Bob Dylan: Complete Album Collection

One box to find them; One box to bring them all. and in the darkness bind them.

 

I've tried to come up with something I feel the 'Side Tracks' compilation should have been. I've tried to stick to material that was released around the time it was recorded, and not material that was 'excavated' at a later date. It's not always clear cut though, so there are exceptions. All the exclusive tracks on the 'Greatest Hits' albums are included. I haven't included the other version of 'Crawl Out Your Window' that was mistakenly pressed on some singles (though both 'George Jackson's have made it). I included the live 'Love Sick' as that was the only professionally recorded live track on that CD single (the others were cruder 'field' recordings). It's probably not perfect, but here goes...

Mixed Up Confusion (single A)
Corrina Corrina (alternate version - single B)
Tomorrow Is A Long Time (live - Greatest Hits Vol.2)
From A Buick 6 (alternate version - Japan H61R LP)
Positively 4th Street (single A)
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window (single A)
If You Gotta Go, Go Now (single A - Benelux countries only)
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (live - single B))
Spanish Is The Loving Tongue (solo - single B)
Watching The River Flow (single A)
When I Paint My Masterpiece (Greatest Hits Vol.2)
George Jackson (acoustic - single)
I Shall Be Released (GH2)
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (GH2)
Down In The Flood (GH2)
George Jackson (big band - single)
People Get Ready (Renaldo & Clara promo)
Never Let Me Go (live - R&C promo)
Isis (live - R&C promo, also later B-side of Jokerman)
It Ain't Me Babe (live - R&C promo)
Rita May (single B)
Trouble In Mind (single B, but unedited)
Let It Be Me (single B)
Dead Man Dead Man (live - single B)
Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground (single B)
Band Of The Hand (single A)
Important Words (Down In The Groove promo)
Got Love If You Want It (DITG promo)
Series Of Dreams (GH3)
Dignity (GH3)
Love Sick (live at Grammys - CD single)
Things Have Changed (single A)

Anyone got any better ideas? (Not that it matters anymore )

 

What an interesting view. I must say that I envy you in a way. You have hung in there with Bob, not overawed by the classics and still only touching the tip. Most would have pulled the pin after 3 or 4 attempts. John Martyn, again only a few albums which are no where near the outstanding albums of his career. Buying both these box sets and one would imagine listening to EVERYTHING eventually. So much joy ahead of you. They say with Dylan no amount of explanation will convince, you either get it or you don't. Like jazz with me (which took me ages and I still don't know if I 'get it), you are in for a treat when it all falls into place. Now if you can just add the complete Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm Box sets, you're set for life.

 

So hmm.. Shot of Love is the only remaining non-remastered album by Dylan? (excluding post-2000 albums)

 

Now that would have been more like it. Even if some of those weren't included (like the Down In The Groove or Renaldo & Clara promo outtakes; or the From A Buick 6 alternate), I think we could have been happy with it. It really wasn't that hard to figure out.

Oh well. I still have my 45's when I need to listen to most of them.... Arnie

 

There isn't a complete Curb boxset yet, is there?

 

I like this list, but I would add the three songs from Hearts of Fire and the 1990 Don Was produced version of Most Of The Time that was on the CD single and the videoclip.

 

Yeah what in the world is up with that? I'm hoping that Street Legal sticks with the 1999 mix and Shot of Love is remastered and whoever sent out the list messed up a little.

 

Good idea. I was bound to forget something! (But not as much as Sony did )

 

I'd say probably. They did also date 'Before The Flood' as 1972.

 

The fact that there is a USB stick being offered has me leaning that way. I like the fact that I have everything all in one small package that can be plugged in and played either each album separately or random. The Beatles Apple is cool looking on the shelf as would be a harmonica. At least these have FLAC files included. The Mark Knopfler concert stick is only 320kbps.
The Dylan USB set is an enticing piece, however the pricing at present is putting a damper on pre-ordering. I'll keep checking here for news of price drops.

