Bob Dylan: THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 17: "Fragments - Time Out of Mind Sessions" [1/27/23]*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DeeThomaz, Jul 20, 2021.

  1. DeeThomaz

    DeeThomaz Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    In The Felony Room
    Now that an announcement video for Vol. 16 has confirmed it’s early 80’s theme, here’s a new thread for news, speculation & wishful thinking about the next volume, hopefully arriving next year. If previous patterns hold, Rolling Stone will likely soon post an article detailing some of possibilities, but one potential concept that has already been discussed is a Time Out Of Mind set to coincide with it’s 25th anniversary (thanks to @Sean Murdock for rounding up these quotes from previous articles):


    TIME OUT OF MIND SESSIONS: Also under consideration is a Bootleg Series chronicling the creation of Dylan’s 1997 comeback album Time Out of Mind. "It would be really fun to reexamine that period," says the source. "There's tons of material even though we used some of it on [the 2008 Bootleg Series] Tell Tale Signs. There's different versions of songs on the album, early versions.... It's a robust collection of stuff, so we're thinking about doing it." (September 2018)

    Plans beyond this Nashville 1967–1969 set aren't quite clear, but a Time Out of Mind package is definitely in the pipeline. "We still want to do that," says the source. "If there are still people putting out physical records for [the album's] 25th anniversary in 2022, we'll possibly release it then." (June 2019)

    Future plans for the Bootleg Series are unclear, but a Time Out of Mind set [is] in contention. (September 2019)
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
  2. DeeThomaz

    DeeThomaz Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    In The Felony Room
    Given the approach of Springtime In New York 1980-1985, I wont be surprised if the potential Time Out Of Mind set ends up actually covering a much wider span of time, perhaps roughly the entire ‘90’s going up to, say, the release of “Things Have Changed” in 2000.

    If so, that might suggest a (say) 1986-1990 set, anchored by but not limited to Oh Mercy, might also be under consideration. Perhaps hope is not lost for those intrepid souls among us wanting to hear Knocked Out Loaded, Hearts of Fire, and Down In The Groove outtakes.
     
  3. Dylan75

    Dylan75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    I’d be in for a full TOOM box with sessions, outtakes, warts ‘n all and some live shows from that era. The more the better but focused on TOOM. Let’s keep everything else for Vol. 18 ;-)
     
  4. Tom Schreck

    Tom Schreck Forum Resident

    TOOM sounds good to me!
     
  5. Afaninfull

    Afaninfull Forum Resident

    A few thoughts on The Bootleg Series 17…

    I think a Time Out Of Mind volume would actually benefit from the years 1988 to 1997. One of the truly amazing things to emerge from the Never Ending Tour is Dylan mining so many traditional songs. These traditional songs were highlights of so many concerts. I would think this would be the ideal volume to place The Supper Club as well as outtakes from World Gone Wrong, Good As I Been To You and the Bromberg sessions. Songs such as “Weeping Willow,” “Delia,” “Shake Sugaree” and “Polly Vaughn” inspired the timeless quality Dylan would bring to “Red River Shore” and so many other great songs on the album.
    It is a shame we won’t be seeing the video footage shot during the sessions.
    This would be a terrific set and really deserves an 8 or 10 cd set.

    I also hope when Tulsa opens early next year, we get The Villager:)

    And boy am I excited for Springtime in New York!
     
  6. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I'm ready for the 5 disc version of Highlands.
     
  7. TheGoodDoctor

    TheGoodDoctor It used to go something like that

    Location:
    London
    Inevitably- More High, More Lands
     
  8. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Well, that's my cue -- here's my compilation of all the clues dropped by The Source in Rolling Stone articles over the last decade or so. Also included are any other interesting quotes about the general philosophy and the future of the Bootleg Series, a possible streaming future for Bob's archives, the role of Tulsa -- and even the possibility of a Chronicles, Vol. 2. This time, I've also left in ALL the references to everything that has been hinted at, so we can marvel at how much stuff has actually been released during this Golden Age for Dylan fans. Enjoy!

