OOPS! You're right. I can't count (12? 13? 25? What's the difference?) AND I can't read. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. If I go off topic, I prefer it to be on purpose. Seeya back over there....
I don't think we can assume it would JUST cover the Blood on the Tracks sessions, though. I think they're more prone to explore wider periods of time, using a prominent album title more as a convenient shorthand. Sean's summary reminds us, the same Sony sources were referring to the eventual BS12 as a Blonde on Blonde set, even though it ended covering three albums. And ASP is often referred to as a Self Portrait set (it's literally in the title!) while it also has a broader range. I think TTS established the template for these "era" retrospectives in the Bootleg Series (itself primarily promoted for the wealth of Time Out Of Mind outtakes it offered). There are exceptions of course. The Basement Tapes and Witmark Demos were highly focused collections in recent years.
I can't see a total sessions release for BOOT. The 65/66 set makes (some) sense seeing the historical value, but BOOT isn't the same kind of beast. There isn't anything really "historical" about it, just that it's an amazing album. I think they will likely do a "New York Version" of the album and maybe some alternative takes and outtakes to round it out. Who knows what else might be floating around from that time period, but as much as I love the album (it's my favourite of his) I really am not interested in hearing too many multiple takes of any particular song.
One thing you didn't include was the discussion in the January 2014 RS piece on the 1978 tour. Was that an intentional omission?
while it would be nice to get BOTT out of the way (in the best sense possible), i wonder if sony are holding onto it since - after vols. 9, 11 & 12 - it's the last truly classic/legendary dylan era (for mainstream music listeners) that hasn't had a comprehensive set yet. maybe they could spin this coffeehouse bob thing as some kind of beat/boho story and make a killing, but after that the bootleg series' only option is to go full anorak, which would be a treat for fans everywhere but probably yield less impressive results for sony's revenue coffers anyway, money down on a blood on the tracks box, with its infamous test pressing as a record store day reissue
Another vote\hope here for the BOTT box, although I would be happy with anything listed by the OP with the exception of a "coffee house" set. Not that I wouldn't buy it anyway...
Another thing working against the BOTT sessions is that SO many of the songs sound so similar in structure, melody and arrangement -- especially if they are going to focus on the NYC sessions and not give the Minnesota sessions as much room. I love BOTT too, but multiple takes of "Simple Twist Of Fate," "Up To Me" and the NYC "Lily" would be dreadfully boring, I'm afraid. (Of course, if Jeff Rosen wants to invite me to listen to the tapes to prove me wrong, I'm all ears...)
Adding the Live 1964, 1966, and 1975 BS sets to those then almost half of the BS releases have been focused collections, although you could argue Witmark was broad with the date range 1962-1964. Who knows, you might be right, they could expand it to 1974-1975 and cover Desire and Rolling Thunder for a bigger set. They just don't seem connected to me at all. Different stories.
The thing with the versions I've heard is that words change slightly, changing the the whole story in the song. If there are any additional takes that might contain different lyrics please bring them on. In another thread someone mentioned including live versions of the BOTT songs throughout the years as the lyrics constantly evolve - I think that would be a great idea as well
Thanks, Ron, but I don't think I'm worthy of that title. There are a LOT of huge Dylan fans around here...
That's only because you're Apple's Consigliere-in-waiting. You have to pretend that other forum members are bigger Dylan Devotees than yourself to keep the position available Ron
Fortunately, Jeff Rosen doesn't need my help -- or anyone's -- he's doing a pretty terrific job of curating Bob's vault. Apple, on the other hand.....
They've now mentioned it in two separate ocassions. This seems like a very serious prospect. Then again, Blood on the Tracks has been mentioned even more times.
I know, if only Apple's Jeff took stock in Dylan's Jeff. Then again, things are looking up on the Beatles front and Dylan's career has lasted just a wee bit longer than the Beatles (thus thousands more unreleased performances). But all is well...and maybe, just maybe we'll get some "Cutting Edge" type releases from the Beatles camp too. Ron
I can see Apple being stubborn in last year and this year, saying "We're not handing out our outtakes to everyone just to extend the copyright," but will they have the same stones when it's a year from now and the stuff they're letting slip away is from Revolver and "Strawberry Fields"? One could go broke betting on Apple's next move, so we'll have to wait and see.
Assuming the 18 disc monster sells out, and the 6 disc creature sells well, here's what I would like/propose: Parallel to the Bootleg Series that continues running forward (with "Blood on the Tracks" long overdue), another (call it Bootleg Series, call it something else if you like) goes back to the first studio session and moving forward presents them in the same way as the 18 disc monster. (Yes, I realize the sessions for the first album are in the public domain in the EU.) So they release every moment of studio tape over the course of time.
The BOTT release was (temporarily, hopefully) shelved as there was some trouble locating a master tape(s) apparently...I hope this is resolved or at least reasonable back up tapes could be used if the masters really cannot be located. My (slightly educated) belief is that The Bootleg Series Volume 13 might well be sub-titled "The Razor's Edge" - as suspected it will be a "Blood On The Tracks" set and will be at least a 4 discs: Disc One: early solo version of the album (not sure if this is a studio tape or a home tape made by Dylan himself - but I know they have something like this - it has been mentioned...I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be one of Dylan's personal recordings rather than a formal studio tape) Disc Two & Three: Alternate takes/early New York versions etc...despite people thinking they've heard everything, there is stuff like slow versions of 'You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go", "Shelter From The Storm" and others with different arrangements and lyrics. Disc Four: The 'New York' version of the album. ....possibly there would be room for something like Montreal 1975 as 2cd audio or a Blu-Ray/DVD video disc as a bonus? EDIT: Thinking more about this - this 4cd configuration would work really well as a "collectors" or "Deluxe" edition (or whatever you want to call it). Like the previous Bootleg Series releases, it would allow a 2cd set of just the alternates (discs 2 & 3) to be released as a standalone package for the more casual collector. Marketing job at Columbia please Jeff Rosen?