 

I've been following this thread and notice there are a number of complaints about this box set, especially the Side Tracks discs included within it. As a casual Dylan fan, I think this box set - like so many other "complete albums" box sets - is a great way for casual fans like myself to discover (on a large scale) the core catalog of a particular artist and listen to the studio albums in chronological order. I'm not as concerned - at this point - about the unreleased or hard-to-find stuff. That will likely come later after in my artist musical education.

For this reason, I think (obviously) this Dylan box set is designed for a much broader audience rather than just hard-core fans. From my perspective, this box set seems to contain something for everyone. Previously unissued albums on CD and newly remastered albums (for the hard-core fan), along with the complete studio catalog and a few extras (Side Tracks and a hardcover book) (for the casual fan)...all in a nice, tidy and consistently packaged collection.

Member mikeja75 made an observation earlier which I think was spot on (at least from my perspective):

Further to mikeja75's points, IF I were to pick up this box set I think I'd be quite satisfied with what is contained within. I may be enticed to seek out other Dylan material (the full Bootleg Series, etc.). To me, the Side Tracks CDs are comparable to the 'Past Masters' albums within the Beatles catalog. Was there more stuff that could have been included on these discs? Sure. But they do provide a nice taster of some other material not contained on the core studio albums.

Personally, I don't think Sony even needed to provide the Side Tracks CDs. It is, after all, the "Complete Album Collection". The Side Tracks CDs, along with the hardcover book, are merely a nice "added bonus".

 

So how would you feel if "Past Masters" didn't contain "Rain" or "I'm Down"? And they were only available on ancient vinyl 45's?

 

You may think of yourself as a "casual fan" of Bob, but no casual fan buys 40+ CDs of any one artist. A "casual" fan of Bob would buy a greatest hits package or two, and maybe 2 or 3 other albums (like Blood On The Tracks and Highway 61), and that's it. A "casual" fan does not want 40 CDs of that particular artist, especially when those 40+ albums contain some of the poorest albums of Bob's career. Only a completist or a die-hard fan of Bob needs to own Down In The Groove or Dylan or Dylan and The Dead.

So I think that the term "casual" is not used properly here.

Arnie

 

Yes, the Side Tracks comp should have been similar to The Beatles Past Masters, mopping up the tracks that were spread across 45's and the Greatest Hits albums. While the distinction may not be as clear as it is for The Beatles, I feel the Biograph tracks are another thing completely, an archival release more akin to The Beatles Anthology albums (which were not included in their official box-set).

So, Sony's compilation is a bit like Past Masters, but instead only including half of the songs that should be on there, and replacing the other half with Anthology tracks.

 

Actually $201.20

 

If I knew little about the Beatles and was merely interested in discovering their core album catalog, I probably wouldn't care about "Rain" or "I'm Down". I probably wouldn't know what was "missing". Tis the case - for me - with this Dylan collection. If I were to listen to Side Tracks, I wouldn't know what - if anything - was "missing". I'd be happy to simply discover stuff I had never heard before or stuff that I may have heard but had forgotten about...

 

It's a single purchase though, at a bargain price. You have to be more of a fan to stick with Tori Amos through three or four or five successive bad albums than you do to buy a 40-album set if it's just one purchase.

By contrast, what sort of idiot would I look announcing that I was a "Dylan fan" who had never so much heard an album issued since 1970? To be a fan you've got to walk a mile in a real fan's shoes. Even a casual fan should have sat through a concert rather than (as I did) using Dylan's set at a festival as a good excuse to fight my way to the toilets.

ptjerm is absolutely on the same page as I am about Side Tracks. That set just cuts out the 'annoyance factor' of buying a big set and then not even getting the tracks on the three greatest hits albums + Biograph. If after 40 albums we have energy enough to want more, we can pursue the real obscurities, but (speaking personally) I might have been a bit irked not to get "Percy's Song" because I have that one performed by Fairport Convention. The bonus tracks are just for the person who sits down day one and says "Let's listen to The Mighty Quinn" ... it's not for collectors.

