Expecting Rain

OK, I only know two people who like this album as much as I do and most people really diss it. I think his cover of I Want You is so superb and so poignant on this album that I sometimes just listen to that over and over. Who likes it and who doesn't, and why? I listen to this a lot; maybe more than any other because it has so many great songs on it. Love, Joanna XOXOX

I used to hand out beatdowns to people who said they liked this album. But I haven't heard it in a long time. The only official Dylan that I don't even have a copy.

I have always liked it. Some of the arrangements are fabulous, IMO. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is a favorite of mine, love those flutes.

"Before the Flood" is much inferior if you ask me.

I should have known you would be one of the first!!! I just really like it; it has a lot of great songs and then I Want You - THE BEST!! Just saw your post Gunfighter - YES!!! Love Minuse Zero is awesome. Somebody here told me they hated it because of the flutes; I really like the flutes! That's what I mean - there are so many great songs!! Love, Joanna XOXO

Great to see you started the thread Johanna!

Beautiful album, this was the album that got me into Dylan to obsession level. I had Desire and Infidels and loved them, but never listened to them hardly. Then one day I was in the record shop and seen this cover as the first album that was showing, $20, I got it straight away on vinyl. I hadn't even heard nearly any of the songs. Except One More Cup of Coffee. And maybe a couple of others. But I played Side 1 and thought it was great, then when Ballad of A Thin Man came on that was it, I knew immediately that Bob would be life. Then Don't Think Twice, It's Alright came on, and things just kept getting better. I was loving it so much, then I put side 3 on, which really did it for me. Those 3 songs; Simple Twist, All Along the Water, I Want You. And i've never looked back since.

My favourite version of I Want You. So heartbreaking. It still gets regular play today still. I Shall Be Released is a great version too. Going Going Gone is really great. And Forever Young.

The guitar work from Billy Cross on this album is incredible, Some amazing solos on here.

BTW, if you haven't heard this one yet, I would suggest getting it on vinyl if you can, not only because of the great sound. But because I have the double CD, and for me it just loses what the vinyl has. Can't describe it, it's the same songs and everything, but they just flow as good on the CD.

Thanks Johanna again for starting this thread!



Side 1;

Mr Tambourine Man
Shelter From the Storm
Love Minus Zero / No Limit
Ballad of A Thin Man
Don't Think Twice

Side 2;

Maggie's Farm
One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
Like A Rolling Stone
I Shall Be Released
Is Your Love In Vain?
Going, Going, Gone

Side 3;

Blowin' In The Wind
Just Like A Woman
Oh, Sister
Simple Twist of Fate
All Along the Watchtower
I Want You

Side 4;

All I Really Want To Do
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
It's Alright Ma, (I'm Only Bleeding)
Forever Young
The Times They Are A-Changing

Over the years I've gone back and forth with this one. I like it. Just another slice of the ever changing Bob. Going Going Gone...

I'm listening to it for the first time now. I like it! It's different! I love the version of I Want You on it!

It's very nice but i'm not a big fan . The 70s songs were great on that tour , and there's so few of them . And no street legal songs ! There were beautiful on that tour , some of Bob's best performances ever . There's just Is Your Love In Vain .


Check this out :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2YIf2ub3Oo&feature=plcp



and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1RXVc4TYkU

( and that's not even my favourite , just the only version i could find )


and of course

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95pelijnhYQ


Great stuff !


Plus , there were much better versions of most songs featured in that album . If you like At Budokan , you really need to check out some 1978 bootlegs .



Just a hint : compare this version to the one from at Budokan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhaFJ4Hgrqc


Now that's what i'm talkin' about! Crazy!

It's a great record in my opinion. Not my favourite live album, I mean, it's near impossible to surpass the quality of BS4/5 and the like, but as Johanna & Isis have said, I Want You is superb, Ballad of a Thin Man is masterfully done, and Bob's pretty much on top form through the whole album. I got it on vinyl a couple weeks ago and Isis is right, it really does add something to the experience. My only complaint is that version of Mr. Tambourine Man. That version is just something I hate more than anything else on the album
But yes, this is a good thread, and we must do something to stop the widespread hate towards this decent album.

Yes! I've got loads of 78' bootlegs. Them versions of Tangled Up In Blue are some of my favourites. Beautifully done. Paris from that year is one of my favourite concerts. I love how they the band did an instrumental My Back Pages then into She's Love Crazy, or other blues songs. Then go into Mr. Tambourine Man or Baby Stop Crying. Great stuff!

i love it. always have..
with hard rain & live '75 it's
my favourite dylan live cd.

And why wouldn't you love this song, J0hanna4Ever? If you have a copy on vinyl and play it backwards you'll discover Bob dedicated this performance of I Want You to you.

I find Live At Budokan to be an excellent representation of Dylan "live"... same with all his other live albums (and the NET for that matter). You never know what to expect... throughout his career he has shifted across the musical landscape with his work, sometimes brilliantly and sometimes disastrously. I think the risk taking has lessened in the last few years but he's still one of the best concerts going and continues to "Rock 'Em Dead"* night after night.

*Incidentally, Uranium Rock (Rock 'Em Dead) would be a great song to re-introduce to his setlists.

Yes! Same here.
It was also the first Dylan record I heard on vinyl.

