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After showing a bunch of Simpsons outtakes, animated host Troy McClure notes sarcastically, "If that's what they leave out, then what they leave in must be pure gold." In the case of Bob Dylan, it had always been rumored (and proven through bootleg tapes) that much of what he "left out"--the unreleased outtakes and rarities--actually rivalled or even surpassed his greatest official work. Finally, Columbia substantiated this by releasing three CDs of these undiscovered gems. The fact that over three hours' worth of quality music--often superb music--had never seen the (official) light of day is remarkable. Clearly, Dylan is more talented in performing and creating music than he is at evaluating it.
This collection opens with Dylan in his original new-Woody form. "Hard Times in New York Town" is a defiant and determined statement that foreshadows his domination of the Greenwich Village folk scene. "He Was a Friend of Mine" and "Man on the Street" are poignant hobo laments straight out of the Guthrie school. "No More Auction Block" is a traditional slave's song of freedom, made famous by Paul Robeson among others.
Next we have 10 outtakes from the Freewheelin' sessions. The original record is one of Dylan's greatest, but amazingly, many of the outtakes are just as memorable. "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Blues" displays Dylan's sardonic humor while "Quit Your Lowdown Ways" touches on the Delta blues idiom. "Let Me Die in My Footsteps" is one of his most potent folk songs and "Rambling Gambling Willie" shows his penchant for vivid storytelling.
The hysterical "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" and the sober "Who Killed Davey Moore?" come from a 1963 Carnegie Hall date. "Only a Hobo" and "Moonshiner" are brooding outtakes from The Times They Are A-Changin' while "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" is a poem recited at Town Hall. From the Bringin' It All Back Home sessions, Dylan delivers the simple love song "Mama You Been On My Mind" and the mystical "Farewell Angelina," plus a rare acoustic reading of "Subterranean Homesick Blues." 1965 brought a few of his sarcastic blues romps and a rehearsal version of "Like a Rolling Stone" with Dylan on waltzing piano. Richard Manuel's haunting harmony graces "I Shall Be Released" while George Harrison adds fluid guitar to "If Not for You."
Dylan's second "classic" period, 1974-1975, is also well represented. Four alternate versions from Blood on the Tracks are culled from the original New York sessions. Dylan would re-record these in Minnesota for the official release, but his New York versions are much more sensitive and subdued than his angrier and more emphatic official renditions. "Golden Loom" and "Catfish," about Yankee free-agent pitcher Jim Hunter, are outstanding numbers that were somehow left off Desire while the raucous "Seven Days" (boasting five guitarists) comes from a 1976 live date in Tampa.
Of the 58 songs included, only 11 emanate from Dylan's 1980s work. The buoyant "Need a Woman" and plaintive "Angelina" come from the Shot of Love period. "Blind Willie McTell," recorded at the 1983 Infidels sessions, represents a high point of this collection, and indeed, of Dylan's entire recorded output. Dark and deep, it is his homage to a blues legend and simultaneously, an expression of his insecurity about picking up the blues mantle. Dylan, of course, sells himself short because his reading here is powerful and piercing.
The Bootleg Series succeeds on many levels: As a whole, it brilliantly shows Dylan's numerous stages and reinventions of himself--from neo-folkie to psychedelic blues rocker to country crooner to singer-songwriter and so on. For the uninitiated, it serves as a useful career overview, if not a lesser-known greatest-hits collection. In addition, it fills in the gaps for the diehards who longed for these rarities. Without question, the oddities, novelties, and masterpieces found here only add to Dylan's incredible legacy. - Marc Greilsamer, Outersound
Selections:
Disc One
1. Hard Times In New York Town (Live)
2. He Was A Friend Of Mine
3. Man On The Street
4. No More Auction Block
5. House Carpenter
6. Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
7. Let Me Die In My Footsteps
8. Rambling, Gambling Willie
9. Talkin' Hava Negeilah Blues
10. Quit Your Low Down Ways
11. Worried Blues
12. Kingsport Town
13. Walkin' Down The Line
14. Walls Of Red Wing
15. Paths Of Victory
16. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
17. Who Killed Davey Moore?
18. Only A Hobo
19. Moonshiner
20. When The Ship Comes In
21. The Times They Are A-Changin'
22. Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie (Live)
Disc Two
1. Seven Curses
2. Eternal Circle
3. Suze (The Cough Song)
4. Mama, You Been On My Mind
5. Farewell, Angelina
6. Subterranean Homesick Blues
7. If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got To Stay All Night)
8. Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence
9. Like A Rolling Stone
10. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
11. I'Ll Keep It With Mine
12. She's Your Lover Now
13. I Shall Be Released
14. Santa-Fe
15. If Not For You
16. Wallflower
17. Nobody 'Cept You
18. Tangled Up In Blue
19. Call Letter Blues
20. Idiot Wind
Disc Three
1. If You See Her, Say Hello
2. Golden Loom
3. Catfish Album
4. Seven Days
5. Ye Shall Be Changed
6. Every Grain Of Sand
7. You Changed My Life
8. Need A Woman
9. Angelina
10. Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart
11. Tell Me
12. Lord Protect My Child
13. Foot Of Pride
14. Blind Willie McTell
15. When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
16. Series Of Dreams
After showing a bunch of Simpsons outtakes, animated host Troy McClure notes sarcastically, "If that's what they leave out, then what they leave in must be pure gold." In the case of Bob Dylan, it had always been rumored (and proven through bootleg tapes) that much of what he "left out"--the unreleased outtakes and rarities--actually rivalled or even surpassed his greatest official work. Finally, Columbia substantiated this by releasing three CDs of these undiscovered gems. The fact that over three hours' worth of quality music--often superb music--had never seen the (official) light of day is remarkable. Clearly, Dylan is more talented in performing and creating music than he is at evaluating it.