 

Yes, it is a single purchase at a bargain price. BUT still a "casual" fan does not want 40+ CDs of an artist. I have friends who are "casual" Dylan fans. If I offered them the whole Box set for free, I would say that almost all of them would still decline it. It's too big and they'd never listen to it all. But they'd likely take a 2-CD greatest hits package, and be happy for the rest of their lives.

Arnie

 

But surely, everything that was issued at the time should take priority over unreleased material released after the fact? Especially as a second box is being designed specifically for the unreleased-at-the-time material.

If you just want some great Bob music and you don't care about what you're missing, then just buy 'Biograph'.

The main point is that this was a missed oppurtunity for tidying up Bob's 'official' catalogue

 

Point taken. Perhaps I should have replaced the term "casual fan" with "uninitiated listener".

As a longtime collector (30+ years) of pop/rock music however, owning a full catalog by an artist I previously know little (but am interested in learning more) about - and doing so at a relatively reasonable price - is enticing. The recent Harry Nilsson collection is a prime example. 17 CDs for $65? I'm in. And gladly so.

 

That's more like it. Since you collect other music, you are a music fan in general. Not just a casual listener who occasionally turns on the radio or puts on a random CD. An "uninitiated listener" is a great way to put it.

Arnie

 

I've also been following this thread awhile. As someone who owns most of his catalogue (including but not limited to the SACD box and all the BS entries) I'm personally relieved, but understand and feel the frustration posted in here. I'm not aiming to change any minds here but here's my utterly subjective take:

Badly as I *crave* the hypothetical Side Tracks wish lists posted here, I prefer that Sony isn't cynically(?) forcing/tempting me to re-rebuy all the canonical albums for what I hope turns up on a future, always-too-distant, Bootleg Series entry. Unimaginatevely as it is designed, I see the logic in how Side Tracks has been assembled. There's no need for the redundancy of duplicated Biograph/GH/Essential songs so the streamlining generally makes sense to me (the otherwise unavailable George Jackson aside). Certainly there are missed opportunities that BS will account for.

Speaking as a former shop owner who dealt with labels, wholesalers and customers, I can't *personally* imagine stocking this because aside from the die-hard collector of *things* (e.g., the person who will buy both the CD and USB ser because he needs the hard cover book AND the mouth harp) I have a hard time pinning down the audience for this, let's face it, repackaging. I remember too well the gnashing of teeth and rolling of eyes when folks would spend this kind of money on an item that is mostly duplicative. My sales rep probably heard the same gnashing over the phone.

Now, before you scream, "Judas!" ... Oh, you already did? Have some warm water with lemon before continuing.

Strictly in my opinion, it's too vast and pricey for the curious neophyte dipping their toes, too redundant for anyone with a fair portion of his material (except for the Dylan issue, the new remasters, and George Jackson, of course), and too lacking for we "kooks" out here. I might be able to convince a customer that, at $10-$15 per remaster, the exclusive 1973 disc and the Side Tracks, make this a fair deal but I can't convince myself. Mathematically, it really does work out on a cold, cost-per-disc basis even if you own the "must-haves". Assuming, of course, that all discs are created equal. But does BotT=KOL? (That's rhetorical, I swear!)

Speaking for myself, there's obviously value in the 24-bit FLAC and the book may have some genuinely interesting insights. But will the FLAC sound any better than the pricey MoFi discs I'm pondering but haven't bought yet? (predicted answer based on my SH mastered GHII? Nope.). Better than the SACDs I already own? Can't know for sure, at least not yet. So that's a lot of discs in this set I'm not enthusiastic about. Most of the remasters are discs I don't own because many of them I don't feel compelled to own. Of the two I want most -- WGW and TOoM -- only one is remastered. The math falters more.

My ultimate calculation is to wait, read reviews and discussions, hoping that eventually the remasters get separate releases or that overstock finds its way to PopMarket, Amazon Marketplaces, etc. at a time when I'm more willing to spend again on what I mostly already have instead of spending on the new and as-yet undiscovered.

 

How about a beginner fan? I look at this box, as well as complete sets for Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash and Miles Davis, as an enticing all-in-one solution for newbies who don't know where to begin.