Bob Dylan Bootleg Series 1-3 Appreciation

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Just listening to this today - realizing how many personal memories I have attached to probably my most played Dylan discs outside peak era albums. Just some random thoughts:
- "Farewell Angelina" is one of his finest songs, period. Thematically linked with "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" (and by extension "Positively 4th Street") it's a softer, prettier performance than some of the other big poetic epics of the era
- the rehearsal take of "I'll Keep It With Mine" is one of my favorite Dylan performances caught on tape, plus such an odd song ("you might say that it's odd...") in that it could be interpreted as a pure love song or sarcastic take on management fees
- such a great run in 62-63 that could have made ANOTHER great album in there somewhere: Let Me Die In My Footsteps, Only A Hobo, Davey Moore, etc
- I never cared for "Barbed Wire Fence," just a bad song fragment that almost pulls back the curtain too much on the song writing process, still glad it's here rather than not though
- same with "Santa Fe" but I'm glad we didn't get a big Basement Tapes track on here, somehow this set seems focused more on solo personal Bob stuff
- "She's Your Lover Now" rules as we all know, the breakdown is just part of the song at this point
- far superior acoustic version of "Every Grain" than the album version
- "Blind Willie," "Foot Of Pride," "Series Of Dreams" - modern classics

This set was always in my car in my wilder days in the 90s, even with a mess of CDs and cans etc everywhere, I kept these in perfect shape. I rememeber nights with friends or at the bars just thinking I had this album to look forward to driving around in the middle of the night playing disc two. Playing guitar and piano to it, losing disc three to an ex-girlfriend, etc. Just one of those albums that I really lived with, rather than just listened to. I play it now & it evokes those memories, and I realize how much this particular music affected me.

 

I have all the Bootleg series; Have to say the big problem is the boxand packaging - too big to put and damage in the car - maybe I'll invest in the smaller reissue. You're right I love in particular the BOTT outtakes in open tuning guitar. Who could have seen this was to be the forerunner to this fab series ? No 8 is the one tho.

 

i prefer the test pressing takes of the BOTT stuff. Idiot Wind with organ, the more delicate Tangled, If You See Her etc.

 

It's still the best bootleg series in my book.

 

It's slowly becoming this, but I like the idea of it being, in about ten years time, the equivalent of a 'Best of..' or 'Selections from...' all the other BS releases. Most of the early material has been expanded elsewhere, and some of the later stuff too. Here's hoping for a continuation of that trend!

 

favorite tracks are:

He Was A Friend Of Mine
House Carpenter
Let Me Die In My Footsteps
Quit Your Low Down Ways
Only A Hobo
Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie
Seven Curses
Farewell Angelina
I Shall Be Released (although i always substitute this and the following track with better-sounding stereo versions from the recent Basement Tapes boxset)
Santa Fe (yeah, it's a simple track, but very catchy and very fun)
If Not For You
Nobody 'Cept You
Call Letter Blues
Golden Loom
Seven Days
Angelina
Blind Willie McTell

So there you already have something that for artists would've been career highlights to be worn proudly. Sitting On A Barbed-Wire Fence is way better on the take chosen for "The Best Of The Cutting Edge" with that great guitar line not present here. I'll Keep It With Mine is much better on "TBOTCE"/"Biograph" too. Every Grain Of Sand is too rough for me here. The album version is just perfect as it is.

 

The first LP in the box is better than his first LP.

 

Still the best one of the series imo. Yes above Royal Albert and Tell Tale and Cutting. This thing had songs on it that were brand new songs to the majority of fans and some that had never been heard before. And they were great songs. That never happened again on the level of the first BL 1-3. And there was an albums worth of the new stuff.

I think folks forget how great this set really is.

 

Great stuff huh? I agree with you except for Every Grain. That version is my favorite. It has the "spook".

Also, Id add "Foot Of Pride" Outstanding song and vocal.

 

Ha, I must have lived in a parallel alternate universe from you. Youre description of "living" with this set is almost note for note the same song as mine. You could have borrowed my disc three. Id have needed your disc two though

 

It was an exciting album when it came out. Finally getting good quality versions of material which circulated on poor-quality boots, plus unimagined new material that didn't disappoint. I was rather frustrated that it contained a bit of a lot of his varied output, and would have preferred a more cohesive selection (as later appeared on later installments of the bootleg series). It certainly proved that there was a viable market for issuing this material, which all Dylan fans are grateful. Plus fans of other artists who decided to release archival material.

 

I keep reading its the best bootleg so far - has there been a vote on this ? Would be interesting as only fans who've heard them all would probably respond ...

 

We have an old one (and Vol 1-3 won), but it needs to be updated: Poll: Your favorite Bob Dylan Bootleg Series releases »

If someone starts a new poll, please let us know in this thread?

 

In grad school (about 15 years ago), my then-girlfriend was a self-proclaimed radical feminist who was always ranting about some outrage or other. After a few months of this, rather than arguing with her or trying to convince her that I agreed with her (it hardly mattered which was the case, her reaction was the same), I settled on a stock response. "Y'know what, Lisa? I think we ought to take some of these people, put 'em on a boat, send 'em on up to Bear Mountain for a picnic!" She at least found that mildly amusing.

 

In anticipation of a potential purchase of this on vinyl, I was listening to my "long box" CD version the other day. It struck me how these "rejects" could be just about anyone else's greatest hits collection. Also, I think the sound is pretty good.

 

Ah! 'Call Letter Blues' sounds familiar

Only just bought this collection

 

I read on Wiki that a remastered version was issued on Sony Legacy, “A remastered version in smaller packaging was issued on August 19, 1997, on Legacy Recordings, the reissue imprint of Sony Records.”.

Is there a consensus as to whether the remastered version is better sounding than the original release?