Bob Dylan: "Trouble No More 1979 - 1981" - The Bootleg Series Vol. 13

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DeeThomaz, Sep 24, 2015.

  1. timriepe

    timriepe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern, NC
    Is this release worth the full Box? Or the two CD? I have liked what I have heard, and initially wrote off this period when I was getting into Dylan...
     
  2. Crush87

    Crush87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Toronto is absolutely essential, you need the box.
     
  3. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    Worth it to me but maybe not if it isn't your favorite Dylan music period.
     
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  4. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    You got two genuine responses above. All in all, the band(s) during this period were great and Dylan was very engaged. No doubt the Toronto show one gets with the deluxe package is very well played. But personally, I'm annoyed by the whining and lyrical simplicity of much of this music. But don't get me wrong, I loves me some Dylan. So, let me put @No Static's post another way: It may be if it is your favorite Dylan music period. I opted for the 2-CD on 13 and I have every BS release except for the basement tapes, which I just cannot listen to. I've probably spent no more than 60 minutes with BS 13, and too many of those were like tearing my fingernails out. Gotta Serve Somebody, I Believe in You, Solid Rock and Every Grain of Sand are very good and Caribbean Wind is OK. I do prefer the versions of I Believe in You and Every Grain of Sand on Biograph, and vastly prefer the version of Caribbean Wind on Biograph, however.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2018
  5. Jimmy B.

    Jimmy B. isolation can harm you terribly

    I got the box and the bonus set, and I wish I had gotten the 2 CD set. It's the best material there (with some strays on discs 3 and 4).
     
    savemenow likes this.
  6. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    I think the arrangements and performances are different enough across the years of touring, that it justifies the full set if one is truly interested in this era. If that seems excessive, just go for the smaller compilations. You won’t be missing anything per se.
     
    savemenow likes this.
  7. Absolutely essential to get the whole box and the bonus discs. Did you get the whole box for Self-Portrait or the Basement Tapes? This set is just as worthy if you enjoyed those entire boxes. Really the only problem are the missing "raps" by Dylan.
     
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  8. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    As a longtime hardcore Dylan fanatic, I have to say that I have some serious complaints about this set. I love what's here - Dylan's gospel years are perhaps his most underrated era - but it ultimately misses out on some key performances. Where's the alternate studio version of Caribbean Wind? Why aren't more of the fall 1980 shows represented? (Mary From The Wild Moor is one of the absolute great Dylan performances/reinterpretations). The Heart Of Mine outtake - while not as much fun as the final take - is essential for any Dylan fan...and what about the other Shot Of Love outtakes (Hallelujah, Magic, Don't Ever Take Yourself Away, etc.)?

    Honestly, they could have released a 4-CD box for each of the three "gospel" years and still have had to leave some extraordinary material on the cutting floor.
     
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  9. timriepe

    timriepe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern, NC
    I got the vinyl set for the basement tapes and the 2CD for Self Portrait! I didnt even know there was a box for the Self Portrait stuff..that is one of my absolute favorites though! I might look for the complete basement tapes box on cd because I stayed at big pink a few weeks ago and I left the included cd copies inside the living room! :D

    I think ill look into the set for 13! I dont know too much about the period but one of the things I love about these sets is they give me a new appreciation!
     
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  10. GubGub

    GubGub Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sussex
    I personally think it is a great set but it needs to be listened to in relatively small doses. If you try and plough through the whole thing, the hectoring tone of some of it becomes distracting and overwhelming. If you restrict yourself to the two discs of outtakes or the Toronto concert at a single listen, for example, it offers up great pleasures.

    The inclusion of the Earl's Court disc is special for me too as that specific show was my first ever Dylan gig. It confirms that despite the prevailing reputation of this music in the intervening years, it was actually every bit as great as I remember it with memorable and committed performances of the likes of Lenny Bruce & Dead Man Dead Man that preceded the album's release and raised expectations for the record that were ultimately dashed because the live performances were so much more electrifying than the studio takes.
     
