Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes - where we're at currently...

But Miles, in his autobiography, stated that there were several thing he wanted released complete: the Filmore and Cellar Doors runs come to mind immediately. He made the sarcasztic comment that Columbia would probably release them when he was dead. He was right. I'm glad this isn't the case with Dylan.

 

Well, according to the Legacy press release Hudson was involved with tape restoration and probably no one better knows what the originals sounded like or were supposed to sound like since he recorded them. Like I said, to me "best sounding manner" for a release like this required a sort of documentarian's ear, a release that make it most palatable according to modern recording sensibility would not be "best sounding."

 

I've always admired the guitar, as well. Curious if anyone knows what it is.

 

Like what our host did with the Buddy Holly tapes.

 

Me too! Especially the compression part.

 

I remember that quote. He was so right. God bless his soul.

 

Are any of the Bootleg Series releases seen as having gone too far with compression?

The cover says 'Raw' - I have a feeling that's what we are going to get.

 

Yes, the Royal Albert Hall one, for starters. I listen to a much better sounding boot instead of that one.

 

It wasn't a remix. It was the 1975 album master, with the overdubbed piano.

 

The bootleg version of RAH also features a much better mix than the officially released version.

 

I get what Dylan was doing, releasing the mix that he did though - it does work IMO.

 

Still think BUNCH OF BASEMENT NOISE would have been a good title.

 

Re the remixing/remastering - even though we're dealing with twin-track stereo reels, there's still plenty that could be done. Not only do they have to consider the balance between channels, but you've got potential dropouts, flaws in recording levels (witness the fiasco of the unfixed live tape used in the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat deluxe), peak limiting and the potential to EQ out any original recording quirks (sibilance, bass boom etc.). This is without going into any idea of processing channels to isolate and pull out instruments/vocals.

The purists might want the Sony engineers to cue up the original raw tapes and let them ride, but there's room to sympathetically do all of the above and come out with something that's immediate but professionally put together. Personally, I'd hope they do just that.

 

Really? I must have missed that part of the discussion.

 

I had the "Australian import" vinyl version of the Manchester/RAH show called Tough Songs, and the mix was OK, but it was definitely dry-sounding and a little washed-out due to the fact that it was from a generational source. The BS version sounds magnificent to me.

 

'Play fu**in' loud!!!'

 

Which one?

 

Ah. Understand -- my apologies.

 

Guitars Kissing and the Contemporary Fix.

 

After a cursory look at the 6-CD box list, I count only 29 previously uncirculated tracks (in bold red) -- there were supposed to be 30, right? A little help here?

CD 1
1. "Edge of the Ocean"
2. "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (written by Clarence Williams)
3. "Roll on Train"
4. "Mr. Blue" (written by Dewayne Blackwell)
5. "Belshazzar" (written by Johnny Cash)
6. "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" (written by Charlie A Feathers and Stanley A Kesler)
7. "You Win Again" (written by Hank Williams)
8. "Still in Town" (written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard)
9. "Waltzing with Sin" (written by Sonny Burns and Red Hayes)
10. "Big River (Take 1)" (written by Johnny Cash)
11. "Big River (Take 2)" (written by Johnny Cash)
12. "Folsom Prison Blues" (written by Johnny Cash)
13. "Bells of Rhymney" (written by Idris Davies and Peter Seeger)
14. "Spanish is the Loving Tongue"
15. "Under Control"
16. "Ol' Roison the Beau" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
17. "I'm Guilty of Loving You"
18. "Cool Water" (written by Bob Nolan)
19. "The Auld Triangle" (written by Brendan Francis Behan)
20. "Po' Lazarus" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
21. "I'm a Fool for You" (Take 1)
22. "I'm a Fool for You" (Take 2)

CD 2
1. "Johnny Todd" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
2. "Tupelo" (written by John Lee Hooker)
3. "Kickin' My Dog Around" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
4. "See You Later Allen Ginsberg (Take 1)"
5. "See You Later Allen Ginsberg (Take 2)"
6. "Tiny Montgomery"
7. "Big Dog"
8. "I'm Your Teenage Prayer"
9. "Four Strong Winds" (written by Ian Tyson)
10. "The French Girl (Take 1)" (written by Ian Tyson and Sylvia Tyson)
11. "The French Girl (Take 2)" (written by Ian Tyson and Sylvia Tyson)
12. "Joshua Gone Barbados" (written by Eric Von Schmidt)
13. "I'm in the Mood" (written by Bernard Besman and John Lee Hooker)
14. "Baby Ain't That Fine" (written by Dallas Frazier)
15. "Rock, Salt and Nails" (written by Bruce Phillips)
16. "A Fool Such As I" (written by William Marvin Trader)
17. "Song for Canada" (written by Pete Gzowski and Ian Tyson)
18. "People Get Ready" (written by Curtis L Mayfield)
19. "I Don't Hurt Anymore" (written By Donald I Robertson and Walter E Rollins)
20. "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw" (written by Benjamin Lee Blankenship)
21. "One Man's Loss"
22. "Lock Your Door"
23. "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby"
24. "Try Me Little Girl"
25. "I Can't Make it Alone"
26. "Don't You Try Me Now"