    All that said, I expect Time Out Of Mind to be the next Bootleg Series -- released in September 2022 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Bob's big comeback album.
    COFFEEHOUSE BOB: "We've always wanted to do one of pre-album stuff where Bob is just singing songs in Greenwich Village coffeehouses," says the Dylan source. (September 2015)

    "We've wanted to do a Bootleg Series on Bob's earliest performances for a long time," says a source close to the Bob Dylan camp. "For decades we’ve been collecting tapes from the time before he began making official recordings. I think it would be really interesting to go through those. We'll probably call it something like The Villager." [...] "We have some beautiful-sounding tapes that nobody has ever heard," says the source. "Or if they have, we have first generation tapes." (September 2018)

    Recordings from Dylan's earliest folk concerts before he signed to Columbia Records in 1961 have been compiled for a possible Bootleg Series, though there is no great urgency to get it out. "We've thought about that for a long time," says the source. "We collected a lot of early tapes, but fans don't seem interested in the early stuff. I've always found that period really interesting, but I guess a lot of people don't. We'll do something, though, because we've got all these great things that people haven't heard, but I think the interest is pretty minimal." (June 2019)

    Future plans for the Bootleg Series are unclear, but [...] one that chronicles Dylan’s pre-fame folk period in Minnesota and New York [is] in contention. "We’ve collected all these early tapes of him like the Minnesota Hotel Tapes and all the tapes that Tony Glover recorded," says the source. "We have all these things in beautiful quality along with the Town Hall concert [in 1963] and the Carnegie Hall concert [in 1963]. Some day we’ll put these all together and put them out, but it’s not like people are clamoring for it. There are probably a few other areas to explore before that." (September 2019)

    ROYAL ALBERT HALL: [RELEASED, BS4]

    BASEMENT TAPES: [RELEASED, BS11]

    BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: [RELEASED, BS14]

    BLONDE ON BLONDE: [RELEASED, BS12]

    THE DYLAN/CASH SESSIONS: [RELEASED, BS15]

    SELF PORTRAIT SESSIONS: [RELEASED, BS10]

    ISLE OF WIGHT CONCERT: [RELEASED, BS10]

    THE GEORGE HARRISON SESSION: [RELEASED, BS10, 1970 CE]

    1974 TOUR: Many recent Bootleg Series sets have been released due to a quirk in European copyright law that says that any recording not released 50 years after it was created automatically enters the public domain. That may lead to some sort of digital release of concert recordings from Bob Dylan and the Band's reunion tour in 1974 before the copyright expires in 2024, though a big box is unlikely. "Do people really want that?" asks the source. "We can do a copyright protection, but Before the Flood is a pretty good record. I don't think it warrants more than that." (June 2019)

    ROLLING THUNDER DOCUMENTARY: [RELEASED, Rolling Thunder Revue, 2019]

    BOOTLEG SERIES DVDs: After [a Rolling Thunder documentary] does finally come out, the Dylan camp plans on releasing a series of Bootleg Series DVDs. "We'll put out the [1976] Hard Rain TV special," the source says. "We have other TV special we'll put out after that." [NOTE: I assume they meant "specials" (plural) rather than "special."] (August 2010)

    1978 TOUR: Dylan's 1978 world tour has also been much-maligned, largely because the Live At Budokan album captured a very early show before the band really gelled. "There was so much going on with that big band that Bob didn't always need to give off that much energy," says the source. "But they kept doing the show and it got better and better. Unfortunately, somebody erased most of the tapes. It's very frustrating. We had soundboards of all of them. We do have a couple now, though." (January 2014)

    BORN-AGAIN YEARS: [RELEASED, BS13]

    EARLY 1980s: [TO BE RELEASED, BS16, SEPT. 2021]

