Endless Highway: Bob Dylan and the Band’s Before the Flood at 50
Looking back on one of rock’s most epic live albums
Released 50 years ago, on June 20, 1974, Before the Flood marked the second phase of a reunion that brought Bob Dylan back to his earlier, highly touted collaboration with his early fabled backing band, the Band.
It followed less than six months after Dylan initially reconvened with the group for their first studio recordings in some seven years, Planet Waves, and marked the second of two albums Dylan recorded for Asylum Records following a brief hiatus from his longstanding label, Columbia Records.
It also bore a special significance in that it became Dylan’s first official live album. (Archival recordings from years prior would come later.) The fact that it documented Dylan and the Band’s 1974 tour gave it a decided historical status, as they had not been seen together in concert since their formative years of working in tandem, at which time the Band were referred to as The Hawks.
Naturally, there was a tremendous air of anticipation surrounding the tour, and that excitement and electricity is brought fully to bear with Before the Flood. The recordings were culled from more than a dozen concerts, ensuring that the best takes for each of the songs were well represented. Two and a half sides featured Dylan with or without the Band, while the rest was delegated to the Band alone.
Given their ability to pick and choose, it’s hardly surprising that the album exudes high degree of energy and vitality. Although Dylan later disparaged the results, stating that it was more or less a rote endeavor, it was clear that the synergy of old had returned fully formed. Naturally, the Band, being the skilled auteurs they always were, played their parts to perfection, rendering their takes of such classic standbys as “Up On Cripple Creek,” “I Shall Be Released” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” with their usual flawless precision, much the way they had on the aptly-titled Rock of Ages two years before. Had it not been for the anticipation of this fabled reunion, Before the Flood might have yielded the spotlight to Robertson, Danko, Manuel, Helm and Hudson entirely, given their singular skill and solidarity.
Fortunately then, Dylan’s afterthoughts aside, he and the group meshed with the clarity and coherence they had shared early on during The Basement Tapes sessions in Woodstock. “All Along the Watchtower” rings with a resonance clearly inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s revamped version six years before, while “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” and “Like a Rolling Stone” take on a power and passion of their own, both songs driven by the dynamic delivery wholly enforced by the Band.
On the other hand, Dylan’s solo performances of his seminal standbys “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” and “Just Like A Woman” find him performing with a clear commitment and engagement that occasionally eluded him in later live concerts. Here, he imbues the material with a decided precision, wringing the urgency and emotion that were so essential to his standby songs so early on.
Surprisingly, there’s no revisit to the material recorded for Planet Waves. Perhaps the focus was meant to dwell on nostalgia alone, but whatever the reason, Before the Flood makes for a historical document of singular standing, one cited by many critics at the time as one of the best live recordings of all time, although Dylan’s own live At Budokan offering that was released five years later gave it suitable competition.
The title of the album was supposedly derived from a novel called Farn Mabul by Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, a theory that has legs when considering the fact that Dylan knew the author’s son, Moses Asch, who also happened to be a founder of Folkways Records. However, it may also relate to a line in “Wedding Song” from the Planet Waves album: “We can’t regain what went down in the flood.” There’s no small hint of irony in that theory.
Nevertheless, whatever the origin, Before the Flood remains a significant historical document, one that captures a partnership that remains one for the ages.
- Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde’ Ambition - June 21, 2026
- Apeman Hop: The Ramones’ ‘Animal Boy’ Turns 40 - May 19, 2026
- Remembering Dave Mason - April 23, 2026
You May Also Like
-
May 24, 2019 -
August 26, 2018 -
January 11, 2023
Mediocre then mediocre now.
Not representative of the tour at all. I saw the Chicago show.
Bob was right. This is a throwaway
Not a mediocre album at all. In fact, I find it easily one of Dylan’s best live albums. Live 1966 and Live 1975 are pretty great too, but Before the Flood is an excellent, powerful live album.
Personally, I love the rocked-up arrangements of most of the songs. I also love Bob’s “arena rock” voice. Some say he’s shouting, but I find it adds to punch of the arrangements. It’s my favorite “Bob voice” apart from maybe the Rolling Thunder Revue or Nashville Skyline voices.
The solo acoustic numbers add a nice contrast, but they too have a crackle, an energy that I love listening to. Of all the Dylan albums I own, it’s one of the ones I go back to the most.
I’m too young to have seen that tour, so I don’t care if it follows the setlist of the actual shows or not. I also don’t care if it’s more or less a nostalgia fest. It’s damned good nostalgia!
Let’s give The Band their due too. The later backing bands with Charlie Sexton, Larry Campbell, etc, are great too. But The Band understood Dylan like few others. Perfect live album.
Certainly much better than schlock fest Live at Budokan is! The Vegas.y arrangements on that album are not an enjoyable listen.