Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers

• 1974: A Golden Anniversary

  50 years ago, Bob Dylan and The Band returned to the road after precisely 7 years, 7 months, and 7 days since their previous tour concluded. Having jumped from Columbia Records to David Geffen’s Asylum Records, Dylan released two albums under the new label in 1974. He spent the year intermittently living in Los Angeles (where he owned a new home north of the city in Malibu), San Francisco (where he and new intimate Ellen Bernstein spent time together), and New York (where Dylan studied painting with Norman Raeben and was romantically involved with a fellow student). He wrote the bulk of the songs for a new album between March and July, at which point he liberally shared the new songs with friends and acquaintances like Bernstein, Stephen Stills, Tim Drummond, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Shel Silverstein, Mike Bloomfield, Peter Rowan, and John Hammond, Jr. When he went into the former Columbia Studio A where he had recorded his first five albums in order to record the new album in September, he was fully prepared to capture these compositions for posterity. However, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS would not be finished until Dylan rerecorded five of the songs at the end of the year in Minneapolis. When it was finally released the following January, it was on Columbia Records. Visit these events and more from the life of Bob Dylan in 1974, as well as a summary of important events from 1974 in "20 Pounds of Headlines," and – as usual – important news from the world of Bob Dylan in 2024. This episode is an ideal listening experience to prepare for the new Live 1974 box set due out September 20th. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote for which version of "If You See Her, Say Hello" is better: The September 19, 1974 version recorded in New York City that was originally slated for BLOOD ON THE TRACKS or the December 30, 1974 version recorded in Minneapolis that replaced it. It's the golden (50th) anniversary of Dylan’s return to touring, so we are pausing half-way through our own calendar year of 2024 to look back.

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• 200th Episode

  We celebrate the 200th episode of Hard Rain & Slow Trains by first catching up with news about Bob Dylan and his fellow travelers since the previous episode in February. Then, things take an odd turn: the radio show is taken over by Ms. Maria and Miss Lucy who run things the way they want. Ms. Maria offers a detailed breakdown and analysis of the new teaser trailer for A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, which is to hit theaters on Christmas. In "Who Did It Better?" you are first tasked by Ms. Maria to do better, than you are asked by Miss Lucy to vote who did "Gorgeous" better, Taylor Swift or the anonymous "Bob Dylan Taylor Swift" Youtube musician. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

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• “A Highway of Diamonds": Bob Dylan in October of 1963

  In October of 1963, Bob Dylan performed one of his great shows on the stage of one of the great venues, he finished recording his third album, he performed in concert halls in Pennsylvania and Michigan, he dueted with Joan Baez in Los Angeles, he wrote a poem to Baez, he gave two interviews, and he was publicly humiliated by a weekly national magazine in an article that would mark a pivot in how he interacted with both his audience and the press. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in October of 1963. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in October of 1963 and in February of 2024. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right" better: Bob Dylan on the stage of Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963 or Joan Baez and Maggie Rogers on that same Carnegie Hall stage 724 months later on February 26, 2024. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

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• “A Highway of Diamonds": Bob Dylan in August/September of 1963

  In August and September of 1963, Bob Dylan began appearing as a special guest at Joan Baez concerts; he had three recording sessions for THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN', his third album; he sang before a quarter of a million people at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C.; he recorded more demos for his publisher M. Witmark and Songs; and he accepted Baez’s invitation to return with her to Carmel for a retreat away from the world and some time to compose new songs. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in August and September of 1963 and in 2023. Happy new year, everyone!

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• “A Highway of Diamonds": Bob Dylan in July of 1963

  In July of 1963, Bob Dylan traveled to Greenwood, Mississippi, final resting place of Robert Johnson, to perform at a Voter Registration Rally, traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to perform for Columbia executives, and traveled to Minnesota to perform for friends, he recorded a television performance that would air the following month, but above all he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. He performed at Newport and, as Robert Shelton wrote, “he left a star.” Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in July of 1963. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in July of 1963 and in 2023. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Only a Pawn in the Game" better: Bob Dylan from the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 or Morrissey for his 2019 album California Son. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

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