Bob Dylan - After The Empire & 1985 Rehearsals

How about that "Baby Stop Crying" from the Petty rehearsal tapes? The first fragment version sounds like an At Budokan arrangement to my ears. Good things come to those who wait!

I thought 1978 was the last time he touched that Street Legal song, but apparently not...

 

Sadly, there's no "Where Are You Tonight?" on this set.

 

Really loving "26 Storeys High."

 

It's somewhat amazing to me that not only were these songs ideas permanently scrapped, but Dylan's people didn't even bother with copyrighting anything. To my knowledge, these songs are completely undocumented until now (they certainly escaped Heylin's research).

 

And Krogsgaard's. The existence of the Cherokee Session/s was documented (without track details) on Olaf's site. Not sure of the source that gave him that information, but my hat is off for our Swedish friend.

 

I'm sorta thinking one of the Queens of Rhythm leaked these sets. Only because they cast them in such a great light. Dylan's back up singers don't always fare that well. If so, hard to blame the person involved.

 

On my first listen, it sounds like "My Sweet Baby (Round & Around) uses the phrase "Under Your Spell." That's interesting, to me at least.

 

Yep, it's outstanding!

But still, another great number!

Total "Bob-nut" that I am, I'd go out on a limb and call this the "great lost album"! Yeah!

Start up the advertising machine!!

( @HominyRhodes ) You catching these?

 

I thought Heylin did document this period of sessions. It's the Graffiti Band backing Bob at Cherokee studios. Well known sessions, even if unheard by most of us. No mystery here, surprised the experts are stumped.

I was following what Bob was up to back then, waiting for confirmation that he would have TP & Heartbreakers backing him on the road, as I had the unpopular opinion that this would be the best rock & roll backing Bob had had since the Band in 1966.

 

The full set may not have a full album's worth of potentially top-grade material. But it's pretty close. I'm not clear how this stuff went completely ignored (let alone documented).

 

wonder if this entry from Krogsgaard's documentation fits:

Cherokee Studios
Hollywood, California
October 31, 1985

Demos

Musicians: Raymond Lee Pounds (drums), Vito San Filippo (bass), Bob Dylan, Carolyn Dennis, Madelyn Quebec, and Elisecia Wright (backing vocals).

 

That would seem to fit. Not sure why I didn't see it when I last checked his work. Cheers to you.

 

They are an awesome listen. I'm getting weepy for the days when these sort of tape leaks were often and widespread.

 

I don't think they are from those sessions..........who's playing piano and organ ?

 

Thank you for a great thread!

I am very curious about the involved musicians. In an interesting article in the Pitchfork, about Dylan Holy Grails, some lost sessions from the 1980s are mentioned (see below). Could they be the ones that we now hear on the After The Empire disc, I wonder? Al Kooper and T-Bone?

Beyond the Bootlegs: Bob Dylan's Unreleased Holy Grails | Pitchfork »

The Lost Eighties Sessions with Al Kooper, T-Bone Burnett, and Cesar Rosas

The mid-1980s were a low point for Dylan as a record-maker, with two half-hearted LPs, Down in the Groove and Knocked Out Loaded, suffering from the most scathing (or just plain indifferent) reviews of Dylan’s career. But Rolling Stone's Mikal Gilmore was present for studio sessions showing that Dylan could still find inspiration if the circumstances were right. With a motley crew of session musicians including Al Kooper, T-Bone Burnett, Los Lobos guitarist Cesar Rosas, R&B saxophonist Steve Douglas, and bassist James Jamerson Jr., Gilmore writes that Dylan cut well over 20 songs ranging “gritty R&B, Chicago-steeped blues, rambunctious gospel, and raw-toned hillbilly forms.” And not a single one has seen the light of day, on bootleg or otherwise.

 

Wow, this is amazing stuff!

 

not having given it too much thought, but this report seems to match the May 1986 sessions better, as listed by Krogsgaard, what do you think?

 

It seems like many of the tracks in May 1986 ended up on the Knocked Out Loaded album, whereas those mentioned in the Pichfork article never appeared (if the info is correct), but I don't know.

 

The songs, which appear to be primarily Dylan originals, do not appear in Heylin's book and were not submitted for copyright. So I'd say they were a "mystery" until now.

 

I've only had a chance to listen to the first few songs but I was really intrigued by the first song "Baby Coming Back From The Dead" and it's connection to the woman as ghost theme. This was later revisited much more dramatically in the Time Out Of Mind outtake "Girl From The Red River Shore." I also think of the line "feel like a ghost in love" from the other Time Out Of Mind outtake "Dreamin of You."

The next song, I heard a very slight resemblance to "Tryin To Get To Heaven" with all the door/more type rhyme scheme and train motif.

Also loved the Buddy Holly inspired "I'm Ready For Love". Kept hearing Dylan's acceptance speech at the Grammy's about how Holly was with them in spirit as they recorded TOOM. I'm Ready.../I Can't Wait...

I know Dylan told Edna Gunderson he had the TOOM songs for a long time. Could some of those songs be found this far back in their infancy?

Hope to listen to more tracks tonight.

 

I think Clinton Heylin wrote that Dylan has the only copy of the tapes; the studio didn't retain (or make) any copies.

 

Aha, OK, thanks!

 

Won't get to listen to these for a little while, but I'm just excited at the thought of it all! This must be the first time something major has come into (unofficial) circulation since I've been following Dylan.

 

Really? For many of us this was a twice a year event at least - if you count a soundboard live recording as well as rehearsals.

These happen to be nicer cassettes of lower generation and not maxed out blown levels like we sometimes get.

Rough Cuts was to me the ultimate "Making of an Album" reels to surface from 80s sessions.

 

Lasted about 24 hours. Poof.