Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks (2 Nov 2018)*

"How many? About a hundred and thirty-six...... um, it's either a hundred and thirty-six or a hundred and forty-two..."

 

Forgot to mention Sweetheart Like You, an fing great track. "A woman like you". Love SLY.
The outs are outstanding, but Neighborhood Bully is one of his all time great sons as is
Union Sundown and Man of Peace.

The Blood on the Tracks stuff is coming out, its been sitting in the can for a few years now. I think
the plan was to make it part of big RTR box with the Scorsese doc but they finally put it out as is.
RTR, will have a box of its own sometime in the future, which makes sense.

 

I would suggest that you can tell I and I took fifteen minutes...It's a good song, but for sheer song writing craft, it doesn't come close to Hallelujah in my opinion...

 

Sincerely disagree.. Dylan's not working at the level of craft, he is working on inspiration. Yes i I know there is craft too, we can see that in the annotations, but it is Dylan's ability to capture words and ideas at speed and in a unique way which sets him apart. I can hear the craft in 'Hallelujah' , it is dripping wth craft - - for me that is not necessarily a good thing.

 

How many protest singers are there?

 

Isn’t that Tell Tale Signs?

 

Tell Tale Signs had some excellent outtakes from Oh Mercy but still managed to omit the best of the bootlegged versions of Born In Time. There's plenty more out there.

Personally I'd love to think we might get to hear how Man In The Long Black Coat evolved, but Krogsgaard seems to suggest that the song as we have it was a first take!

 

Tell Tale Signs included seven Oh Mercy tracks on the main edition and a further three on the deluxe edition. So ten total. A deep dive Oh Mercy Bootleg Series installment would offer much, much more than that. Likewise, so would a Time Out of Mind set. Mayhaps one day we will see Tell Tale Signs as a sampler with some bonus live cuts.

 

I tend to look at Vol. 1-3 as a sampler. Possibly it was a sampler of what they had available in 1991, and I don't think they new what a goldmine they had at the time.

 

Ugh!!! Neighborhood Bully is a fine enough song for the most part but the lyrics are SO cringy!! At lease they are cringy if the song is about what I think it’s about!

 

This is preferable. Had BOTT been combined with RTR, the set wound have been massive and likely at an obscene price point.

 

That's how I've always viewed TTS, as a fantastic sampler -- they tried to cover too much ground, IMO, and only skimmed the surface. I think each chapter of that period deserves a dedicated deep-dive into the tape vaults, especially the New Orleans sessions for Oh Mercy. (I read all about them in Chronicles Vol. 1.)

 

A sampler that tries to cover too much ground -- agreed.
The New Orleans sessions for Oh Mercy in a Bootleg Series box set -- that's the best idea I've heard all day.

After The 1965 Live Recordings brick, of course.

 

For me, I and I is a good song; some clever lyrics, a melody that is successful at creating that desolate, late night, feel that really only came alive during the 1993 London performances. Hallelujah on the other hand is a classic on every level; melodically, lyrically, thematically. There's really no comparison.

 

I reject the idea of comparing or equating the two songs. I'm offended by the notion that one devalues the other. They're both great.

 

This.
NB has been a major guilty pleasure for me ever since its release.
US, not so much.

 

When you say Union Sundown is a muddled mess are you referring to the politics? or ...?

 

I and I is good; Hallelujah is great.

 

I reject the idea of comparing or equating the two songs. I'm offended by the notion that one devalues the other.

 

It's certainly a step up from DITG and KOL, but I've never warmed up to Oh Mercy, other than a few key tracks. I like the sonics, but the songwriting seems pretty pedestrian for Dylan. There's a song called "Political World," where the first line of every verse is literally "We live in a political world." There's a song called "Shooting Star," where the first line is literally "I saw a shooting star tonight." All of it seems pretty on-the-nose. It's clearly a step up from his material from the previous few years, and better by far than UTRS, but I've never understood all the love Oh Mercy gets. On the other hand, I think his Wilburys material from the era was top-notch.

 

honestly, i think the sonics are dated and some of the Tell Tale Signs versions let the songs shine. while i agree with "Political World" being a stupid song, "Shooting Star" is amazing. yes, the first line of the song is literally "seen a shooting star tonight" but the rest of the song is gorgeous. it has all of that apocalyptic weirdness that i love about latter-day Dylan. you can bust up the first line all you want, but what about this verse?

Listen to the engine, listen to the bell
As the last fire truck from hell
Goes rolling by
All good people are praying
It’s the last temptation, the last account
The last time you might hear the sermon on the mount
The last radio is playing

 

Political World is a great track. "We live in a Political World icicles hanging down".
OH MERCY, I remember when it came out, Dylan riding his bike by the painting on the wall.
A great album.

 

All Dylan albums are great. If you think one of his records is not great, then its your mind that needs tuning.

 

Well I’d almost agree but then there’s KNOCKED OUT LOADED....

 

Great album. KOL. I love that record. Not at first, but I saw the light. KOL is so good...
thats the Box that needs doing, a box with all the RnR material from KOL and DOTG...