Simon & Eric Clapton bands on occasions, some songs are duplicated in this compilation.
Some songs were played jointly with Paul Simon, with backup from the “opening” band.
All 81 songs played on this tour leg are included here.
This is a very misunderstood tour leg, which was widely criticized as a commercial money-grab at the time.

Having listened carefully to the available tracks from best possible sources (& all in FLAC),
I can assure you that the quality of both performance & sound is up there with the best of the NET.

What surprised me most were Bob’s sincere efforts to make the collaborations with Paul Simon interesting. The band alternated each night (depending on who opened), but each joint song also varied in structure from night to night with some great vocals from Bob (doing his best Art Garfunkel impersonation) & some very interesting harmonica. Bob probably drove Paul Simon nuts doing it but it worked. This might sound totally weird but lining up these collaboration songs & playing them one after the other is actually quite interesting!

49 concerts is a lot of concerts for one tour leg, but it holds up from start to finish.

PS – Bob also told a lot of jokes – I’m glad he did nor pursue a career in comedy.

Statistics for this compilation (yes, lies, damn lies & statistics masquerading as facts)

86 ball-tearing, sensational tracks
81 different songs
31 concerts are represented here (from the total of 49 concerts)
8 hours & 33 minutes of music
1 bob

Fillmore Auditorium
Denver, Colorado
5 June 1999

1.Friend Of The Devil (Jerry Garcia – Robert Hunter – John Dawson)
2.Mr Tambourine Man
3.Tomorrow Is A Long Time
4.Rank Strangers To Me (A. Brumley)
5.Cold Irons Bound
6.Just Like A Woman
7.Highway 61 Revisited
8.Maggie’s Farm
9.Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Bill Monroe)
10.Forever Young

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on Blue Moon Of Kentucky and Forever Young.

LB-1573;
xref-01384

General Motors Arena
Vancouver, British Columbia
11 June 1999

11.Tangled Up In Blue
12.Tryin’ To Get To Heaven

LB-5531

Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Oregon
12 June 1999

13.Hallelujah, I’m Ready To Go (trad.)

LB-5547;
Equipment: DAT, clone (?) >
(digital transfer) m-audio delta audiophile 2496 >
Wavelab > cdwave for tracking > tlh

The Gorge Amphitheatre
George, Washington
13 June 1999

14.Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
15.Love Sick

LB-5540;
Taper: NET Taper G (NTG);
Equipment: DAT clone > (digital transfer) m-audio delta audiophile 2496 >
Wavelab > cdwave for tracking > tlh

Erb Memorial Union Ballroom
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
14 June 1999

16.Cocaine Blues (trad.)
17.My Back Pages
18.Boots Of Spanish Leather
19.A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
20.Love Minus Zero/No Limit
21.Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
22.Down Along The Cove
23.Blind Willie McTell
24.Simple Twist Of Fate
25.Can’t Wait

LB-1683;
Remaster: allalongthewatchtower.dk;
Soundboard-Audience mix

Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, California
22 June 1999

26.It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

LB-6961

Coors Amphitheatre
Chula Vista, California
25 June 1999

27.Highlands
28.I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
29.It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
30.It Ain’t Me, Babe

LB-7562

Garden Arena
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
26 June 1999

31.Not Fade Away (Norman Petty/Charles Hardin)

LB-1711;
xref-00900

Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavillion
Phoenix, Arizona
27 June 1999

32.Watching The River Flow

LB-8779;
Unprocessed (raw) version of Olav ASM LB-3411

Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
30 June 1999

Eric Clapton & Friends To Benefit Crossroads Centre Antigua

33.Born In Time
34.Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
35.Not Dark Yet
36.Crossroads (Robert Johnson)
37.Bright Lights, Big City (Jimmy Reed)

Eric Clapton (vocal & guitar):
Born In Time,
Crossroads,
Bright Lights, Big City.

Sheryl Crow (vocal & accordion) on Bright Lights, Big City.

LB-10464;
Soundboard

Bayside Festival Park
Duluth, Minnesota
3 July 1999

38.Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

LB-9640;
Taper: Bt (Net Taper P);
Location: immediately in front of a speaker to the left of the stage;
Equipment: DPA 4061 microphones and Sony TCD-100 DAT recorder;
Original Master DAT > GINA24 digital sound card >
PC (Audacity) > CD Wave > FLAC

Saint Andrews Hall
Detroit, Michigan
6 July 1999

39.Mama, You Been On My Mind
40.Man In The Long Black Coat
41.Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

LB-5443;
Location: stage centre right;
Equipment: DPA4061 > M1 > Zefiro ZA2 >
Sound Forge > CDR > EAC > FLAC

Pine Knob Music Theatre
Clarkston, Michigan
7 July 1999

42.Roving Gambler (trad.)
43.Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
44.SeÒor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
45.Like A Rolling Stone
46.That’ll Be The Day (Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly & Norman Petty)
47.The Wanderer (E. Maresca)

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on That’ll Be The Day and The Wanderer.

