Listen to Bob Dylan and The Band’s Inspired, Previously Unheard 1974 Performance of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

A previously unreleased recording of Bob Dylan performing his classic song “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” backed by The Band in 1974 in New York City has been made available via digital formats.

The performance is the third and final advance track to be released from the upcoming Bob Dylan and The Band: The 1974 Live Recordings box set, which is due out on September 20. The massive 27-CD collection celebrates the 50th anniversary of Dylan’s 1974 tour with The Band.

The 1974 Live Recordings features audio of every professionally recorded concert from the trek, including 431 live tracks, 417 of which have never been released before.

The just-released version of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” was recorded on January 30, 1974 at Madison Square Garden. Dylan and The Band offered up a rocking rendition of the 1965 tune, highlighted by guitarist Robbie Robertson’s soaring, blues-infused riffs and solos. Dylan’s original version of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” appeared on his classic 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited.

Fans React to the Newly Released Archival Performance

Plenty of Dylan fans have taken to the comments section of his YouTube channel to share their reactions to the “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” performance.

“This music can melt the coldest heart and move it to start beating again, with kindness,” one fan wrote.

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Another commented, “It’s just incredible how these amazing performances suddenly surface. Bob’s in great voice and The Band are smokin’.”

A third shared, “This is one of Bob’s most underrated gems. Terrific arrangement!”

Background on Dylan and The Band’s 1974 Tour

Dylan’s 1974 tour marked his return to the road for the first time since he was sidelined by a 1966 motorcycle accident. The trek saw Bob reuniting with The Band, whose members served as his backing group during his infamous 1965-1966 acoustic/electric tour.

Between 1966 and 1974, Dylan had collaborated with The Band on numerous recordings, including the historic Basement Tapes and his then-latest studio album, Planet Waves. During those years, The Band also had established itself as an influential and popular music act in its own right.

The 1974 Live Recordings Box Set

The 1974 tour was the same trek that yielded Dylan and The Band’s 1974 live double-disc, Before the Flood. Most, but not all of the songs that appeared on Before the Flood also are included on the upcoming box set.

The 1974 Live Recordings collection also features newly penned liner notes by journalist and critic Elizabeth Nelson.

The other two advance tracks released from the box set were a version of “Forever Young” recorded in Seattle on February 9, 1974, and a solo Dylan performance of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” from a February 14 show in Inglewood, California.

Dylan’s Upcoming Tour Plans

Dylan currently is taking part in Willie Nelson’s 2024 Outlaw Music Festival Tour. Bob will perform at all upcoming stops on the trek through a September 17 show in Darien Center, New York.

The tour, which is headlined by Nelson and his Family band, also will feature John Mellencamp and, on select dates, Brittney Spencer and Southern Avenue.

Dylan also has announced a new series of fall 2024 European headlining concerts. Those shows are scheduled from an October 4-6 stand in Prague, Czech Republic, through a November 12-14 engagement at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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