Bob Dylan - Tour 1966

Bob Dylan - Tour 1966Just about 60 years ago, Bob Dylan and the Hawks were hurtling towards the end of a legendarily stormy spring tour, which took them from Australia to various countries spread across Europe and the UK. “Every night was like goin’ for broke, like the end of the world,” Dylan would remember a couple decades later. And yeah, that’s what it often sounds like, now that we can fully immerse ourselves in those shows, the performer and his audience clashing in ways that are hilarious, thrilling and occasionally frightening. It’s kind of amazing how well-documented this era is, thanks to audio engineer Richard Alderson and documentarian DA Pennebaker. Re: Pennebaker, I recently attended a presentation from the director of the Bob Dylan Center that featured some of Pennebaker’s ‘66 footage; apparently hours upon hours of this stuff exists in the Center’s archives, and it’s all being carefully restored and preserved. Which is great news … but those hours remain (mostly)…