    MID-1980s: [TO BE RELEASED, BS16, SEPT. 2021]

    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)

    OH MERCY SESSIONS: "We'd also love to revisit [...] Oh Mercy ..." (September 2015)

    TIME OUT OF MIND SESSIONS: Also under consideration is a Bootleg Series chronicling the creation of Dylan’s 1997 comeback album Time Out of Mind. "It would be really fun to reexamine that period," says the source. "There's tons of material even though we used some of it on [the 2008 Bootleg Series] Tell Tale Signs. There's different versions of songs on the album, early versions.... It's a robust collection of stuff, so we're thinking about doing it." (September 2018)

    Plans beyond this Nashville 1967–1969 set aren't quite clear, but a Time Out of Mind package is definitely in the pipeline. "We still want to do that," says the source. "If there are still people putting out physical records for [the album's] 25th anniversary in 2022, we'll possibly release it then." (June 2019)

    Future plans for the Bootleg Series are unclear, but a Time Out of Mind set [is] in contention. (September 2019)

    SUPPER CLUB: A CD/DVD set of Dylan's famous 1993 stand at New York's Supper Club was nearly released (in 2010) instead of the Witmark Demos. "I decided I liked the story of the Witmark Demos better than the Supper Club," says the source. "That will definitely come out on CD and DVD sometime soon, though." (August 2010)

    [F]uture chapters of the Bootleg Series might chronicle Dylan's 1993 acoustic shows at New York's Supper Club (which were professionally filmed) and some sort of examination of the Never Ending Tour. (September 2017)

    NEVER-ENDING TOUR: [F]uture chapters of the Bootleg Series might chronicle [...] some sort of examination of the Never Ending Tour. The latter is a particularly challenging project since it involves over 2,800 concerts between 1988 and the present day. Dylan's road crew has been recording shows dating back to the beginning of the Never Ending Tour, but the quality of them up until the mid-2000's is less than stellar. "Some of them are recorded on DAT or other formats of the moment," says the source. "Who knew they wouldn't last? For a lot of years during the 1990s, there were these two fans and they would go and each would wear recording equipment in their hats and they'd sit in different sections so that the stuff would be stereo. Those tapes sound better than our board tapes." (September 2017)

    How about a Bootleg Series focusing on the Never Ending Tour, which celebrated its 30th anniversary back in June? "We're thinking about something like that,” says the source. "That would be fun." (September 2018)

    LIVE DOWNLOADS: In recent years, many artists have started offering their fans recordings of every single concert. Nugs.net – which facilitates this service for Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Phish, Metallica and many others – have approached Dylan's team without any luck. "We're not big believers in the live download the ways those guys are doing it," says the source. "People like it and we've thought about it for a lot of years, but we just don't know." [...] "In regards to front-of-house sound, we don't have the kind of organization that Bruce Springsteen has," says the source. "They have someone doing a separate mix and they're looking at it as a profit center. We focus our energy on what the live sound sounds like. If you get a board tape that someone hasn't done a remix of, you're always disappointed in what they sound like. They're not as electric as the shows themselves. [...]" But couldn't the Dylan organization simply hire a separate sound engineer to go on tour and create a mix for downloads? "That's not where we're at," says the source. "Again, our focus is to try and present a show in the moment to the people. And also, I don't know how many downloads we want to have out there. We're more excited about curating new stuff for people. If people really want to find that stuff, it's all over the Internet." (September 2017)

    ODDS AND ENDS: "The other thing is we want to do a thing of just another collection of stray tracks," says the source. "It won't be as interesting as the first Bootleg Series in 1991, but there's a lot of movie tracks, one-off tracks and things like that are hard to find. I'd like to do another one of those before the Bootleg Series hangs up its box." (June 2019)

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

    CLINTON HEYLIN'S WISHLIST:

