Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol.16: Springtime In New York (1980–1985) (Content & Sound Quality)

been years since i heard that but i remember that vocal booth taking being amazing.

 

I’m genuinely glad you enjoy Bob’s mid-80s albums. I’ve tried.

 

id rather have the 80s rock and roll period that has 'new' songs, even if they are covers, than 'deep dives' into the same couple of songs over and over again.

 

I don't love EB (or the mid-80s) as much as you do, but I have a strong soft spot for it because I discovered Bob in 1984-85 -- so an Eighties Bob restoration Bootleg Series has long been on my wishlist. Hey, if Self Portrait can be rehabilitated, then nearly anything can, right? I've posted about it so many times that I'm reluctant to go at it again, but there's a thread (admittedly, sometimes tenuous) that runs from Infidels all the way through Down In The Groove, even if the quality of the resulting albums varies wildly. So I think a well-curated (but NOT stingy) Bootleg Series set for Eighties Bob -- featuring anything worthy from the vaults, rarities (like "Band Of The Hand"), and some much-needed remixes of key album tracks -- could be an eye-opener.

 

Truthfully for me it's really mostly about Empire.

I do wonder though about a vastly recast KOL - demixed, remixed, stripped, bared, bawdy, lol. Maybe there's some stronger stuff down in that bottle! Even when he's runnin' on fumes that man was, is a walking talking song machine recorder, so, maybe there's some more juice concentrated in some of those pre-Mercy sessions.

The Dylan threads are intense here with all the knowledge and expertise - I only try to wade in every once in awhile to try to learn a few things, or relearn what I forgot or thought I knew!

 

I’m sure they could make something listenable out of New Danville Girl and other “stripped” outtakes from the era. I don’t think such a set would be as revelatory as Another Self Portrait, as Bob was in better voice and better shape overall creatively in 1970 than he was in 1985.

 

That ASP set is still in essential Bob rotation for my listening pleasure! I kind of you know switched out a few tracks and added some others from around that time, but the proper albums and extra tracks from 1969/1970-73 are a mighty sight more bountiful with that ASP (and Travelin' too) set!

 

I much prefer I Wanna Ramble than Fair and Tender Ladies.

 

I listened to most of Planet Waves last night and was trying to figure out if that was Richard Manuel singing the bridge with Dylan on "Going" but regardless when the song was over I couldn't help but think he could take the song literally.
More to anything like that, sadly, unfortunately, but the song reminded me of him as I thought that it was maybe he singing that one section with Dylan.

 

Robert Shelton and Dave Percival would agree with you. In my opinion it was his best since Slow Train Coming and then Blood On The Tracks. I don't rate Desire at all and Street Legal is very patchy.

He'd substantially better it with Oh Mercy and then Love & Theft.

 

I do love me some Desire! Never been able to get much into Street Legal. I think Love & Theft is gold. I like Oh Mercy but not to the extent or height of the stature that's been built up around it. Too many 'lists' in the lyrics dept. but I think fwiw Tell Tale Signs was a boost to my feelings and thoughts about it. It's hard if you really like other artists too, to keep up with the Dylan BS releases. I guess I should be thankful then for the Triplicate years. Which I do like to hear once in awhile.

 

I’ll take anything on street legal oh mercy and tts over anything on love n theft. The weird thing about love n theft with me is that the song choices are mostly good but I like other versions better for pretty much every track that has an alternate or live version out there.

 

Yes, there is quite a lot from Infidels and EB that are reworked all through DitG.
This is one of the best cuts of the period from the Hearts of Fire sessions:

Also songs that didn't make it to Infidels like Tell Me, Almost Done, Foot of Pride are undeniable. Please give us the 80s BS

 

I think a lot of the Dylan die-hards (myself included) are wishing for the next Bootleg Series to cover 1983-1985. Some very fine songs from that period. And if they can find a way of stripping all the production gunk off Empire Burlesque as they go, I'm certainly in.

 

I'm just waiting for the opportunity to finally delete the live 1986 MP3's of the "Hard To Handle" soundtrack and Westwood One promo discs which I've been carting around on various hard drives for at least the past fifteen years.

