3. Bob Dylan/The Band/1974 - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, January 6, 1974 (Afternoon Show)

"Tough Mama"

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The prison walls are crumblin', there is no end in sight,
I've gained some recognition but I lost my appetite.
Dark beauty
Meet me at the border late tonight.

After two shows in Chicago, Bob Dylan and the Band moved on to the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA for three shows, matinee and evening performances on January 6, and a single performance on January 7. The 1974 Tour was many things, one being the promotional vehicle for the recently released Planet Waves (Asylum, 1974). This album and Before the Flood (Asylum, 1974) represent Dylan’s only output on David Geffen’s Asylum Records. Planet Waves reunited Dylan with the band on the road for the first time since the 1966 World Tour. Several songs from Planet Waves made the 1974 tour, including “Tough Mama,” “Something There Is About You,” “The Wedding Song,” and “Forever Young.”

Dylan had included “Tough Mama” prominently in the first two shows, but would abandon it after the Philadelphia afternoon performance. Even 50 years ago, Dylan had more quality material than he could include in a single show and the people coming to see Dylan in early 1974 were not coming for Planet Waves, they were coming for everything before.

These performances of “Tough Mama” provide the sound of Dylan’s most recent studio recordings. It is this same sound that touches all the performances on this tour. Each musician’s place in the band and in each performance is consolidated and clarified at a level of an overachieving garage rock band. Dylan wanted to deconstruct his earlier catalog and did so through the lense of Planet Waves, and that defines the earthy, basic sound in these recordings.