Bob Dylan Eat The Document 1966

My loss of enthusiasm for rambling on about bootlegs is well timed. Because what is there to say that hasn't already been said about Bob Dylan? There are more than enough life long fans and scholars writing word after word after word about all of what he's done and what it all means. With Dylan, I actually enjoy the interpretations, the persona, more than I do listening to the songs. I got more entertainment out of Don't Look Back or No Direction Home than the LPs...
A buddy called me up and asked me if I had "Eat the Document" and I had to check; somethings I collect without really remembering and knowing what I have. Ridiculous, no? Whatever keeps you preoccupied...I had the Hard Rain TV special and the Isle of Wright, but that's it for Dylan DVDs. It showed up in the mail a few weeks later.

My impression was: it's a year later than Don't Look Back, and the success is now showing signs of becoming tedious. Whereas in the earlier film, Dylan seems to find the Dylan phenomenon a little surprising and precarious.

As for the electric controversy. What was at stake? What were they looking for that they were disappointed to lose? What was different, before and after? The birth of rock; with Dylan's conversion to be considered one of the signs...The death of rock; for which now a case could now be made - But of course, there are still bands, concerts, guitars, fame...What is different, before and after?

This disc's edition ("the videotape network") of the movie looks O.K. but the materials could really do with a little restoration work. The document was taped from a T.V broadcast- moderately sharp with rather faded color. The film itself is almost an hour. The disc I have has a considerable number of extras, they are:

dylan lennon conversation 21:09
cash documentary excerpt 3:30
johnny cash show appearance 8:17
'75 john hammond tribute 17:48
'75 NBC News clip :54
'75 ABC News clip 3:24
'79 SNL 7:01



Bob Dylan inaugurated the bootleg forty years ago...Since then, law breaking chroniclers have been continuously contributing to the public image of what the man has done. This has given birth to one of the two or three best concert databases I have seen: DVDylan. The beauty of its design is superb- A testament to the efforts of the obsessive-compulsive and their different kind of recording industry- as the consumer of commodities model of audience to a music itself undergoes transformation.