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

The actor Charles Grey playing the devil-worshiper Mocata in The Devil Rides Out (1968).
He also played Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever and took one step to the left in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
A man named Grey. Okay, I get it, but somehow I don't think it's what Dylan had in mind.

 

I think one thing we can agree on is that Mr Gray, along with the newspaper cuttings, espionage, infidelity, flight, inheritance, and murder (all within the first verse), opens the song with a burst of cinematic energy--film noir??--that continues in flashes through the song. "Dignity" is another song like that--lots of film snippets--that has just come to mind.

 

I don't know much about these things because I spend all day on my head and, as a consequence, I'm delusional much of the time, but I have this sneaky suspicion that the name "Gray" was chosen in a crafty songwriting endeavour to create an internal rhyme with "Italy". Or vice versa. I mean, look at all the countries (in 1974) with three syllables and try to match a one syllable surname to them. There aren't that many options.

Off the top of my head: Portugal, Guyana, Switzerland, Uganda, Mozambique, Libya, Austria, Senegal, Panama, Zambia, Mexico, Syria, Bangladesh, Malawi, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Rwanda, Uruguay. That's about it.

"Gray" and "Italy" works pretty well, and I imagine Italy is a romantic place to go if you're stealing another man's wife; not that I have any experience of that. There are some rickety old balconies in Italy too. Anyone with a million bucks could tragically fall from one of them...

 

Has anyone been able to confirm this yet?

 

Probably will be as the cdJapan description basically says that it's identical except for the Blu-Spec CD2 discs.

Description
*The contents of this release will be identical to the worldwide release, except for Blu-spec CD2. The latest compilation album release from his official bootleg series focuses on how 33-year-old Dylan made masterpieces by showing lots of unreleased takes. Slipcase packaging with a booklet and a photo book (subject to change).

 

I don't know about the wood pilin', but you and I know that Dostoevsky, while imprisoned in Siberia, was marched out to be executed. Approx. 20 minutes from his execution, word was received that the Tsar commuted his sentence! Had the execution gone forward, the world would have lost probably its greatest writer, before he'd written his best works!

I think House of the Dead was his first book upon being released!

 

That's my strong suspicion too, but sometimes these Japanese sets can surprise (particularly where the packaging is concerned).

 

True. However I have found cdJapan's description of packaging to be pretty on the nose.

 

Likely, of course, a cruel mind-furk by the czar planned for these unfortunate men all along. The lemon from lemonade being, he likely would also never have grown into the writer of those greatest works without the experience of his Siberian exile. Amazing man, amazing faith in the opportunities for redemption.

 

yeah, somehow 'They say I shot a man named Joe and took his wife to Mexico /she inherited a million pesos and when she died it came to be mine, so....I can't help it if I'm lucky"

sounds a bit too trite...

gotta work up one for Bangladesh and see how that works.

 

It's back up for $82 bucks. Jeff Bezos, you mysterious crazy genius.



My box, likewise a steal at $76, arrived minutes ago floating around in a big partly torn-open padded envelope, and the box has a several dings on the corners and edge abrasions. Not going to bother to complain or return, partly because of the great deal and partly because I suspect the whole "strictly limited" valuable super-collectible mint-copies-soon-to-be-a-rarity sales pitch is complete bunk.

I bet you guys thought the dopey shipping posts were disappearing in the rear-view mirror by now. Hah!

 

It's dropped to $73 (before tax), as there's a 10% cart coupon available for it at the moment. It's been interesting to see how the price has jumped around.

 

That’s one word for it.

 

My one hundred and nine bucks isn't finding it all that interesting.

 

I'd say that many Dostoevsky scholars refer to his near-execution as the "motorcycle accident" of his career, but I promised to stop lying.

 

In fairness to Amazon, mine arrived in a solid, tightly packaged box and was in immaculate, mint condition.

 

They say I shot a man named Grey, and took his wife to Bangladesh
She inherited a million bucks, and when she died I had the cash
I can't help it if I'm lucky

 

Portugal , Senegal ''Had it all''
Switzerland ''Cash in hand''
Angola ''Payola''

 

I’m glad you had a good experience with Amazon @Headfone, unfortunately I did not. I tried three times, and each time it arrived with significant dents or other damage.

 

They really should have shipped them all this way. Good for you!

 

I rest my case....

There's Lebanon, too. And I can confirm that many towns in Bangladesh, Senegal, Lebanon and Portugal all have/had very fragile balconies from which a wealthy person could fall. I can't imagine why I think Mrs. Gray died "falling" from a balcony but they say a perpetrator often returns to the scene at a later date...



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Meanwhile, back on the acetate and test pressing trail, what is the consensus on this image on Page 83? A test pressing dated four months after the official release and with an incorrect song title? Surely just another joke...





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Some of you may be familiar with Beat Scene, a magazine published in the UK by Kevin Ring. In addition to the magazine, they regularly produce chapbooks. The latest to be announced is Michael McClure's 1974 essay on Dylan, entitled Bob Dylan: The Poet's Poet. A bit more info, including Kevin's email address for ordering, is available here: First Words.

I don't know if this chap relates directly to BoTT, but the timing is certainly close.

 

It must be Mozambique then. Bob returned there on the next album