Are You Getting The Dylan Basement Tapes 2 CD or Boxed Set?

"Note to self: refrain from buying both new basement sets and befriend cplyons."

 

Okay, looks like I'm in for the 6-CD set right now then. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

 

It's only money......if you need more, print more....

 

Downloading the box set. Can't stand the idea of paying so much for six CDs and a book. Even at heavy discounts the price will be too high, which is a shame.

I'll make up for the deficiency by downloading the Bootleg Series app from the iTunes store, which is damn neat. Gives you press clippings, lyrics and more. I'll also get a copy of Invisible Republic.

 

Do you mean 'Million Dollar Bash'? Invisible Republic went way over my head.

 

The Sid Griffin book? No, though that one would probably do as well.

I like Greil Marcus's writing about Bob Dylan and The Band. He can be a chore, to be sure. Took me like a year to get through Lipstick Traces.

 

I must admit to being a little baffled by 'Invisible Republic' and Greil Marcus in general. I've also got some collection of pieces he wrote about The Doors ..... equally baffling!

I'm up for reading 'Million Dollar Bash' though.

 

Sorry if this has already been covered. Can any of the Dylan experts here advise me as to the quality of the track selection for the vinyl box? I really don't want to spend $120 on cds and I don't think I need 140 Basement Tapes tracks. If the songs on the vinyl box are effectively the best of the cd set, I will go for that and be done with it. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

I had to hit three stores before I could find the deluxe box. The first place I tried sold all 25 they'd gotten in stock on Tuesday.

Apparently I'm not the only one who didn't let the (admittedly ridiculous) price deter him.

 

I got the Box, but right now it's too intimidating for me to actually listen to (where to start? where to find the time?) and I sort of wish I had a 2CD version to bring me in more gently. But buying a 2CD set for this purpose after already owning this box seems even more ridiculous than I can stand.

Also, the Wings reissues have been adding to my time commitments and my distractions from the Dylan box.

 

so.... I love Dylan, but even at my age there's still chunks of his career I haven't dug into. Basement Tapes is one of them. I love the BIAH/Hwy61/BoB phase, but never really got into JWH or Self Portrait or the Band's albums. I had the basement tapes 2LP years ago and never got much into that and sold it years ago.

The various threads have me re-interested in the Basement Tapes though.
Any recommendations if the best place to start is the 2 disc highlights of Vol 11? Try the original album again? Part of me thinks screw it, just buy the whole 6 disc box and pull and choose what I like

 

I got the 2 CD set and it's plenty for me. Learned my lesson with the Smile box. Sometimes, more is not better: it's just more.
Good stuff, though.

 

Part of you is absolutely right!

 

I've made my way through the complete box set and really enjoyed it as a one off thing to do, but I play my 3lp set a lot and don't have a strong desire to go back the full set again. They choose a few takes for the 3lp set that I wouldn't have, but all in all it's a nice set. Also I'd skip the original album and doubt I'll ever listen to it again.

 

I'm a completist at heart and rarely trust anyone else to choose a "best of" in this sort of situation, but that's me.

You may well find that this period doesn't resonate with you, though I think a lot of people have that initial reaction and then come to feel very differently.

The biggest problem I see with the 2-disc version is that you lose the sense of process - it's presented as a completed album - and a big part of the charm is the sprawling nature of the sessions and the way the guys are learning to play together, bouncing off each other, egging each other on, failing and picking up again. I think the 2-disc set gives you only the barest glimpse of that.

There are also a number of superb Dylan originals not on the shorter set. (e.g. I'm A Fool For You) As well as some great, goofy performances (Teenage Prayer). The unfinished originals also give you a look into Dylan's creative process that you don't get in the short version.

But if you don't get into it the big box will seem like a waste of money....

 

Well we got our tax refund so what the hell. Bought the 6 disc. While I wait on Amazon I'm listening to John Wesley Harding thinking I probably will regret the box (just can't get into JWH), but oh well, I can always sell it later if it doesn't hit me.

 

FWIW I like it way better than JWH (which I'm also ambivalent about). A lot of people on here see BT as segueing nicely into JWH, but I see them as very different. The BT are very warm, JWH feels quite chilly to me.

 

The one thing I'm slightly disappointed about is the Raw set. In terms of song selection and the general flow of the music presented it's a complete mess. In one sense it doesn't matter 'cos I've already made my own playlists from the Complete set using I-Tunes, but I got the Raw set on vinyl and feel it's an opportunity missed.
I wonder whether we haven't seen the last of these newly remastered Basement Tapes and we may get a 'Best Of' or 'Selections From' via our friends at Sony in the future.

 

How would you choose to arrange the tracks that are on "Raw?"

 

They could have provided one CD of originals and one CD of covers, that would have been one way to go if you were collecting 40 songs from it. There are so many essential cover versions missing from the Raw set - 'Rock, Salt and Nails', 'The Auld Triangle', 'I Forgot To Remember To Forget' and 'A Fool Such As I' are all essential Basement performances and are nowhere to be seen. That's just off the top of my head.

From the originals they made some strange choices. 'Get Your Rocks Off', 'Lo And Behold' (Take 1), 'All You Have To Do Is Dream' (Take 2), 'One For The Road', 'I'm Alright' and 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere' (Take 1) all have something going for them but are not the best songs Dylan wrote during these sessions. Okay, 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere' is a great Dylan song but this particular take is forgettable and eclipsed by Take 2. Which they also included? Why?

The sequencing of the songs, particularly when listening on vinyl, is not well considered. We know they got different sound quality at different times, that should have been reflected in the sequencing and would have improved the listening experience no end. Instead we jump restlessly from session to session, mood to mood, all the way through the two CDs or six sides of vinyl. Good one! Clearly this aspect was not thought through. Almost as bad as the '75 release in this respect.

On vinyl at least, the definitive version of The Basement Tapes has not yet reached us. But I'm not really complaining, I'm just responding to your post

 

And it's much appreciated!