Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks (2 Nov 2018)*

Huh? What'd I miss?

 

Nothing it seems!

 

Some people bought San Diego only (without buying the box) for $0 plus a few bucks shipping to see what happens. Didn't work.

 

Too much of nothing it can cause a man to weep.

 

Serves you right.

Bob's gotta eat, you know.

 

He obviously likes to eat WELL

 

Raspberry, strawberry, lemon and lime, blueberry, apple, cherry, pumpkin and plum

... that adds up!

 

Maybe Bob changed his mind about living on rice and beans.

 

I recall a certain affinity for beef stooooooo.

 

A lot of people don't have much food on their table
But they got a lot of forks and knives
And they gotta cut something

 

He likes to be just like the rest, likes his sugar sweet.

 

Right - and the problem wouldn't be so much the massive complete or near complete session dump a la "The Cutting Edge". The most hardcore of hardcore fans would love that. The problem would be the standard 2CD set, which itself would get pretty monotonous if it only covered the BOTT sessions. How many unheard songs were recorded for BOTT - I would assume not many. So basically a 2CD BS Series release covering only the BOTT sessions would likely end up being little more than three or four alternate versions of each song that appear on the BOOT album. Again - not a problem for some hardcore fans, but these double disc sets are compiled to sell to mild/moderate/curious Dylan fans/novices browsing the racks of what's left of record stores and vanilla outlets like Walmart. I'd imagine seeing a track listing consisting of only 10 song titles repeated 3 or 4 times each over two discs would cause far more copies to be placed back in the rack rather than carried to the checkout counter.

 

I think a compelling 2 disc set could be made, especially if there really is an earlier session with just Dylan on acoustic as they've suggested. I'll call that session "Demos", so Demos/NY Sessions/Minnesota offer plenty of variation, if not a lot of different songs. According to the session logs (which I'm guessing are incomplete), there were a total of 14 different songs recorded. Two of those are titled "Unknown Song" and "Blues" so who knows if there's any value there. Still, there's only 80 minutes max on each CD, so it's impossible for 3 or 4 versions of every song on the 2 discs.

 

The Band's performances on this are great.Several levels above The Last Waltz for instance.The Dylan part is good but not on the same level as Real Royal Albert Hall.

 

A 2CD set could comprise one disc of the 'original album' (acetate) and one disc of alternates and outtakes. Even though half of the original acetate made it through to the official release and most of the rest has been subsequently released, it's a big, straightforward hook ("the Unreleased Album!") for the mass market. It would also be nice to have that version officially released for posterity, and if the deluxe edition takes a chronological sessions approach, then the 2CD version would also have 'unique content' for the collector (but only in terms of sequencing - nothing rare that would compel a double dip).

 

Haven't there been a couple of songs initially in the BOTT recording sessions that did not end up in the album. Up to Me and Wallflower (I think). Some of those songs would be interesting. As much as I love Tangled Up in Blue, I'm not sure I could hear ten or fifteen different takes of it. The Like a Rolling Stone on the six cd Cutting Edge set tried my patience. I was wanting the hotel tapes, still want the hotel tapes, but cannot justify the cost.

For a Blood on the Tracks set, I'd want a cd of the New York set, a cd of the Minneapolis set, and about three or four discs of the the Rolling Thunder Revue, with an emphasis on live songs from BOTT set. I keep reading about the different versions of Idiot Wind, so to me that particular song has the most interest.

 

1978 please (10 CDs)! But if they release Blood and Thunder (Blood on the Tracks and Rolling Thunder) next, I guess I'll have to wait a while as they might want to avoid too much 1970's.

Edit: though I was disheartened to read that tapes might have been wiped from this tour.

 

"Senor" at the end is magnificent--what a concert, what a tour (my favourite):

 

This is a good idea and if this would actually happen, it may well be the first BS where I settle for the 2CD version. A full BOTT sessions release may be too much of the same for me. It will be interesting to see how they go about this, indeed there are many different options for handling the whole mid 70s era (73-78).

 

I am curious to see how they deal with the 1969 copyright extension. Obviously there has already been a BS release for this period but I can't help thinking that set would have looked quite different if they had considered the copyright extension.

 

They were well aware of the copyright situation when BS10 was released in 2013; they released what they thought was the best material for that set. They don't feel the Cash or Harrison outtakes are very good and didn't want them on a mainstream release. As for what they do in 2019, I think we have to see what they do in 2017 first. If Dylan Inc. doesn't see fit to release any of the JWH tapes, the whole Copyright Extension series might grind to a halt.

 

Yes, time is certainly running out for the JWH sessions and I agree with you. If they do not protect those (what many see as the last Holy Grail of the 1960s recordings), they have probably changed their whole strategy regarding copyright protection, and may just leave everything unprotected as is.

 

I love the Cash/Dylan sessions. I don't care if they are out of tune. The songs are great, the improvised lyrics are funny. The atmosphere is great. Oh well, I know I am the only person in the world who likes them. It feels strange, but oh well, I just have to reconcile myself to this fact.

 

I don't think you're alone at all, from comments I've seen here over the years, a lot of fans like the Johnny Cash outtakes. But "fun to listen to" doesn't always mean "good idea to release these for unsuspecting consumers."