    RUNDOWN STUDIOS: "I would love to hear a really good set that covers the Rundown [studios] era from 1977 to the end of 1981 that completely bypasses religious material," he says." There's reams and reams of phenomenal covers that they were doing at rehearsals, songs you'd never expect him to do like [Michael Johnson's] 'This Night Won't Last Forever' or 'Sweet Caroline.' These are songs that you think, 'My God, is he really going to try and tackle something like that?' He even does 'Rainbow Connection.' I mean, Jesus ... And they're fantastic." (September 2017)

    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)

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

    BOB'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE BOOTLEG SERIES: "Bob really doesn't take his time going through the vaults," says the source. "He leaves this up to his record company. His focus is on touring, making new music and writing his memoirs." (July 2005)

    GENERAL PHILOSOPHY & FUTURE OF THE BOOTLEG SERIES: "We're trying to put this stuff out in an intelligent way," says the source. (July 2013)

    Broadly speaking, there's no master plan when it comes to plotting out future archival Dylan releases. "What happens is we start listening to tapes," says the source. "We see what gets us excited. Once you get excited you can start digging, which is what happened with the gospel collection. We'll only stop doing them once we stop finding things that excites us." (September 2018)

    "I think we did repeat versions of songs to death on The Cutting Edge," says the source. "We're trying to find one really good takes of each song. The giant dumps of everything like we've done in recent years really aren't my preference. I like stuff that is more curated." (June 2019)

    [The end of the Bootleg Series] may become a reality at some point in the next few years. "I don't think we do it post-physical," says the source, meaning after the market for physical releases completely vanishes. "I don't think there's a reason to do it when that happens. I think we'd give up on it. Doing the beautiful package that we put together can only be supported not by streaming, but by physical purchases. The last one sold well, but the places to buy them are going away. You either buy them on Amazon or our website or your local indie record store. It's just hard." (June 2019)

    There are no immediate plans to end the Bootleg Series, but the steep decline in the market for physical product does put its future in some jeopardy. "We have to also see how long people keep buying these things," says the source. "We'll see what happens. Right now, there’s a certain amount of physical that still gets sold, so we'd like to keep doing them." (September 2019)

    THE BOOTLEG SERIES IN A STREAMING-ONLY WORLD: Dylan's core catalog is available on Spotify and Apple Music in full, but Bootleg Series releases are usually posted in incomplete form. "If I could get them to maybe give us a different Bootleg section, that might be different," says the source. "We've been thinking a lot about this. Two years from now, who will listen to [the gospel-years set] Trouble No More? How will they find it? And so we may talk to Spotify and Apple Music about doing a special Bootleg Series section. We're thinking about it." (June 2019)

    THE ROLE OF THE TULSA ARCHIVE: At some point in the future, visitors to the University of Tulsa, home to an "endless ocean" of Dylan recordings, should able to hear any recording he made throughout his entire life, both onstage and in the studio. The plan is allow visitors to access it via computer. "There will be some kind of database," says the Dylan source. "Right now, they are struggling with the enormity of what they have to deal with and how to present it." (October 2016)

    CHRONICLES VOL. 2: Simon & Schuster also plans to publish Chronicles: Volume Two, but don't expect Dylan to deliver a manuscript anytime soon. "It'd be wonderful to have it in the next few years," says Rosenthal. "But we'll get it when we get it." (March 2005)

    Less likely to see the light of day: a sequel to Dylan's acclaimed 2004 book Chronicles Vol. 1. "I hope there's another one," the source says. "That's all I can say. If it was planned I'd tell you." (August 2010)

    A question about a possible follow-up to Bob Dylan's 2004 book, Chronicles: Volume One, elicits a laugh and two words: "No comment." (August 2014)

    A sequel to Dylan's 2005 book Chronicles: Volume One? "No idea," says the source. "That would be great though." (September 2018)
     
  9. DeeThomaz

    DeeThomaz Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    In The Felony Room
    I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever you post your most recent updates to this list. Such a great resource. Looking forward to a new Rolling Stone article soon to give you even more material to work with.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
  10. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Yes, I'm looking forward to it too -- should be any day now, right? Often, with these RS articles, there will be the "announcement" article with a few crumbs about the future, and then a couple of weeks later it will be followed by the "What's Next for the Bootleg Series?" article.

