Bob Dylan LP: New Morning (Song-by-Song + Rarities & Live Apperances, 1970-71)

I thought i was being kind. you can open the book on any page and find some of that fanzine fervor, sometimes accentuated by cryptic remarks to make the unknowing reader think the author actually knows what he doesnt.
lets try it. lets open up to page......599...at random.. o here is a good one, not about bob per se but illustrative of the heylin :

"In fact, Flanagan(Bob costar in Hearts of Fire) generated as much sexual charge as a blow up doll with a puncture, while excluding all the onscreen presence of a parrott".

and on page 563 a dig at Santana : "Having steered Dylan away from the notoriously unbusinesslike South Americans (!!), to whom he actually wished to play, Graham (Bill) began to push him into a joint tour with the SORT of musical DEADWOOD that punk (oi) was supposed to have washed away."

 

That is exactly the sort of thing that is indeed infuriating about Heylin, but it's not evidence that he's done little research.

L.

 

well ive been opening pages at random and yet to find any evidence of any research, i dont have the session book he wrote at the moment, from which i would love to post some tidbits on here, as its riddled with errors.

 

Why in the world would you buy his books if you dislike them so much?

 

Because i feel like it.

 

He's bang on the money with this one though and having to sit through that movie counts as deep research, no?

 

What! You shirley must have watched 'Airplane'?

 

No that blow up doll stuff is not my thing. more power to him tho.

 

Listened to New Morning on my morning walk today. I bought New Morning when it came out but I had forgotten Sign On The Window was on NM. I had been listening to a version from the Genuine Bootleg Series on a comp I made of key tracks. A great song from this LP I had somewhat overlooked.

 

GEORGE JACKSON (Big Band & solo versions)
Recorded November 4, 1971 in NYC

Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, vocal)
Kenneth Buttrey (drums) [previously used by Dylan in Nashville c. 1966-69]
Ben Keith (steel guitar) [played on Neil Young's Harvest sessions earlier in 1971, along with Kenny Buttrey.]
Leon Russell (bass) [also did sessions with Dylan earlier in 1971, and accompanied him at the Bangladesh shows.]
Joshie Armstead (background vocals) [former member of the Ikettes, and a songwriter with Ray Charles]
Rosie Hicks (background vocals) [no other info]

Released November 12, 1971.
"Big Band Version" also included on Masterpieces (3-LP), released 1978
"Acoustic Version" also included on Side Tracks (LP/CD), released 2013

(Picture sleeves, like the one below, using photos from Dylan's most recent live appearances at the Concert for Bangladesh, were not provided for the U.S. single.)


I don't really want to get into the subject matter of the song. Clinton Heylin gave his own assessment of George Jackson in his book Revolution In The Air, and there's a new Salon article that covers several aspects of Jackson's controversial life, and his death in August of 1971:

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/07/ame...d_the_birth_of_the_prison_industrial_complex/
"...With Jackson, as with the others, the deaths marked not just the tragic end of a young life but also the bizarre beginnings of speculation about the character of the deceased. Jackson, an activist and bestselling author, was killed at California’s San Quentin prison on Aug. 21, 1971, by two guards who fired down at him as he ran toward the wall surrounding the prison after a 30-minute takeover of a solitary confinement unit..."

I clearly remember the single being played on a Chicago FM radio station for several weeks that autumn, but that one line -- "...he wouldn't take s*** from no one..." -- apparently precluded it from receiving much airtime on Top 40 stations. (Were there any versions with the swear word bleeped out, like on A Boy Named Sue? I'm not aware of any.)

I also recall trying to find a copy of the record back then, but was unsuccessful. (Years later I bought the stock 45 , as well as a promo copy, and also bought Masterpieces, with the "Big Band" version. I haven't yet heard the remaster of the solo take on Side Tracks, but I understand it sounds pretty good.)

In those days, getting a record like this from Bob Dylan was bound to cause a stir. Personally, although I like both takes, I think Bob rushed this one out. On the released solo version, his harmonica work sounds uncharacteristically tentative, and on the full band version the chorus becomes a little repetitive. But it was kind of a flash in the pan, apparently -- since 1971, he's never performed George Jackson again.

Here's a lengthy blog entry providing more context about the song, and the reaction to it:
http://williamhenryprince.com/1129-2/

 

I picked up the recent Record Collector with the Unterberger article about the acetates stash from this period. Gotta admit I was disappointed. Usually love Unterberger as an author and researcher, but in this case, my initial reading doesn't suggest it reveals anything new that previous web-articles didn't include.

