This page is part of Lonesome Sparrow's Web Site.


Bob Dylan & The Band: Love Songs For America

2CD
Label: The Swingin' Pig Records
Order number: TSP-CD-055-2 (on spine, back cover and booklet)
Order number disk 1: TSP-CD-055-1
Order number disk 2: TSP-CD-055-2
Matrix disk 1: DANDISC TSPCD 055-1 CDM01
Matrix disk 2: DANDISC TSPCD 055-2 CDM01
(P) 1990 (on CDs, back cover and booklet)
Luxembourg (on CDs)
Townsend number: T-128
Total time: 86:37
Total time disk 1: 43:41
Total time disk 2: 42:56

Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 14 January 1974 (afternoon show)

  • Bob Dylan backed by The Band

    1.1.Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 (0:05/2:32/0:07)
    1.2.Lay Lady Lay (0:05/3:10/0:04)
    1.3.Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (0:05/5:53/0:07)
    1.4.It Ain't Me Babe (0:04/3:43/0:17)
    1.5.I Don't Believe You (0:06/5:14/0:27)
    1.6.Ballad Of A Thin Man (0:01/3:37/0:29)

  • The Band

    1.7.Stage Fright (0:02/4:30/0:17)
    1.8.The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (0:00/4:20/0:33)
    1.9.King Harvest (0:00/3:22/0:30)
    1.10.This Wheel's On Fire (0:01/3:44/0:06)
    2.1.I Shall Be Released (0:00/3:34/0:14)
    2.2.Up On Cripple Creek (0:04/4:25/0:50)

  • Bob Dylan backed by The Band

    2.3.All Along The Watchtower (0:00/2:46/0:06)
    2.4.The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (0:00/3:58/0:25)
    2.5.Knockin' On Heaven's Door (0:00/3:58/0:26)

  • Bob Dylan solo

    2.6.The Times They Are A-Changin' (0:00/2:55/0:25)
    (incomplete recording)
    2.7.Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (0:00/3:46/0:19)
    2.8.Gates Of Eden (0:00/4:43/0:31)
    2.9.Just Like A Woman (0:00/3:57/0:21)
    2.10.It's Alright, Ma (0:00/4:57/0:06)

    Something like (a:aa/b:bb/c:cc) in the track list means that b:bb is the duration of the actual song. a:aa and c:cc indicate how much time of the track is due to introductions, tunings etc.

    Review by Lonesome Sparrow

    On 14 January 1974 Bob Dylan & The Band did two concerts at the Boston Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts. This double CD contains the afternoon show. Unfortunately, the last 8 songs are missing. Also the beginning of "The Times They Are A- Changin'" is missing; it starts in the middle of the first line.

    Bob Dylan is not present on all of the songs, since The Band plays a number of songs by themselves. They did that in every concert of the 1974 tour.

    This double CD is very similar to the official double CD "Before The Flood", since that set consists also of recordings of the 1974 tour. Many of the songs on "Love Songs For America" are also on "Before The Flood", but since The Boston concerts weren't used for "Before The Flood", the performances on "Love Songs For America" are different. 7 of the 20 songs on "Love Songs" are not performed on "Before The Flood". They are: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", "I Don't Believe You", "King Harvest", "This Wheel's On Fire", "Ballad Of Hollis Brown", "The Times They Are A-Changin'", "Gates Of Eden".

    "Love Songs For America" was sourced from a soundboard recording. The sound quality is not as good as on "Before The Flood", but it's superb nonetheless.

    The highlight of this double CD for me is the successive performance of "All Along The Watchtower" and a roaring electric version of "Ballad Of Hollis Brown". I prefer this "Watchtower" over the one on "Before The Flood", because it is played more mean. Because of these two performances I like "Love Songs" more than "Before The Flood".

    The songs that are missing are "Forever Young", "Something There Is About You", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Most Likely You Go Your Way", and 4 more songs played by The Band. It seems that no soundboard recording of these performances is circulating.