    Either way, we should be learning a lot in the next couple of weeks!
     
  11. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I’m good with Supper Club or TOOM.
     
  12. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
  13. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Yes, all of it. That's not too much to ask.
     
  14. Walking Antique

    Walking Antique Nothing is incomprehensible

    Location:
    usa
    >>
    1974 TOUR:
    ... digital release of concert recordings from Bob Dylan and the Band's reunion tour in 1974. "Do people really want that?" asks the source. "We can do a copyright protection, but Before the Flood is a pretty good record. I don't think it warrants more than that."
    >>

    Yes, I really want that. Sure, Before the Flood is good. Even better are some of the other shows on that tour. The shows in early January are appreciably different than the hell-bent-for-leather later shows represented on Before the Flood. (Damning with faint praise: ) the 1974 tour sounds better to me after each subsequent Dylan tour.
     
  15. Dark Horse 77

    Dark Horse 77 A Parliafunkadelicment Thang

    Right on the money.
     
    Paul W likes this.
  16. The Bard

    The Bard Highway 61 Revisited. That is all.

    Location:
    Singapore
    Be great to have a Time Out Of Mind-focused release next year ... been hoping for that for a while. 25th anniversary blows my mind though!
    Be interesting to see if they keep it solely to the album or they extend it to cover a period. Will likely depend on the range of material they deem releasable from the album sessions.
     
  17. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto are exceptional. The rest, routine.
    Routine because the drummer thinks he's the lead and pounds the hell out of
    every song. Even though he changes timing for the slower songs he still plays
    lead and pounds them to death. Dylan has to shout over the drummer to be
    heard.

    Except for the solo acoustic sets. The solo acoustic sets are deeply felt, urgent,
    vulnerable, intense, committed, classic Dylan Theater.
     
    GreenFuz, phillyal1 and The Bard like this.
  18. Walking Antique

    Walking Antique Nothing is incomprehensible

    Location:
    usa
    1974 Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto: But do they have professionally recorded tapes of those?
     
  19. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    I don't know.
     
  20. Mbd77

    Mbd77 Collect ‘Em All!

    Location:
    London
    I’ve made the decision to no longer share any pre-emptive information on the board unfortunately, but hopefully there will at least be a 2022 release.
     
    keef285 likes this.
  21. I333I

    I333I Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ventura
    What about Desire-Street Legal era?
     
  22. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    That isn't my personal wishlist; it's just a collection of quotes from Rolling Stone articles. Desire and Street-Legal have never been mentioned in any Bootleg Series articles that I have seen. Personally, I would have included Desire with Planet Waves and Blood On The Tracks and Live 1976 in a "Divorce Era" set; and I would have included Street-Legal sessions as the prologue to the Christian phase on BS13. But they didn't ask me, so here we are, lol.
     
    quicksrt likes this.
  23. shadow blaster

    shadow blaster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scandinavia
    Let's hope Mr Source is not as depressingly pessimistic about physical media as I believe he was last time....
     
    DeeThomaz, supermd, Sean and 2 others like this.
  24. windfall

    windfall Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    That's a shame, but I can understand your position. This board can be weird and oddly aggressive at times.
     
  25. adam_777

    adam_777 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Duncan BC, Canada
    A Divorce Era set! Now there's a volume that's dying to be produced!

    I suspect it will be TOOM themed for next year as it is the anniversary and it has been hinted at, but jeez how many years has The Villager been heavily detailed and hinted at? That's the one I'm personally most excited for, but I mean it's all good, these sets are absolutely great launching points into these different eras of Bob's career, and at times the alternative history provided by the Bootleg Series sets is a preferable listen to what actually was released at the time.
     

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