Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes - where we're at currently (Part 2)...

Interesting. I find that most of my favorite songwriters, like Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson, work out the chords and melody first, and then fut the words in next. Guess Bob's another one.

 

I had this thought today: the 2 CD Basement Tapes bootleg series is probably would we could have expected had Dylan's camp done the set a few years earlier. It's the more typical cherry-picking, and my goodness does it miss some of the good stuff. As far as my own interests go, it's irrelevant. Of course, there must be a decent enough scope of more casual fans who will be more than happy with just the two discs. And I'd rather them have access to some of it than be put off entirely by the 6 disc set. But I can only imagine how different the mood of this thread would be if the two disc version had been the only version!

 

That's just the kind of extremely cool, strictly unnecessary artefact that would make for an ideal Record Store Day release. If it were included in the box set, it wouldn't be tossed in as a bonus, but would push the price up by thirty bucks (at least!), and for content that's already in there. We'd never hear the end of the complaints about it and folks would be declaring their boycott of the whole release because of its inclusion. Standalone limited facsimile, and everybody would be all over it (even if ends up costing them more), and the complaints would be about how not enough were pressed!

 

To further expand on some previous posts, and slice and dice the available information one more time, the 138 tracks on the 6-disc Basement Tapes Complete box set appear to fall into the following categories:

- 16 remixed stereo tracks, all previously released in mono/folded stereo on the 1975 2-LP album

Tiny Montgomery
Million Dollar Bash take #2
Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread take #2
Please Mrs. Henry
Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood ) take #2
Lo and Behold take #2
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere take #2
This Wheel's On Fire
Too Much of Nothing take #1
Tears of Rage take #3
Open the Door Homer take #1
Nothing Was Delivered take #1
Odds and Ends take #2
Clothesline Saga
Apple Suckling Tree take #1
Goin' to Acapulco​

- 1 remixed stereo track previously released in mono/folded stereo on Biograph

Quinn The Eskimo take #2​

- 2 remixed stereo tracks previously released in mono/folded stereo on Bootleg Series 1-3

I Shall Be Released take #2
Santa Fe ​

- 1 remixed stereo track previously released in "narrow" stereo on Another Self Portrait (Bootleg Series Vol. 10)

Minstrel Boy​

- 1 remixed stereo track previously released in "wide" stereo on the I'm Not There soundtrack

I'm Not There​

- 16 remixed stereo "alternate" versions of many of the "standard" Basement tracks (including a previously unknown 1st take of I Shall Be Released)

MILLION DOLLAR BASH (I)(2:34)
YEA! HEAVY AND A BOTTLE OF BREAD (I) (1:52)
CRASH ON THE LEVEE (DOWN IN THE FLOOD) (I) (2:11)
LO AND BEHOLD (I) (2:53)
YOU AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE (I) (2:45)
I SHALL BE RELEASED (I) ----
TOO MUCH OF NOTHING (II) (2:53)
TEARS OF RAGE (I) (3:58)
TEARS OF RAGE (II) (2:28)
THE MIGHTY QUINN (I) (2:00)
OPEN THE DOOR, HOMER (II) ( :57)
OPEN THE DOOR, HOMER (III) (3:19)
NOTHING WAS DELIVERED (II) (3:40)
NOTHING WAS DELIVERED (III) ( :33)
ODDS AND ENDS (I) (1:53) now on iTunes/Amazon
APPLE SUCKLING TREE (II) (2:48)
​

- 27 stereo tracks, previously unreleased, never bootlegged (some in marginal sound quality)

