This volume of Dylan’s Bootleg Series is the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, which will be premiering on PBS as part of the American Masters series on September 26 & 27.
Disc 1 covers the years 1959-65, during Dylan’s Woody Guthrie period when he was the eloquent poet of the people, voicing their anger, fear, hope and concerns with acoustic folk songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” “Masters of War” and “Chimes of Freedom.” The 16 tracks that comprise this disc include early recordings, such as “When I Got Troubles”, which is likely to be the first original song ever recorded by Dylan, as well as alternate takes and live performances of songs that range from his debut album, Bob Dylan, to Bringing It All Back Home.
Disc 2 continues with the Bringing It All Back Home sessions, opening with an alternate take of “She Belongs To Me”. It concludes with live tracks from the legendary British tour of ’66 when Dylan plugged in and became a rock star. The 12 tracks on this disc are mostly alternate takes from Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. In fact with the inclusion of the two live performances, seven of the nine songs from Highway 61 Revisited appear on this disc.
Some close-minded fans were upset by the drastic change of Dylan going electric. On the live version of “Like A Rolling Stone” that closes this album, you can hear one audience member famously call Bob, “Judas.” I understand their hero had left them and the folk music scene behind, and if he had made bad rock ‘n’ roll records, they might have had a point, but the songs are so good that their arguments lose all validity. Listen to “Maggie’s Farm” or “Highway 61 Revisited” or “Stuck Inside Of Memphis With the Memphis Blues Again” and try and keep your body parts from keeping the beat.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Evan
Two notes:
- It's BringING It All Back Home.
- Song to Woody isn't on Freewheelin, but on his 1962 self-titled debut.
2 - Mike
I'd go so far as to say that the MAJORITY of his fans at the time were infuriated by Dylan's switch to electric. But yes, the songs are too good to argue the point.
3 - Rodney Welch
I've always been pissed off at myself for not having thought of the perfect headline to Dylan's endorsement of Victoria's Secret until it became old news:
Hey, Hey, Woody Guthrie, I Bought You a Thong...
4 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
great, El Bicho! i shoulda had this on monday, but a mix-up at the record store means its gonna be tomorow. i cant wait! the bootleg series releases thus far have been magnificent.
and that documentary, man, i can hardly sit still. Scorsese AND Dylan!
5 - Dude
Has anyone heard Dylan's "Live at the Gaslight 1962" CD, being sold only at Starbucks? I'm curious about it, but I don't want to buy Starbucks' horrible cup of joe for a CD. So is it worth it?
6 - El Bicho
Thanks, Evan. That's what I get for writing in a frenzy at 2 in the morning.
Yes, Duke. I'm excited by the doc as well even though they only get to '66, which has been well documented. I hope they do more installments.
7 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Dude, i've heard of that record. i have a bootleg by the name of The Gaslight Tapes, which is wonderful. so if you find out its the same, go for it.
8 - Evan
The bootleg IS absolutely wonderful. But as far as I know the album being sold at Starbucks is only about half the tracks of the bootleg. Still worth owning for the fidelity I suppose.
9 - Lono
the CD soundtrack is the most important Dylan release in the last 30 years. As a HUGE lifelong Dylan fan I can only tell you this is better and more important than every other 'bootleg series' combined. Trust me, I have them all
I just bought the DVD yesterday too, and hope to watch it tonight. If you are a fan of the very early Dylan, you absolutely much purchase the CD set immediately.
The songs show some amazing insight into the songwriting process for Dylan. Most artists will do between 20 and 40 takes of a song to go on an album. They do those takes exactly the same, and the producer or engineer then picks their favorite.
What Dylan did different is that each take was nearly a different song. The song was a living breathing thing... even in the process of recording.
Also interesting is that Dylan only recorded live with a band. he didn't do overdubs. The Beatles were famous for that, but I don't think there is a single band in the world who does that anymore. Everyone lays down their tracks, sometimes in different states (or countries) and a producer assembles the tracks to make a live band.
Bob Dylan is the greatest and most important artist since the Beatles, and maybe even more so.
10 - Eric Olsen
good points Lono, but I have to admit I just don't like most of the versions here as much as the "official," or in some cases, other versions. I found the acoustic recordings the most interesting.
But I agree with you about illuminating the writing and recording process - as a listening experience I'll likely go to other recordings.