We've had this discussion here before, at which time I stated my theory that Bob's 1978 Japanese tour was the USA's revenge for Pearl Harbor.

Street-Legal is one of my favorite Dylan albums, but using that same band & back-up singers on his classic songs with Street-Legal-like arrangements just doesn't work for me at all.

I bought my copy when it first came out, gave it a couple spins, then traded it in at a used record store. There were so many great new punk/new wave bands coming out with albums at that time, so it was a real bummer to think that I coulda used that cash to buy 2 albums that I woulda liked much better.

About 5 years ago, I bought a copy from the same used record store, just to see if I changed my mind about it, & besides, it was the only Dylan album I didn't have. I got halfway thru side 2 & took it off. I still have it, but it hasn't been played since, & my needle has never touched sides 3 & 4.

It's dismal, the most unmusical Dylan era but it fits nicely with the late 70's. Awful smarmy Phil Spectorish sax, no sublety, the total loss of the blues and bluegrass touches that made Dylan interesting. The version of Clapton's arrangement of Knockin' is the only tolerable thing on that record. There were a couple interesting arrangements at the 2/20 gig that were soon dropped and didn't make Budokan, too bad. Anything that was musical from the rundown rehearsals was ruled out, too.

Michael Bolton learned half his schtick from that record in all likelihood. Kenny G would have fit right in. Barry Manilow could have been out front, or Neil Diamond. It makes Springsteen sound authentic.

I really like Bukokan too. Never understood the hate for it by the masses......... MEZ

I really do love this album. I was expecting something horrible from the reviews of it but more often than not it is a blistering, fascinating stripping down and rebuilding of his songs. In terms of arrangements, this is probably as 'adventurous' (some may think that's a bad thing) as Dylan's been live. I adore that strange recurring melody on Shelter From The Storm, the intensity of It's Alright, Mama and you're right, I Want You is fantastic. There are spotty places, of course, and my biggest dissapointment in arrangements is probably Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Considering he had this big band with these choral singers I thought they could pull of a transcendent version of Knockin', something that never really sets alight for me.

It's a shame that they didn't include some of the material from earlier in the tour as well; Tangled Up In Blue is probably the most glaring, ridiculous and dumb exclusion because that was simply beautiful in this period and the Street-Legal material like Where Are You Tonight? and Changing Of The Guards would've broken up the 'greatest hits' vibe very nicely.

Overall, though, it's Dylan with a new divisive sound and giving some of his best songs a very rich, melody rich reinvention. Sublime. If you like that sorta thing.

He hadn't added them to the set yet. They came later, and if I recall correctly Tangled came in much later. But I agree them versions of Tangled are beautiful. I don't think he added Where Are You Tonight or Changing of The Guards till Street Legal came out though. Although I could be and think be wrong.

I hope that is true, but I haven't figured out how to listen to my MP3 backwards Untrodden path and I don't have the vinyl!! I met Billy Cross many years ago Isis; he was very nice and he must be quite old by now. We aren't all youngsters like you!! I don't know why he is in Denmark, but I guess he's there because he wants to be. Well, Bob's concert or concerts are the highlight of my year these days. He is older, but he is still as charismatic as ever. Charlie Sexton can stand right in front of you and you have eyes for nothing but Bob (in my case); I like to look at Tony too because he smiles at me! He was in FINE form in Phoenix last year; Milky and I were there in the front row. He was as happy as I have ever seen him. I need to get that album; I have always known that there is a psychic thing going on between us!!! I Want You has always been one of my favorite songs; it's hard to have a favorite as they change daily or weekly depending upon what you are listening to, but I always put this on when I walk the dog. Maybe it's a habit, but I just close my eyes (instead of looking for possible weirdos on the street) at least for the first few lines and think I Want You too!!! I also think how beautiful Bob sounds on this particular track. I do like Along The Watchtower too on this. It's not on my top 20, but I ALWAYS listen to this version and I love it.

My father bought this vinyl when it came out and played it constantly, so it was kinda my introduction even though I was still quite young. In fact, he gave me the record which I still own and play today. When I started seeking out the separate albums each track came from, needless to say I was quite surprised with hearing the earlier, different arrangements (having memorized Budokon first!!) Anyway, nowhere near my top ten but enjoyable/sentimental all the same. I prob listen to Nurenburg, Charlotte, Paris, LA and Brisbane boots more though. I do really like the Budokon Blowin In The Wind and REALLY enjoy the rehearsals alot.

It's one of the few official vinyls I don't own. I don't feel like paying 9-12 dollars for it.

I like it fine, some songs more than others.

For some reason it was one of the first Dylan LPs I got into so I'm fond of it, although it is years since I've listened to it so I don't know how it will stand up now. I Want You was the stand out track at the time - in fact, I wasn't expecting the more jaunty tempo of the BoB version when I got that album and it still sounds a bit wrong to me, I still expect the slow, heartbreaking version from this album.

Nine to twelve dollars?!!! My heavens, its a bargain at three times that!

Tell me where! I will buy it any day. It's a masterpiece!!! Thank you Tragos for those videos. I was just looking at some Farm Aid videos and they weren't half bad. I do agree; there are some glaring exceptions, but the whole album is full of gems. I am NEVER giving it up. Henrypussycat, what IS your favorite Bob album? Or top three favorites? You and I never agree on what is good, but that is all good too!!! Love, Joanna XOXO