This collection opens with Dylan in his original new-Woody form. "Hard Times in New York Town" is a defiant and determined statement that foreshadows his domination of the Greenwich Village folk scene. "He Was a Friend of Mine" and "Man on the Street" are poignant hobo laments straight out of the Guthrie school. "No More Auction Block" is a traditional slave's song of freedom, made famous by Paul Robeson among others.
Next we have 10 outtakes from the Freewheelin' sessions. The original record is one of Dylan's greatest, but amazingly, many of the outtakes are just as memorable. "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Blues" displays Dylan's sardonic humor while "Quit Your Lowdown Ways" touches on the Delta blues idiom. "Let Me Die in My Footsteps" is one of his most potent folk songs and "Rambling Gambling Willie" shows his penchant for vivid storytelling.
The hysterical "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" and the sober "Who Killed Davey Moore?" come from a 1963 Carnegie Hall date. "Only a Hobo" and "Moonshiner" are brooding outtakes from The Times They Are A-Changin' while "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" is a poem recited at Town Hall. From the Bringin' It All Back Home sessions, Dylan delivers the simple love song "Mama You Been On My Mind" and the mystical "Farewell Angelina," plus a rare acoustic reading of "Subterranean Homesick Blues." 1965 brought a few of his sarcastic blues romps and a rehearsal version of "Like a Rolling Stone" with Dylan on waltzing piano. Richard Manuel's haunting harmony graces "I Shall Be Released" while George Harrison adds fluid guitar to "If Not for You."
Dylan's second "classic" period, 1974-1975, is also well represented. Four alternate versions from Blood on the Tracks are culled from the original New York sessions. Dylan would re-record these in Minnesota for the official release, but his New York versions are much more sensitive and subdued than his angrier and more emphatic official renditions. "Golden Loom" and "Catfish," about Yankee free-agent pitcher Jim Hunter, are outstanding numbers that were somehow left off Desire while the raucous "Seven Days" (boasting five guitarists) comes from a 1976 live date in Tampa.
Of the 58 songs included, only 11 emanate from Dylan's 1980s work. The buoyant "Need a Woman" and plaintive "Angelina" come from the Shot of Love period. "Blind Willie McTell," recorded at the 1983 Infidels sessions, represents a high point of this collection, and indeed, of Dylan's entire recorded output. Dark and deep, it is his homage to a blues legend and simultaneously, an expression of his insecurity about picking up the blues mantle. Dylan, of course, sells himself short because his reading here is powerful and piercing.
The Bootleg Series succeeds on many levels: As a whole, it brilliantly shows Dylan's numerous stages and reinventions of himself--from neo-folkie to psychedelic blues rocker to country crooner to singer-songwriter and so on. For the uninitiated, it serves as a useful career overview, if not a lesser-known greatest-hits collection. In addition, it fills in the gaps for the diehards who longed for these rarities. Without question, the oddities, novelties, and masterpieces found here only add to Dylan's incredible legacy. - Marc Greilsamer, Outersound
Selections:
Disc One
1. Hard Times In New York Town (Live)
2. He Was A Friend Of Mine
3. Man On The Street
4. No More Auction Block
5. House Carpenter
6. Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
7. Let Me Die In My Footsteps
8. Rambling, Gambling Willie
9. Talkin' Hava Negeilah Blues
10. Quit Your Low Down Ways
11. Worried Blues
12. Kingsport Town
13. Walkin' Down The Line
14. Walls Of Red Wing
15. Paths Of Victory
16. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
17. Who Killed Davey Moore?
18. Only A Hobo
19. Moonshiner
20. When The Ship Comes In
21. The Times They Are A-Changin'
22. Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie (Live)
Disc Two
1. Seven Curses
2. Eternal Circle
3. Suze (The Cough Song)
4. Mama, You Been On My Mind
5. Farewell, Angelina
6. Subterranean Homesick Blues
7. If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got To Stay All Night)
8. Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence
9. Like A Rolling Stone
10. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
11. I'Ll Keep It With Mine
12. She's Your Lover Now
13. I Shall Be Released
14. Santa-Fe
15. If Not For You
16. Wallflower
17. Nobody 'Cept You
18. Tangled Up In Blue
19. Call Letter Blues
20. Idiot Wind
Disc Three
1. If You See Her, Say Hello
2. Golden Loom
3. Catfish Album
4. Seven Days
5. Ye Shall Be Changed
6. Every Grain Of Sand
7. You Changed My Life
8. Need A Woman
9. Angelina
10. Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart
11. Tell Me
12. Lord Protect My Child
13. Foot Of Pride
14. Blind Willie McTell
15. When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
16. Series Of Dreams
