As I Went Out One Evening (Be Twisted! BTCD-020/21)
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON, Canada – January 10th, 1974
Disc 1 Bob Dylan & The Band: Intro., Most Likely You Go Your Way, I Don’t Believe You, As I Went Out One Morning, Lay Lady Lay, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Ballad Of A Thin Man. The Band: Stage Fright, Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, King Harvest, This Wheel’s On Fire, I Shall Be Released, Up On Cripple Creek. Bob Dylan & The Band: All Along The Watchtower, Ballad Of Hollis Brown, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Disc 2: Times They Are A-Changin’, Don’t Think Twice, Gates Of Eden, Love Minus Zero/No Limit, It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding). The Band: Rag Mama Rag, When You Awake, The Shape I’m In, The Weight. Bob Dylan & The Band: Forever Young, Something There Is About You, Like A Rolling Stone, Most Likely You Go Your Way (reprise)
The tape begins with the house announcer speaking to the crowd about pot use in the Gardens. He tells the crowd to “not smoke it. Eat it”. With that begins a very strange and surreal performance that night. As I Went Out One Evening on Be Twisted! was released in September 2004 utilizing a new tape source that hasn’t previously circulated.
An older source exists and two songs, “As I Went Out One Morning” and “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”, appeared on the 1974 tour compilation Phantoms Of My Youth on Capricorn (2039/40/41). The sound quality of this new source is very good, a fair distance from the stage and is marred by some audience noise by the taper and a heavy echo due to the acoustics of the venue. It’s not perfect but does have a very nice “live” sound that is very enjoyable.
Of course the main attraction was Bob Dylan, making his first full tour in almost a decade with his backing band from his most controversial period. But this concert is unique since it occurs in The Band’s backyard since the members of the band were all (except for drummer Levon Helm) hailed from Ontario.
As such the audience are most vocal during their sets, yelling out requests (“King Harvest”, “Rag Mama Rag”). “Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way” strangely serves as both the opener and closing encore in this show. This is the first occurrence of this set list, but was duplicated frequently through the January 29th show in Nassau Coliseum in New York. The Madison Square Garden shows ended with “Blowin’ In The Wind.”
The previous arrangement resumed in the Midwest and west coast shows until LA. Also of interest to this tape is the only known live version of “As I Went Out One Morning” from John Wesley Harding. This arrangement is much heavier, slower, darker and more ominous than the studio take. It’s a shame it wasn’t retained in the set list, as it’s a very effective live vehicle. The sound quality of the tape makes it even more dynamic.
As I Went Out One Evening was released with The Shifts And Changes and is the only Dylan releases on this minor label (as far as I know) and they haven’t been heard from since. Nevertheless this is a great release and is definitely worth having.
