Once upon a time Bob Dylan and Lou Reed were revered as iconic figures, visionary cheerleaders for the American nightmare.

Now they are best known for mutilating their classic back catalogues in front of an ever-dwindling fan base.

The sheer horror of these wretched latterday live performances is compounded by the fact that both Dylan and Reed were once capable of stunning concerts, which will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who were there.

One such concert came on Hallowe 'en night at New York's Philharmonic Hall in 1964, and Columbia has just issued a two-CD set of this extraordinary evening. The 23-year-old Dylan was still in his acoustic phase, but his multi-layered and richly-textured songs, some of which were to appear on his forthcoming album Bringing It All Back Home, suggested he was moving away from his strict folk roots.

Gates Of Eden, It's All Right Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), To Ramona and Don't Think Twice It's All Right are here in all their glory, together with stunning versions of The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, Mr Tambourine Man, The Times They Are A-Changin' and A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall.

Within a year, Dylan had strapped on his electric guitar and changed the course of rock music forever, as the folk purists shouted Judas. Here these purists worship at their master's knee, little knowing that this master was already light years ahead of them.

Lou Reed was once light years ahead of us all, as his mind-numbing, nerve-shredding Heroin and his seminal 1974 live Rock'n'Roll Animal album testify. These days, however, the light appears to have gone out in Reed's battered brain. His latest live offering, Animal Serenade, is an embarrassment and a disgrace.

Bored, distracted and deliberately perverse (he starts playing those legendary Sweet Jane chords before stopping abruptly), Reed crucifies Smalltown, Heroin, Venus In Furs and Sunday Morning. Dylan live in 1964 is majestic, Reed live in 2004 is tragic.

What a depressing snapshot of 30 years of rock'n'roll.

Updated: 09:37 Thursday, April 15, 2004