My fave "bootleg" is the original Basement Tapes with the Band
11 - Eric Olsen
btw, I am very much looking forward to the new Newport Festival recording with the Butterfield Blues Band - Bloomfield's guitar is stinging on the Dylan/Butterfield recordings here
12 - Rodney Welch
I tend to agree with Eric. I love listening to the set, but while I appreciate the alternate takes I prefer the originals. I've noticed critics saying that the version of "Visions of Johanna" included here is superior to the studio one, but critics seem to say that about every new version of that old warhorse. With a number of the songs, you notice in these early versions that they just aren't "there" yet -- like "Memphis Blues Again," which as heard here is still a good ways from the masterpiece it became. (Interesting to note however that Dylan already pretty much had the lyrics down. He just needed to get the melody down, and then let the band burn through it.)
It is unusual to hear "Like a Rollin' Stone without Al Kooper's police whistle -- but "Rollin' Stone" without the whistle just isn't "Rollin' Stone" is it?
All the bootleg sets have a lot to offer the committed Dylan fan. For me personally, the box set, Vol. 1-3, is the one that gets the most play.
13 - ClubhouseCancer
Rod, you mean "Highway 61," right?
The video of "Rolling Stone" from this doc scares the living crap out of me.
And is anyone besides me a little wary of this newest Dylan public identity, "Bob Dylan"? Between the seemingly honest memoir and this new "When I was growing up..." documentary, I'm not sure I've ever heard Zimmy tell the apparent truth so often in my life. Something's fishy, no?
14 - Eric Olsen
he's past 60? A lot of artists get more confessional and "for the record" than earlier in their careers: kind of like second term presidents (hee)
That's just about the way I heard it too, Rodney: interesting but unfinished and sloppy in an "unformed" rather than "loose and casual" way. I had a sense of determination to hear it out but also a sense of let-down as I was listening, driving from Ohio to DC last week.
He and his guitar were very impressive early on, though. Once he made up his mind, he was there
15 - Lono
Senior Bicho,
I have just watched the fabled thing in question, and posted my review just above. No surprise, the film is (so far) amazing! I say so far, because I am in hour 3 and only just finished part one. Anyhow, I wish I had a clever huperlink, instead... here is the link to my piece on the new movie:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/22/033433.php
16 - Rodney Welch
Clubhouse --
Good God -- what was I thinking?? Yes, of course, "Highway 61." I've got to start laying off the hooch in the afternoons...
Eric --
One thing about Dylan's previous official bootlegs: they do, generally, tend to have value as a listening experience of their own, and in this regard they are different from similar efforts a lot of other artists put out. Take, for example, that triple-disc version of London Calling that came out last year, one disc of which is an early, barely rehearsed version of the record, and which sounds about as shitty as you would expect. The same goes for the first disc of the Velvet Underground box set, which is devoted to an early tape of Lou Reed and John Cale mostly just dicking around.
Dylan's alternates, by contrast, are usually truly "alternate": they are often different versions of familiar songs that are interesting in their own right, and that you can play for more than just scholarly reasons.
The new set is something of a disappointment in that regard, as several of the takes don't really merit a second or third listen. But there's a lot of good stuff there, too, namely "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues." It's just like the original, but his vical inflection is just different enough to be interesting.
I also liked his rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," which the liner notes rightly refer to as "non-anthemic." He stresses your, not land, and he sounds less like he's waving a flag than he is stating a simple truth.
I am sooooooooo looking forward to the Scorsese doc next week.
17 - Rodney Welch
Clubhouse --
Good God -- what was I thinking?? Yes, of course, "Highway 61." I've got to start laying off the hooch in the afternoons...
Eric --
One thing about Dylan's previous official bootlegs: they do, generally, tend to have value as a listening experience of their own, and in this regard they are different from similar efforts a lot of other artists put out. Take, for example, that triple-disc version of London Calling that came out last year, one disc of which is an early, barely rehearsed version of the record, and which sounds about as shitty as you would expect. The same goes for the first disc of the Velvet Underground box set, which is devoted to an early tape of Lou Reed and John Cale mostly just dicking around.
Dylan's alternates, by contrast, are usually truly "alternate": they are often different versions of familiar songs that are interesting in their own right, and that you can play for more than just scholarly reasons.
The new set is something of a disappointment in that regard, as several of the takes don't really merit a second or third listen. But there's a lot of good stuff there, too, namely "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues." It's just like the original, but his vical inflection is just different enough to be interesting.