Also confused why Jeff Gold continues to refer to the SP takes of "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Ring of Fire" as unheard, as they have circulated since the mid-70's, as I understand it. I respect that not everyone seeks out every obscure bootleg, but in this case the recordings are so common that it seems strange that it escaped his radar.

Not sure how much credibility to assign to his description of "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" as a gospel version. That doesn't match the circulating outtake from those sessions in my mind. My strong assumption is that he is just hearing the familiar version differently than I do, but it is fun to imagine the version he describes.

 

I suspect that the Houston Street Acetates have some different mixes, in stereo and/or mono, that would make them very interesting to listen to. The circulating versions of the Johnny Cash covers might sound completely different in high quality stereo, with a decent mix. As for the New Morning outtake of Tomorrow Is..., I agree that "gospel version" isn't the first description that springs to mind, but it's all very subjective.

Forum member Bruce Mulle has purchased some of the acetates (photos posted in the link below) and I hope that at some point he'll give us a more detailed description.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...ossessions-part2.310317/page-35#post-10976076

 

I took a walk through the city today, and wound up on Houston and Thompson...




Seems Arturo's is doing well forty odd years on!

 

Wow, great picture, you're a lucky cat. Didn't Bob do a version of Walk A Mile In My Shoes?

 

I should probably go to the city with a copy of the ASP book (and a better camera) and get some shots of the locations, like what that guy did for Another Self Portrait and Highway 61. And get a shot of the spot where they found all the acetates.

 

Yes, I believe at the Toad's Place marathon (1-12-90).

Just don't ask me what I had for lunch.

 

Believe me, your fount of knowledge is still flowing. Didn't they make that movie Total Recall about you?

 

WALLFLOWER by Bob Dylan
Recorded November 4, 1971 in NYC (two takes)
(same personnel as George Jackson, above, minus the backing vocalists)

- released on Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 (1991)
- alternate take released on Another Self Portrait/Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (2013)

I think I first heard Dylan's own version of Wallflower when it began circulating from an acetate source in the 1980s, a decade after the song appeared on the album Doug Sahm and Band, which was recorded in 1972 with vocal, guitar and organ contributions from Bob.

Writer Clinton Heylin all but dismissed the song as a piece of fluff, but I think it's fine, sort of a country cousin of Winterlude. It certainly would have made a nice addition to the Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid soundtrack, IMO, although it was probably in Dylan's rear view mirror by the time he began working on that film in 1973. (His son Jakob did, however, appropriate the song title as the name of his own band in 1989.)

Everyone's undoubtedly familiar with the Dylan and Sahm versions, and now Diana Krall (a/k/a Mrs. Elvis Costello) will soon be releasing an album entitled Wallflower. Here's a brief clip of Diana and Elvis in concert:


(This probably belongs in a different thread, but here's the track list for Ms. Krall's Wallflower album; an interesting assortment of songs.)
1. California Dreamin'
2. Desperado
3. Superstar
4. Alone Again (Naturally) duet with Michael Bublé
5. Wallflower featuring Blake Mills
6. If I Take You Home Tonight
7. I Can't Tell You Why
8. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
9. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)
10. I'm Not In Love
11. Feels Like Home duet with Bryan Adams
12. Don't Dream It's Over
13. In My Life (Amazon Deluxe Exclusive)
14. Yeh Yeh duet with Georgie Fame (Amazon Deluxe Exclusive)
15. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (Live)(Amazon Deluxe Exclusive)
16. Wallflower (Live)(Amazon Deluxe Exclusive)

EDIT: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...ew-studio-album-wallflower-10-21-2014.362750/

 

I'll be honest - I've never been a big fan of "Wallflower".
It's got some fine lyrics, but it's just sorta seems lazy... like the songs on the two BS are just rough sketches.

It's not a song I hate, but it's not a song I enjoy. It's just kinda there.

 

That's fair. He's hasn't performed it since 1972, so he may agree with you.

 

Oh I love 'Wallflower' by both Dylan & Doug Sahm / Dylan. It's just such a heart rending song. Patty Smith loves it too I believe.

 

So Patti Smith and Diana Krall both like it, huh...maybe some women think it's romantic? Most guys are terrified about asking a girl to dance.

 

That's because most guys can't dance.

 

15 minutes worth of Dylan-Harrison, May 1970

 

While searching for other things Harrison, I came across this interview disc:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Smith-Tap...id=1413344120&sr=8-1&keywords=the+smith+tapes

Of potential interest in this thread because it was recorded the same day George had his "New Morning" session with Bob. I'm too cheap to spring $10 to see if George reveals the secret to "Working on a Guru" ... has anyone heard this interview?