Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Volume 15 (Travelin’ Thru 1967-1969 (1st November 2019) *

I can confirm Michael said manuscript. I was the one who asked him about I'm Cold at the World of Bob Dylan and he told me Terry Gans found a manuscript with the I'm Cold lyrics. At that time, no recording of this song or the other '77 had been found.

 

Geoff Gans does the design work for Dylan, so perhaps that’s a typo. Since he often incorporates manuscript pages into the BS books, it makes sense he’d be in a position to stumble onto this.

There is a Terry Gans who wrote a book on Dylan back in 1983, but it seems a little odd that he would get pulled into this story.

What’s Real and What Is Not

 

Terry Gans gave a presentation on Foot of Pride in which Michael was in the audience. I approached him afterwards to ask about I'm Cold and he pointed to Terry in the crowd and told me Terry found the I'm Cold manuscript. I confirmed it's finding with Terry himself.

 

This discussion is a perfect example of how rumors get started: a scrap of fact(third hand) + wishful thinking, and voila--a tape where none was claimed to exist.

 

You're very welcome and thank you for all your insight over the years.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Yes sorry for confusion, my mistake between Terry/ Geoff. The article says Terry, nothing to do with RareCool Stuff I guess, though it would have made sense.

 

Thank you! I hope we get to see that manuscript sometime soon.

 

So, in this thread, the discovery was downgraded from 'a tape of new songs' to 'a recording of I'm Cold' to 'a fragment of an I'm Cold manuscript' within a few short posts...

If those 1977 songs are as personal, vitriolic and voyeuristic as described, it may be that Bob will never, ever want them to see the light of day. And, if so, that's alright by me.

 

Before today's over it'll be down to "We saw the worlds 'I'm' and 'Cold' on two different pieces of paper and thought it might be the song."

But in all seriousness, I truly hope the fabled 1977 tracks survive in demo form of Bob and guitar. They could be yet another gem for the master.

 

Rarely Dylan records his demos solo except sometimes for copyright reasons. More frequently, unknown compositions have been recently released from band rehearsals.

 

Time Out of Mind outtakes with Wilburys era - TOOM sessions home and studio demos. Basically a post-Red Sky 1990s outtakes set. That would be my ideal Bootleg Series Vol. 15 at this point.

 

End of September, beginning of October, for official announcement and details?

 

With an announcement presumably just weeks away, we have had no new leaks or hints. I am doubtful of this project—though I would love to be proven wrong.

 

Clinton (unofficially? inadvertently?) announced BS13 a year before it was released and Richard (unofficially) announced BS 14 about six months before. Andy Greene indicated very strongly on Twitter in June what BS 15 broadly contained and that it would be released this year. It is normal for the official announcement to be made in late September, I think, so we have another month or so to wait unless those who know more want to spill the beans...

Don't forget, I promised earlier on this thread that I would eat my hat if BS 15 is not JWH/Cash Sessions/Nashville Skyline. I suppose there's a first time for everything, but I've never had to eat my hat after making a prediction so either way you'll be entertained.

 

I'm sure that I and others, here or elsewhere, have made this observation before, but I'm assuming that "Goin' Back To Chicago" will feature on BS15, as it is most likely CO98926, recorded on 13 February in a single take logged as "Blues" by Michael Krogsgaard in his indispensable Recording Sessions listing. On the Y**T**e clip describing the tape for sale on E**y tape it was noted that there was a dropout during this performance. I'd guess it's unlikely to be so on the master tape in the vault.

If this video disappears from Y**T**e in the next month....

 

So Bob's team/Sony bought this tape...right?

 

Whoa!

So Bob's team / Sony bought this tape ... right?

 

Oh, I don't know - possibly. But it won't be the only tape that exists with those performances, not least because Bob Johnston always recorded Bob with two machines running.

 

Let's hear it for the players. Charlie Daniels:-

 

And the "Is It Rollin', Bob?" story from Bob Wilson:-

 

From various, occasionally conflicting, sources:-

The tape you are looking at is an Original Master Recording of Bob Dylan done on February 14, 1969 at Columbia Studio A, Nashville, Tenn. The taping session was for Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" album. It is labeled "Bob Dylan # 3". This Original Master contains five never before heard out-takes of "Lay Lady Lay", along with banter between the musicians and Dylan. Also found on this session tape is an impromptu jam session of "Going Back To Chicago" which was also never released by Dylan.

....one of the multi-track master tapes from Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline album recorded at Columbia Studio A, Nashville, Tennessee on February 14, 1969.

....reportedly producer Bob Johnston left the studio tapes behind an a Nashville storage facility for a number of years. Once the storage time had elapsed the company contacted Columbia records to inquire as to whether they wished to extend the lease on their stay. Apparently uninterested in putting up the cash towards keeping these tapes in storage or, indeed, even buying them back, Columbia / Sony waived their rights to owning the tapes.

...the tape was stored in a warehouse in New Jersey for nearly eighteen years.

The tape itself is a Scotch 3M, one-inch, eight-track analog tape. Running time is twenty-seven minutes and five seconds (27:05).

The tape is in excellent condition, has been spliced in several spots....



I knew I had it somewhere in the Percy Mansions Archive....







The description of the audio on the tape being from 14 February and containing three complete alternate takes of "Lay Lady Lay", two partial takes of the same song plus "Goin' To Chicago" does not tie in particularly well with Michael's log of the sessions. However, as it contains splices then it could be a "working compilation" of takes from 13 and 14 February.

"Blues", which is probably the latter song, was recorded on 13 February. There were three complete and one partial take of "Lay Lady Lay" on 13 February and then three complete and two partial takes of "Lay Lady Lay" on 14 February. The last of those 14 February takes, the almost infallible MK assures us, was the released version and that take is not on the above tape.

 

Considering the fact that it is spliced, and contains 5 of 6 "Lay Lady Lay"s but not the master recording leads me to conclude that this is an outtake reel. Essentially what was left on the reels after the master was physically cut out, which was then spliced together (and the two days' work were spliced together).

 

Thanks for hitting the nail on the head so succinctly!

And as Sony/Team Bob were apparently not interested in buying this tape from Doug and Brenda or Chuck we might come to the conclusion that Bob Johnston had his unsullied back up reels of all the sessions in the archive. Hopefully....

 

The fact that he self recorded the "folk" albums of the 1990's suggests that he may have self-recorded at other times as well.