CD 3
1. "Young but Daily Growing" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
2. "Bonnie Ship the Diamond" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
3. "The Hills of Mexico" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
4. "Down on Me" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
5. "One for the Road"
6. "I'm Alright"
7. "Million Dollar Bash (Take 1)"
8. "Million Dollar Bash (Take 2)"
9. "Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread (Take 1)"
10. "Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread (Take 2)"
11. "I'm Not There"
12. "Please Mrs. Henry"
13. "Crash on the Levee (Take 1)"
14. "Crash on the Levee (Take 2)"
15. "Lo and Behold! (Take 1)"
16. "Lo and Behold! (Take 2)"
17. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Take 1)"
18. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Take 2)"
19. "I Shall be Released (Take 1)"
20. "I Shall be Released (Take 2)
21. "This Wheel's on Fire" (written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko)
22. "Too Much of Nothing (Take 1)"
23. "Too Much of Nothing (Take 2)"

CD 4
1. "Tears of Rage (Take 1)" (written by Bob Dylan and Richard Manuel)
2. "Tears of Rage (Take 2)" (written by Bob Dylan and Richard Manuel)
3. "Tears of Rage (Take 3)" (written by Bob Dylan and Richard Manuel)
4. "Quinn the Eskimo (Take 1)"
5. "Quinn the Eskimo (Take 2)"
6. "Open the Door Homer (Take 1)"
7. "Open the Door Homer (Take 2)"
8. "Open the Door Homer (Take 3)"
9. "Nothing Was Delivered (Take 1)"
10. "Nothing Was Delivered (Take 2)"
11. "Nothing Was Delivered (Take 3)"
12. "All American Boy" (written by Bobby Bare)
13. "Sign on the Cross"
14. "Odds and Ends (Take 1)"
15. "Odds and Ends (Take 2)"
16. "Get Your Rocks Off"
17. "Clothes Line Saga"
18. "Apple Suckling Tree (Take 1)"
19. "Apple Suckling Tree (Take 2)"
20."Don't Ya Tell Henry"
21."Bourbon Street"

CD 5
1. "Blowin' in the Wind"
2. "One Too Many Mornings"
3. "A Satisfied Mind" (written by Joe Hayes and Jack Rhodes)
4. "It Ain't Me, Babe"
5. "Ain't No More Cane (Take 1)" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
6. "Ain't No More Cane (Take 2)" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
7. "My Woman She's A-Leavin'"
8. "Santa-Fe"
9. "Mary Lou, I Love You Too"
10. "Dress it up, Better Have it All"
11. "Minstrel Boy"
12. "Silent Weekend"
13. "What's it Gonna be When it Comes Up"
14. "900 Miles from My Home" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
15. "Wildwood Flower" (written by A.P. Carter)
16. "One Kind Favor" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan) [A/K/A See That My Grave Is Kept Clean]
17. "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
18. "It's the Flight of the Bumblebee"
19. "Wild Wolf"
20. "Goin' to Acapulco"
21. "Gonna Get You Now"
22. "If I Were A Carpenter" (written by James Timothy Hardin)
23. "Confidential" (written by Dorina Morgan)
24. "All You Have to do is Dream (Take 1)"
25. "All You Have to do is Dream (Take 2)"

CD 6
1. "2 Dollars and 99 Cents"
2. "Jelly Bean"
3. "Any Time"
4. "Down by the Station"
5. "Hallelujah, I've Just Been Moved" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
6. "That's the Breaks"
7. "Pretty Mary"
8. "Will the Circle be Unbroken" (written by A.P. Carter)
9. "King of France"
10. "She's on My Mind Again"
11. "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
12. "On a Rainy Afternoon"
13. "I Can't Come in with a Broken Heart"
14. "Next Time on the Highway"
15. "Northern Claim"
16. "Love is Only Mine"
17. "Silhouettes" (written by Bob Crewe and Frank C Slay Jr.)
18. "Bring it on Home"
19. "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
20. "The Spanish Song (Take 1)"
21. "The Spanish Song (Take 2)"

 

On A Tree With Roots I'm sure there's a tiny snippet, that is either on its own or attached to another track (but is musically different to said track) that just goes: "big dog won't you please come home" - then a couple of seconds of music and then it cuts, into another song. So that might be 'Big Dog'. Meaning only 28, which is annoying.

Is there only one take circulating of "I'm A Fool For You"? If so then the other take of that could be a new addition...

 

Okay, I just did a prelimiary track-for-track comparison with A Tree With Roots. Almost everything from that set is now confirmed on the new box, with just a couple minor open quetsions.

• The "Instrumental Jam" from TWR disc 4 isn't on the new set, at least not under that name. Does it have an alternate title I'm not aware of? It could easily be one of the "new" songs, I suppose. It's sequenced on TWR very close to where "Wild Wolf" appears on the new box. There's really no chance that's the music to "Wild Wolf," right?
• The 2nd take of "Belshazzar" might be missing as well. But I think it's likely been combined with the first take and presented as a single track. The opposite may have happened with "I'm A Fool For You." It appears as two takes on the new set, but listening to it on TWR I can easily imagine it indexed as separate takes.
• The titles of some of the tracks are different. "One Single River"="Song for Canada" "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean= "One Kind Favor" "(Banks of) The Royal Canal"= "The Auld Triangle"

 

I don't think "Big Dog" is new, but rather the snippet that appears at the beginning of "The Spanish Song." Could it be complete here, though?

 

I believe that is the initial remix that Bob rejected as being 'too clean'.

 

Ha, you & I just made some of the same points at the same time, subtr.