AIN'T NO MORE CANE (Take 2)" 1:57 now on iTunes/Amazon
DRESS IT UP, BETTER HAVE IT ALL (2:52) now on iTunes/Amazon
"Edge of the Ocean" [previously unreleased]
"My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (written by Clarence Williams) [previously unreleased]
"Roll on Train" [previously unreleased]
"Mr. Blue" (written by Dewayne Blackwell) [previously unreleased]
"Blowin' in the Wind" (previously unreleased version)
"One Too Many Mornings"(previously unreleased version)
"A Satisfied Mind" (written by Joe Hayes and Jack Rhodes) (previously unreleased)
"It Ain't Me, Babe" (previously unreleased version)
"Ain't No More Cane (Take 1)" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
"My Woman She's A-Leavin'" (previously unreleased)
"Mary Lou, I Love You Too" (previously unreleased)
"What's it Gonna be When it Comes Up" (previously unreleased)
"Wild Wolf" (previously unreleased)
"If I Were A Carpenter" (written by James Timothy Hardin) (previously unreleased)
"2 Dollars and 99 Cents"
"Jelly Bean"
"Any Time"
"Down by the Station"
"Hallelujah, I've Just Been Moved" (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan)
"That's the Breaks"
"Pretty Mary"
"Will the Circle be Unbroken" (written by A.P. Carter)
"She's on My Mind Again" (previously unreleased)
"Northern Claim"(previously unreleased)
"Love is Only Mine"(previously unreleased)
​

- 74 remixed stereo tracks "officially unreleased," but widely bootlegged since the 1980s; some brief false starts/fragments are listed as separate takes on the new box.

BELCHAZAAR (I) (False Start :18) / (II) (3:09)
I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET (3:17)
YOU WIN AGAIN (2:42)
STILL IN TOWN (3:05)
WALTZING WITH SIN False Start ( :31) / (2:50)
BIG RIVER (1) ( :50)
BIG RIVER (2) (2:30)
FOLSOM PRISON BLUES (2:43)
THE BELLS OF RHYMNEY (3:12)
SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE (3:57)
UNDER CONTROL(2:51)
OL' ROISON THE BOW (4:49)
I'M GUILTY OF LOVING YOU (1:06):
COOL WATER (3:00)
THE AULD TRIANGLE/THE ROYAL CANAL (5:41)
PO' LAZARUS ( :57)
I'M A FOOL FOR YOU (Take 1)
I'M A FOOL FOR YOU (Take 2) (3:57 for both takes)
JOHNNY TODD (2:02)
THE BIG FLOOD (2:19)
YOU GOTTA QUIT KICKIN' MY DOG AROUND (2:47)
SEE YOU LATER ALLEN GINSBERG (Take 1)" ( :45)
SEE YOU LATER ALLEN GINSBERG (Take 2)" ( :50)
"BIG DOG" [fragment only?]
I AM YOUR TEENAGE PRAYER (I) ( :22) cut / (II) (3:30)
FOUR STRONG WINDS (3:39)
THE FRENCH GIRL (Initial Tuning :22): Take 1 (2:11)
THE FRENCH GIRL (Take 2) (2:55)
JOSHUA GONE BARBADOS (2:44)
I'M IN THE MOOD (1:53)
BABY AIN'T THAT FINE (2:08)
ROCK SALT AND NAILS (4:35)
A FOOL SUCH AS I (2:50)
SONG FOR CANADA/ONE SINGLE RIVER (4:22)
PEOPLE GET READY (3:22)
I DON'T HURT ANYMORE (2:25)
BE CAREFUL OF STONES THAT YOU THROW (I)( :19)/ (II)(2:58)
ONE MAN'S LOSS (3:50)
LOCK YOUR DOOR ( :19)
BABY WON'T YOU BE MY BABY (2:47)
TRY ME LITTLE GIRL (1:37)
I CAN'T MAKE IT ALONE (3:31)
DON'T YOU TRY ME NOW (3:11)
YOUNG BUT DAILY GROWIN' trad.(5:36)
BONNIE SHIP THE DIAMOND (3:33)
THE HILLS OF MEXICO [BUFFALO SKINNERS] (2:43)
DOWN ON ME ( :40)
ONE FOR MY BABY, ONE FOR THE ROAD (4:48)
I'M ALRIGHT ( :59)
THE ALL-AMERICAN BOY (3:56)
SIGN ON THE CROSS (7:19)
GET YOUR ROCKS OFF (3:41)
DON'T YA TELL HENRY (2:26)
BOURBON STREET (2:24)
SILENT WEEKEND(3:02)
900 MILES ( :44)
WILDWOOD FLOWER (2:17)
ONE KIND FAVOR/SEE THAT MY GRAVE IS KEPT CLEAN (3:32)
SHE'LL BE COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (1:37)
FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE (2:20)
GONNA GET YOU NOW (1:28)
CONFIDENTIAL (1:33)
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DREAM (I) (3:48)
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DREAM (II)(3:47)
THE KING OF FRANCE (3:24)
NO SHOES ON MY FEET (GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD FEELIN' BAD) (2:19)
ON A RAINY AFTERNOON (2:46)
I CAN'T COME IN WITH A BROKEN HEART ( :41)/ (2:00)
NEXT TIME ON THE HIGHWAY (2:18)
SILHOUETTES ( :22)
BRING IT ON HOME (2:59)
COME ALL YOU FAIR AND TENDER LADIES (2:04)
THE SPANISH SONG (Take 1) (2:45)
THE SPANISH SONG (Take 2)(2:11)
​

