Before the Flood is the title of a 1974 live album by Bob Dylan and The Band.
Recorded on the 40-show January and February 1974 Dylan/Band reunion tour coming on the heels of Dylan’s hit album Planet Waves (also backed by The Band), this live set was a high-profile comeback for both sides of the bill. While all but one of the songs here were familiar and might be considered “hits” (the exception being The Band's "Endless Highway", debuted on the tour), few of them sound similar to their original versions; Dylan’s songs in particular are re-arranged and sung with a ferocity not found on the originals.
The concert series that resulted in this album was one of the most in-demand tickets in rock music history; tickets were sold by mail-order only and promoter Bill Graham has claimed that there were mail-order requests for more than twelve million tickets, though only about a half-million seats were available for the shows.
The title of the album is thought to be taken from a novel (Farn Mabul) by Yiddish writer Sholem Asch; Dylan had a personal relationship with Moses Asch, son of Sholem and founder of Folkways Records.
A double album released on Dylan's then-label, Asylum Records, it was a source of contention for The Band, who were by then struggling to gather enough material to fulfill their contract with Capitol Records.
Track Listing
- Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Dylan; 3:16)
- Lay Lady Lay (Dylan; 3:00)
- Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Dylan; 3:09)
- Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Dylan; 3:30)
- It Ain't Me, Babe (Dylan; 3:15)
- Ballad Of A Thin Man (Dylan; 3:29)
- Up On Cripple Creek (Robertson; 4:57)
- I Shall Be Released (Dylan; 3:19)
- Endless Highway (Robertson; 4:45)
- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robertson; 4:05)
- Stage Fright (Robertson; 4:22)
- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Dylan; 3:34)
- Just Like A Woman (Dylan; 4:46)
- It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Dylan; 5:12)
- The Shape I'm In (Robertson; 3:33)
- When You Awake (Manuel-Robertson; 2:54)
- The Weight (Robertson; 4:20)
- All Along The Watchtower (Dylan; 2:58)
- Highway 61 Revisited (Dylan; 4:05)
- Like A Rolling Stone (Dylan; 6:06)
- Blowin' In The Wind (Dylan; 3:46)
Group Members And Other Participants
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Bob Dylan and The Band - producers
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Rick Danko - bass, vocals
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Bob Dylan - rhythm guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
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Levon Helm - drums, vocals
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Garth Hudson - organ, piano, clavinet
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Richard Manuel - acoustic and electric pianos, organ, drums, vocals
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Robbie Robertson - lead guitar
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Phil Ramone - recording engineer
- Rob Fraboni - recording and mixing engineer
- Nat Jeffrey - mixing engineer
Last updated: 05-07-2005 14:39:57
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
