An absolutely, unquestionably "Positively 4th Street" by Bob Dylan in Boston, December 9, 1995

I've heard Dylan perform "Positively 4th Street" in concert a number of times over the years, but never with as much of the same sullen anger and sneering attitude that marked the original release as is palpable here, too, in this live version from December 9, 1995, at The Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA.

Dylan's voicing of the lyrics in this rendition fairly drips with contempt for all those old acquaintances who claimed to be his friends, even though they knew as well as him that, they'd rather see him paralyzed - but were too inhibited or "chicken" to "just come out once and scream it."

Coming off the huge success of "Like a Rolling Stone," Dylan's highest-charting record release ever,* which cemented his new status as a bona fide, commercially viable, pop rock star, critics deemed "Positively 4th Street" an odd choice for a follow-up. That was nothing compared to his next single, "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window," which some surmised was calculated to blow up the Top 40 chart success he'd only just achieved. With everything we know about Dylan today, perhaps it was.

Regular listeners, however, seemed largely delighted with "Positively 4th Street," quickly hailing it as the best musical "put down" ever written, in particular its immortal final verse:
"I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you."

Thirty years after is release, the audience's love for that devastating final insult has hardly abated, as you can hear the audience on this recording roar their anticipated recognition and appreciation as Dylan reaches those final lines.

*until "Murder Most Foul" topped Billboard's "Rock Digital Song Sales" chart in 2020