LB-3259

World Music Theatre
Tinley Park, Illinois
9 July 1999

48.Masters Of War
49.Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35

LB-1540

Bogart’s
Cincinnati, Ohio
11 July 1999

50.Girl Of The North Country
51.You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere

LB-1836;
Transfer: Doug N;
Equipment: Oade Micro Mics > D8 (44.1);
Transfer:, DA-P1 > Audiophile 2496 > Wavelab 4 > CDWave > FLAC

GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater
Virginia Beach, Virginia
13 July 1999

52.The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
53.All Along The Watchtower
54.That’ll Be The Day (Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly & Norman Petty)

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on That’ll Be The Day.

LB-4156;
Taper: Bobby Bourbon (BB);
Equipment: Schoeps MK4V’s > Sonosax SX-M2 >
Sony SBM-1 > Sony TCD-D100

Nissan Pavillion At Stone Ridge
Bristow, Virginia
16 July 1999

55.Somebody Touched Me (trad.)

LB-4302;
Remaster: Schubert

Sony Music Entertainment Center
Camden, New Jersey
17 July 1999

56.Make You Feel My Love

LB-4135;
Taper: Bobby Bourbon & Wklitz;
Location: Section 102 Row A;
Equipment: Schoeps MK4V’s > Sonosax SX-M2 > Sony SBM-1 > Sony TCD-D100

Pepsi Arena
Albany, New York
20 July 1999

57.Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie (Elizabeth Cotton)
58.I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

LB-3075

Tweeter Center For The Performing Arts
Mansfield, Massachusetts
22 July 1999

59.Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)

LB-5731;
Taper: Unwanted Man Music (UMM);
Location: right side, 7th row;
Equipment: AT853H > D7 > Tascam CD-RW750 > CD Wave > FLAC

Tweeter Center For The Performing Arts
Mansfield, Massachusetts
23 July 1999

60.Lay, Lady, Lay

LB-5724;
Taper: Unwanted Man Music (UMM);
Equipment: AT853H > D7 > Tascam CD-RW750 > CD Wave > FLAC

Tramps
New York City, New York
26 July 1999

61.The Times They Are A-Changin’
62.John Brown
63.Visions Of Johanna
64.Seeing The Real You At Last
65.Ballad Of A Thin Man
66.Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
67.Every Grain Of Sand
68.Tombstone Blues
69.Not Dark Yet
70.Highway 61 Revisited
71.Blowin’ In The Wind
72.Alabama Getaway (Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia)
73.I Shall Be Released

Elvis Costello (vocal & guitar) on I Shall Be Released.

LB-4136;
Taper: Bobby Bourbon & Mike Inhatt;
Equipment: Schoeps MK4V’s > Sonosax SX-M2 > Sony SBM-1 > Sony TCD-D100

Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
27 July 1999

74.The Sound Of Silence (Paul Simon)
75.I Walk The Line (Johnny Cash)

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on The Sound Of Solence and I Walk The Line.

LB-6038;
No More Alibis (Rattlesnake / RS 003-4-5)

PNC Bank Arts Center
Holmdel, New Jersey
28 July 1999

76.Lenny Bruce

LB-2970;
Remaster: Schubert

Jones Beach Theater
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, New York
30 July 1999

77.Desolation Row
78.Shelter From The Storm

LB-7200;
Remaster: OctopusRider;
SBD/AUD Matrix by OctopusRider;
SBD: Something Is Happening On Mr Jones’ Beach (Rattlesnake) LB-5099;
AUD: Sony D3 Walkman > Sony CDRs > FLAC (A Doinker Tape) LB-5100

Jones Beach Theater
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, New York
31 July 1999

79.Positively 4th Street
80.The Sound Of Silence (Paul Simon)

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on The Sound Of Silence.

LB-5209

Coral Sky Amphitheatre
West Palm Beach, Florida
2 September 1999

81.The Heart That You Own (Dwight Yoakam)

LB-10787;
Taper: Dolphinsmile;
Equipment: akg391 > Sony D8 > wav (48/16) > flac (flac 1.2.1) >
wav (TLH w/flac 1.2.1b) > wav (44.1/16) [Adobe Audition 1.5/fix-downsample*] >
flac (TLH w/flac 1.2.1b – align on SB ‘fix’ option – level 8)

First American Music Center
Antioch, Tennessee
8 September 1999

82.I Am The Man, Thomas (Ralph Stanley/Larry Sparks)

Marty Stuart (mandolin) on I Am The Man, Thomas.

LB-3627;
Equipment: neumann km140 > sonosax >
pcm-m1 > trade cdrs > eac > flac

The Pyramid
Memphis, Tennessee
11 September 1999

83.One Too Many Mornings

LB-2007

The Cajundome
University Of Southwestern Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana
12 September 1999

84.To Ramona
85.The Boxer (Paul Simon)

Paul Simon (vocal & acoustic guitar) on The Boxer.

LB-1483

Special Events Center Arena
University Of Texas At Austin
Austin, Texas
15 September 1999

86.It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

LB-7010