 

"So we got ALL of the Witmarks, and this is the best they can do for The Basement Tapes? Really?"

 

Maybe they all start off like Wigwam, before he fleshes them out. (I'm sure that many of his early songs, like Hard Rain, or Lay Down Your Weary Tune, came lyrics-first.)

 

+1
(Right on.)

 

For those keeping track of The Band's material of the Basement Tapes, here's what's available:


AUTHENTIC BASEMENT TRACKS (1967)
01. Beautiful Thing*
02. You Don't Come Through
03. Orange Juice Blues [early version]*
04. Words And Numbers*
05. Caledonia Mission [early version]
06. Ferdinand The Imposter

BASEMENT TRACKS W/ OVERDUBS (1975)
07. Ruben Remus**
08. Orange Juice Blues [band version]*
09. Katie's Been Gone**

ORIGINAL RELEASE SESSIONS (1975)
10. Ain't No More Cane On The Brazos (Traditional)
11. Don't Ya Tell Henry (Dylan)
12. Bessie Smith

13. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Traditional)

all tracks written by Robbie Robertson except:
*written by Richard Manuel
**written by Manuel / Robertson



So the original BASEMENT TAPES 1975 LP had 8 tracks by The Band.

3 tracks ("Orange Juice Blues", "Katie's Been Gone", "Ruben Remus") were authentic
Basement recordings, with overdub work done in 1975.

2 tracks ("Yazoo Street Scandal", "Long Distance Operator") were studio recordings made
in early 1968.

3 tracks ("Bessie Smith", "Ain't No More Cane", "Don't Ya Tell Henry") were studio
recordings made in 1975.
Feat21, A moment ago Edit Delete Report

 

Brian during the Smile era? Or Pet Sounds? Don't ask again until she's had enough wine or we'd to be more amenable to talking!

 

HominyRhodes, great post. It's a great way to think about this wealth of music we are going to get in a couple months. I was just telling my wife that it is going to take at least a few months to get through it all. I could easily get through it in a week but it's a marathon and not a race for me. Another thought I had was that I may spring for the 2 disc version at the same time as the deluxe purchase. I normally don't double dip right away. While it is true that I have regular and deluxe versions of many albums (e.g., BS8) I tend to get the deluxe right away and then if I see the regular version used at a cheap price I pick it up. In this case though I feel the need to have a sampler right away to help me explore the larger 6 disc set. Does that make sense?

I could always burn the tracklist to CDR but this is Dylan. Anyone else plan on buying the sampler in addition to the box set at the same time?

 

I

And I ain't complaining none....

 

Yes, I was also thinking of picking up the 6-disc set AND the 2-disc set, to avoid having to hear the alternate takes, one after another, all in a row, and to be able to listen to a decent collection of the remixed stereo versions of all the tracks we've only heard with folded sound or in substandard quality on boots for so many years. If the budget allows, I will get both sets. But I also suspect that many people will simply make their own personal playlists from the wealth of material among the 138 tracks on the box.