 

getting hard to believe the Bootleg Series will happen in the spring rather than fall. unless it's a June release...

 

Yes, I have no idea what he's singing about but I absolutely love that song and could listen to it all night on repeat (To Fall In Love With You).

 

The rough mix of Empire Burlesque (before Arthur Baker got involved) is excellent. Great album. The birthday will probably send the media into overdrive with praise of the usual classics and it would be very cool for Dylan to release a 1980s Bootleg Series around the same time, just to rile people up. I love Infidels/Empire Burlesque/Knocked Out Loaded/the Hearts Of Fire sessions, so a Bootleg Series focusing on that period would be most welcome. I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of a new studio album later this year.

 

I'm curios to know if the Infidels era recordings are out there without that drum sound. The sound of the drums really bothers me, for some reason.

 

another new album later this year is a definite possibility

 

The only thing that could end the Neverending Tour was a global pandemic. The guy's gotta do something...

 

Very true. But he may be perfectly content to be in his garage with a blowtorch with all the time in the world for his metalwork.

 

In one of Andy Greene’s Rolling Stone articles about The Bootleg Series, “The Source” was quoted about their hope to someday issue a Infidels-themed installment. I seem to recall him specifically mentioning his displeasure with the drum sound, and his intention to remix when they finally get around to this project.

Sadly, many of Rolling Stone’s articles are now behind a paywall, so I can’t quote it directly. If anyone has the quote handy, please share so we can confirm if my memory is accurate here.

 

No. Sly and Robbie together on all those recordings gives you that sound. It was very much the "in sound" during 1983. Dylan was musically adrift, desperate to gain some credibility in music circles again so that's no doubt why he pulled those guys in, to give his music a fresh contemporary sound in tune with the times.

 

Haha, yes I thought of that too ... actually, writing and recording new music would be the last thing I'd expect Bob to "want" to do, what with all the blow-torchin' and whisky-makin' going on over there. But the muse wants what it wants...

Fortunately, as many in this thread know, I obsessively save every bread crumb ever dropped by Mr. Source. From my ongoing compendium (covering all clues for the '80s):

FROM "THE SOURCE" VIA ROLLING STONE:

EARLY 1980s: Last year, Dylan’s gospel period of 1979 to 1981 was the subject of a Bootleg Series. A future set might tell the story of what happened in the immediate aftermath. "We might do something that reexamines the early 1980s," says the source. "It'll be about the period between Shot of Love and Infidels. There’s still a lot to explore there." (September 2018)

MID-1980s: There's also been thought given to a set chronicling the sessions for 1983's Infidels and 1985's Empire Burlesque. "We do think about it," says the source. "The Infidels stuff is great, though it needs remixing because it has a very 1980s drum sound. With Empire Burlesque, the tracks didn't get finished right. The stuff with the Heartbreakers is great, but they tried to make the rest of it sound contemporary and I don't know if that really works, so I don't know. We're thinking about it." (June 2019)

1986 TOUR: Another professionally filmed concert in the vault is a 1986 Sydney, Australia stop on Dylan's tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was broadcast on HBO and released on VHS, but it's been out of print for decades. "That's a good shows," says the source. "Though it's really 1980s Bob, with the black leather vest and whatnot. He plays 'In the Garden,' which is a very unusual song and Bob puts a lot of passion into it. Maybe we'll release that someday too." (January 2014)

INFIDELS / OH MERCY: "We'd also love to revisit Blood on the Tracks, Infidels, Oh Mercy and the gospel albums." (September 2015)

=============================

FROM CLINTON HEYLIN'S WISHLIST:

MID-80s DEEP DIVE: "Dylan was on a relative creative high in '84 and '85, but it's not reflected in the finished album of Empire Burlesque, which I can barely listen to," he says. "They'd have to go back to the original tapes so they could restore it to something that people can actually appreciate for an Empire Burlesque Bootleg Series. Personally speaking, I wish they'd include Knocked Out Loaded with that. I know they have a very low view of that album, but I suspect there's a bunch of very good stuff there that just simply never got counted. Then there's [1983's] Infidels. Just like in the Rundown period, he recorded something like 16 or 18 covers. He's singing great and has a great band. They could go to town with that one." (September 2017)​