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  11. Justin Brooks

    Justin Brooks Forum Resident

    i'd say the full set is essential if you are a big Dylan fan. you don't even have to love this period going in. in fact, if you are lukewarm on the albums (which i am), this set may change your mind. i had heard a good portion of the shows before when i was collecting boots, but that was years ago, so having it curated like this was nice. i get the complaints about the simple lyrics, but what i like about them is the apocalyptic imagery that runs through his entire career but really seemed to become much more prevalent from this period and here on out to present day. also, even though the lyrics are more simplistic, the band is fantastic and Dylan is absolutely, 100 percent committed to the performances.
     
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  12. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored


    TL;DR It’s gonna change your way of thinking.
     
  13. opiumden

    opiumden Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Can you tell me where once could fine these "essential" tracks that you mentioned here? I have zero Dylan studio bootlegs (except what's released on 50th collections and the Bootleg Series).
     
  14. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Most of them are on the Between Saved & Shot boot. I *believe* that the alternate studio version of Caribbean Wind is on one of the Genuine Bootleg Series volumes, but I'm not sure; someone gave it to me as a stand-alone entity.

    As far as the fall 1980 performances go, A Musical Retrospective is absolutely fantastic (actually, it's a serious contender for my absolute favourite Dylan boot). AMR also has the live Caribbean Wind from an audience tape (as opposed to the soundboard version on Trouble No More), which I think sounds a bit more dynamic and magical (though that could just be because it's the one I've been listening to for fifteen years).

    Also, Earl's Court is a decent enough 1981 show, but the New Orleans show bootlegged on The Child's Balloon beats it in every way, imvho.
     
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  15. Dave Gilmour's Cat

    Dave Gilmour's Cat Forum Resident

    What?! That could be the best one of all.
     
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  16. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    Just not a fan. I prefer my Dylan to be snarling and vitriolic.
     
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  17. The Bard

    The Bard Highway 61 Revisited. That is all.

    Location:
    Singapore
    It's my least favourite too. Just not my thing.
     
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  18. I’m not DirkM, but here’s Dylan singing ”Mary of the Sikd Moor”.
     
    DeeThomaz likes this.
  19. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    Absolutely love the bootleg series. Finally got around to listening to this collection over the past few weeks. I know I'm in the minority here, but even with this deep dive, this era still doesn't do much for me. Some nice playing from the very talented band he assembled. But most of the songs & the performances just don't grab me the way so much of his other stuff does.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
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  20. redsock

    redsock Writer, reader, grouch.

    I've been wondering about this for a while: Did Mark Knopfler re-use his little sliding riff from Precious Angel (1979) for So Far Away (1985)?
     
    poolie likes this.
  21. streetlegal

    streetlegal Forum Resident

    A highlight: "Covenant Woman" outtake, disc 3--exceeds the dreary Saved version.
     
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  22. streetlegal

    streetlegal Forum Resident

    Expectingrain.com linked to this current interview with Steve Ripley. It's pleasing to hear from past players from Dylan's back catalogue (and that they are still discretely honoured by Bob). I love Steve's contributions to the 1981 tour, particularly "Slow Train." I presume it's Steve who plays that transcendent lead in "In the Summertime" on disc 2; if only Bob had let him loose on the final track, "Every Grain of Sand"--you can hear Steve chomping at the bit.

    The final Dylan quote is cool:

    https://dylan.utulsa.edu/voices-oklahoma-steve-ripley/
     
  23. Pawnmower

    Pawnmower Senior Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI
    Pretty cool! I'm playing that show as we speak (or as I type). This set is a revelation.
     
  24. JayB

    JayB Senior Member

    Location:
    CT
    Agreed! What's everyone else's highlights from the studio material from this set? Just curious.
     
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  25. vegard martinsen

    vegard martinsen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo Norway
    I have bought all the de luxe editions, and I will continue to do so. However, I do listen to some of them far more than others. I have listened far more to TallTellSigns and AnotherSelfPortrait than, say CuttingEdge and NoDirectionHomeSoundtrack.

    I will buy this one, but I do not expect to listen to all of it that often.
     

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