Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. XII "The Cutting Edge"*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Abbey Road, Oct 16, 2014.

  1. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    I'm very late to this particular thread and I haven't read most of the posts:-

    One of the many highlights of Big Blue for me is the stem track of "One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)" which showcases Paul Griffin's playing.

    A couple of weeks ago BBC TV featured a "Classic Albums" documentary on the making of Don McLean's "American Pie" LP. All of a sudden, towards the end of a frankly not-so-interesting program, there was Paul Griffin and his honky-tonk piano playing, isolated for all to hear the genius, along with that familiar photo of him in the studio with Bob.

    For those in UK, here is the relevant clip, entitled "The magic ingredient in the song American Pie":-

    BBC Two - Classic Albums, Don McLean: American Pie, The magic ingredient in the song American Pie

    The whole programme is still available to watch on, or download from, BBC iPlayer:-

    Classic Albums - Don McLean: American Pie


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  2. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    Agreed 100%! Are you sure you’re not me?
     
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  3. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    I'm not even sure I'm me half the time....
     
  4. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    That sounds like me.
     
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  5. lou

    lou Fast 'n Bulbous

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Until I saw that picture I had no idea Paul was African American! I had always assumed he was a white session guy as I don't know of any other Dylan session musicians in the 65-68 time frame who weren't white. His playing definitely elevates the Cutting Edge era songs he played on. It would have been cool if Paul had done some live gigs with Dylan at this time - the first mainstream rock integrated band? (Yes I know about Paul Butterfield and Rising Sons but they didn't have the high profile of Dylan, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience came later).
     
  6. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    One of us must be that enemy within.....:)
     
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  7. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client


    Frank Owens played piano at the "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Highway 61 Revisited" sessions:-


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    Sam Lay played drums on the "Highway 61 Revisited" session, most notably the title track (as well as hitting the skins at Newport '65, of course):-

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    Let's also hear it for Angeline Butler, singer on "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"; and Tom Wilson who produced everything from "The Times They Are-A Changin'" through to "Like A Rolling Stone".
     
  8. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    Not forgetting The Chambers Brothers, vocalists on the alternate take(s) of "Tombstone Blues":-


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  9. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I love take 23 of Sooner Or Later. It's basically just as good as take 24, but different enough to add a freshness to a song that I've played MANY times. Plus that wonderfully sloppy ending is sublime!

    And Bill Lee
     
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  10. munjeet

    munjeet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Father of Spike Lee! That amazes me whenever I think about it.
     
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  11. SlimLee

    SlimLee Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Kulin Nation
    I'm late to the party here and don't have the time to look through 550+ pages, but what are people's feelings on the 2CD vs 6CD? I've been rocking the 2CD for the last year or so, but I'm starting to think I should dive in a bit deeper, particularly once post-Christmas sales start rolling out. Is there a wealth of material on the 6CD that I'm missing out on by only having the 2CD?
     
  12. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Absolutely! The 6CD set is a great distillation of the Monster box.
     
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  13. SlimLee

    SlimLee Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Kulin Nation
    Let's not get ahead of ourselves here ;)
    However I'd love to hear if you or anyone else can outline why the 6CD is preferred over the 2CD (ie. "Are you kidding me? The 6CD has blah blah blah! You're life isn't complete until you've heard yadda yadda!")
     
  14. SlimLee

    SlimLee Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Kulin Nation
    Or alternately, if people think that the 2CD hits all the highlights, and expanding to the 6CD would only be for the sake of completists, I'd gladly take that on board too.
     
  15. I think the 2-CD set is simply missing too much essential material compared to the 6-CD set. Heck, the 6-CD set probably needed another CD or two of highlights from the even larger set to get a full portrait of the sessions. But this all depends on how much of a Dylan fan you are for this period.
     
  16. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    How could I have forgotten Bill "Baby Blue" Lee. 89 years young...

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  17. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    Yes! Obviously it depends on how much Bob floats your particular boat, but the 6CD set seems to be a reasonable price on A****n and E**y these days and it is stuffed full of the most essential cuts, and it flows well. The books are good, too.

    I mean, the 6CD set still isn't enough for me; I need every take of "She's Your Lover Now" just to witness the failure of the management-by-telepathy approach that Bob seems to employ at that session, but at least you get four of the takes on the 6CD set rather than the single take on the 2CD set. But you will need very deep pockets to pick up Big Blue these days. (Whisper it softly: it's worth it, though...)

    Interestingly, the 2CD set seems to have some artwork which doesn't feature in the 6CD set or the 18CD set, so it is worth having, too!!


    I strongly recommend reading Roger's superb essays, here:-

    The Cutting Edge, Collector's Edition

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  18. SlimLee

    SlimLee Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Kulin Nation
  19. signothetimes53

    signothetimes53 Senior Member

    +1
     
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  20. Percy Song

    Percy Song A Hoity-Toity, High-End Client

    It is a 65-page tour de force of elegant description, methodical and detailed analysis and wit; even the illustrations are fascinating. Where the official notes with Big Blue expend a measly nine lines of text on every take of "Tombstone Blues", for example, Roger writes nine lines on the one minute harmonica overdub alone, shedding light on an otherwise (to me, at least) curious experiment [Disc 8, Track 14]. I'll give you your money back if you don't think it's time well spent. Oh, I can't, it's free... :laugh:

    Prediction: you'll buy the 6CD set after reading the essays. You might even go on a Big Blue Box hunt.
     
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  21. swedgin

    swedgin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    There are many reasons to own the 6cd version, the most compelling being the solo piano version of She's Your Lover Now. Like I'll Keep it With Mine, Bob can sometimes go round the houses trying to nail the perfect take of a great track only to leave it behind. The perfect one we find out years later was there in the vault all the time, just Bob solo.
     
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  22. slane

    slane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merrie England
    According to Roger Ford's notes, the 'bass' on Baby Blue is actually Bruce Langhorne playing guitar in a low register (which is how it sounds to me).

    Thanks for sharing those notes BTW, they're fascinating (and I don't even have the 18 CD set!)
     
  23. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Big Blue is for the completist. The 2CD set barely scratches the surface. The 6CD set hits almost all of the highlights.
     
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  24. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    In a word, YES.

    1. The 2-CD set is a great sampler, but it only scratches the surface.
    2. The 6-CD set contains probably 90% of the Really Good Stuff from the 17 (18) CD set.
    3. I can’t think of anything on the 6-CD set that isn’t worth a serious listen.
     
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  25. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    We’ve written almost exactly the same thing at almost exactly the same time.

    So what we wrote must be true.:)
     
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