I also liked his rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," which the liner notes rightly refer to as "non-anthemic." He stresses your, not land, and he sounds less like he's waving a flag than he is stating a simple truth.
I am sooooooooo looking forward to the Scorsese doc next week.
18 - ClubhouseCancer
The doc is excellent, if very very straight. Lots of short clips of contemporary performers, lots of talking-head stuff from Van Ronk and some other Village scenesters. Absorbing because of my interest in the topic, but I'm not sure how much non-Dylan-maniacs will like it. The Dylan performance clips are awesome, and the backstage snippets are fun, too.
In one backstage scene from about 1966, a management type tells Bob that there's been a death threat in the house, and Dylan gets pissed off that he's been informed.
"I don't mind being murdered, but I sure mind being told all about it," he yells, or something like that. The moment is funny, casually powerful, enigmatic and uncomfortable all at once, like a good Dylan performance.
As far as the album, I'm the worst judge, as I will listen to any scratchy, off-tune scrap of early Dylan. But Eric's right in that they almost always chose the right take to include on the original albums. Folks (including me) often forget that in about 99 percent of the cases, "outtake" means they didn't think it was good enough to be released. But when the stuff is this historically important (and entertaining to listen to, too), I will certainly sign up.
Now I must go ponder the existence of a lost verse to "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts."
19 - Rodney Welch
Someday I'm going to sit down and listen to that song and actually try to follow the story.
20 - ClubhouseCancer
Oh, and the Starbucks "Gaslight" album is a cleaned-up, great sounding version of the bootleg that has been going around for years. I'm sure, Duke, that it's the one you have. Legendarily, it's the first public performance of "Hard Rain" and "Don't Think Twice," and (sort of) the first time he played his own songs publicly. It has, from memory, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Hezekiah Jones, No more auction block
Rocks and gravel, Don't Think Twice, Barbara Allen, Motherless children, Handsome Molly, Hollis Brown, Ain't No More Cane and some others.
With the caveat that I'm a Dylan maniac, it's pretty essential. The sound is better on the Starbucks version, but the coffee tasted overroasted and was far too expensive.
"One m ore cup of coffee for the road..."
21 - ClubhouseCancer
Rod: At the end, she sells her hair to buy him a watchchain, and he sells his watch to buy her a fancy set of combs.
But you really have to read between the lines.
That's a joke, actually. It's a failed bank robbery story, but it's very hard to follow, and probably not worth it. To me, it's a lot of scattershot card-playing imagery, like a Robert Hunter song. Not my favorite, andI've always thought a little out of place on the personal, confessional BOTT.
"Lily" would fit better on the next one, Desire.
22 - Rodney Welch
I agree. The thing is, I always start out saying "I'm going to follow this," and then I get distracted, and suddenly I'm hearing "except for the drilling in the wall" and I'm lost. I could solve this by just printing out the lyrics but maybe I like not knowing what it's about. And yes, I've always thought it was out of place on that record, too, but I guess he wanted to lighten the mood a little. And you're right -- again -- that it's the kind of tall tale that would have better suited Desire; it might have balanced out "Romance in Durango," another episodic tale.
I'm anxious to break the No Starbucks barrier and get the Gaslight disc, if only to hear "Ain't No More Cane."
Have you heard anything regarding a newer, greater, more fascinatingly complete "Basement Tapes"? I'm guessing that's a Bootleg Series box somewhere down the line.
23 - Eric Olsen
Very nice review El Bicho, thanks!
I think I have finally decided I really do like Neil Young better than Bobby D: his country is more country, his rock more rock, his emotion more direct, pretty equal melodic gift, not nearly the wordsmith but maybe that is overrated anyway
24 - ClubhouseCancer
Well, Eric, Darin died young, and only had a few hits.
25 - ClubhouseCancer
The best, most complete Basement Tapes is the four-disc one called "A Tree With Roots." I hear there's also an 11-disc version out there, but considering the false starts, fall-aparts and unlistenable stuff that remains on the 4-disc, I can't see that 11 discs would be better.
This one has the best sound I've heard yet, and contains all the great ones (including "I'm Not There"). Also, if you actually shell for the discs rather than get 'em burnt from somewhere, the art is amazing. Some of the coolest color pictures of Dylan and the Band from the era.