 

Dynamite post, just what I was hoping someone would do -- sort out all The Band's Basements! It's a great help to some of us who are not as well-versed in that material as we are with the Dylan recordings.

I know that Clinton Heylin mentioned Ferdinand The Impostor, Beautiful Thing, and You Say You Love Me(?) as Band tracks on the '67 Basement Tapes. Weren't there a few more instrumentals, and fragments of other songs? (And I don't mean the Tiny Tim tracks, which were proven to be unrelated to the Basement Tapes.)

EDIT: Per Heylin, the Band also did Even If It's A Pig (Part 1), and Instrumental With D.

 

I'm thinking about it. Altho i might just wait to find a copy at a real nice price.

 

Gotta admit, yeah. Mostly for collector reasons (can't wait to file it next to my equally redundant BS10 2CD set-- and yes, I also have both the 1 and 2CD TTS versions *sigh*) but hey, the discs will probably make great car listening.

 

"The Completist's Lament" by DeeThomaz (aren't we all like that?)

 

Okay okay, I confess. I bought the deluxe TTS and the Japanese double disc. The single disc though, you ARE crazy!

I would totally pick up the single if I found it cheap. LOL

 

That's my strategy for what is now a golden oldie, Side Tracks, which I don't really need, but would still love to have.

 

You can always be as pathetic as me. I got the one cd version just to bunch the fabled 3rd cd with it for easy access.

 

These three tracks are in dispute. Some people believe Orange Juice and Katie are studio demos in their original undubbed form. GetRhythm took that position earlier in this thread IIRC, and he persuaded me.

I would say Ruben Remus is likely not a Basement recording, because there is an outtake version of the song (available on bootleg) which features a different lead vocal but the exact same backing track. I know of no instance in which they did that in the Basement (recorded a backing track by itself, then took several tries at a lead vocal). And I'm not even sure it would have been possible with the crude recording setup Garth had. So that one is almost certainly a studio recording from late 1967 or early 1968.

 

Actually that makes sense to me. I did the a similar thing with Modern Times. The CD is hard to get out of the deluxe but the single disc is easy breezy. I guess I have problems too!

 

Heylin mentioned an "instrumental" version of Ruben Remus as being on the Basements -- maybe the '75 LP version is simply a newer overdubbed vocal?

 

"Orange Juice Blues" started out as a Richard Manuel (vocal, piano) / Rick Danko (bass) basement demo recording. This track can be heard on the 2000 CD reissue of MUSIC FROM BIG PINK (which I have listed as "early version"). It's kind of lo fi, vocal/piano hard right and bass hard left. Certainly a basement recording. The 1975 LP version is that same demo, but with '75 overdubs of drums, electric guitar, saxophone, etc. (which I have labeled as "band version").

The same is true for "Katie's Been Gone". There are boots of two piano/bass only, basement takes of this. Then when you hear the 1975 LP version, it sounds like, again, they just took basement demos and fleshed out instruments with '75 overdubs of drums, lead vocals, etc.

"Ruben Remus", like the previous tracks, is definitely a basement recording. You're correct - there's bootlegs with an instrumental version of this, and a version that has the same backing track as the released take, but with a different lead vocal and Danko backing vocals. But I think you're confusing the work they did on it. They just recorded the basement take (with THE backing track and the raw lead/Danko harmony vocals), and in '75 redid the lead vocal. Or removed the right (vocals) channel of the original basement track, made the backing track mono, and did a lead vocal overdub.

 

There are two versions of Ruben Remus that circulate on bootleg: a completely instrumental version and the version I mentioned upthread with the alternate vocal. The all-instrumental is notably different, featuring only guitar, bass, and piano, and it sounds more like a sketch than a finished song. It sounds like it could be a Basement recording, and it is likely the recording Heylin was talking about. The alternate vocal version, as I said, features the exact same backing track as the released version, but has an alternate vocal sung by Rick and Richard together. That version I think is a studio recording, as is the released version.

 

Which version is this?
http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Ruben Remus/3YSRTU?src=5

EDIT: Bunch of versions here:
http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=The+Band+and+Bob+Dylan+Ruben+Remus