Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, Vol. 10

Oooooh, I'd be first in line to buy that last one.

 

Wait til you see the track listing on the back artwork.

PS. This is just a fan creation comp, not an actual boot (in case that matters).

 

Nice one Sean! I'd do it pretty much the same. I'm hoping that the currently discussed set does indeed span 1967-73, plenty of stuff there to make a really strong and interesting release. Something like this -

JWH alternates (including the shortlisted AATW)
Nashville Skyline sessions (including some tracks with Johnny Cash)
Self Portrait pre-overdub sessions and outtakes
New Morning outtakes and covers (including some tracks with George Harrison, the 'Dylan' LP material, remakes of Blowin' In The Wind and Tomorrow Is A Long Time)
Alternates/covers from the March 1971 Leon Russell sessions
Alternates/outtakes from the 1971 Happy Traum session (including the unused Only A Hobo)
Any alternates/outtakes from the George Jackson session
Pat Garrett outtakes 1972-73

 

"I once said I'd buy an album of Dylan breathing heavily. I still would. But not an album of Dylan breathing softly." - Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone (the "What is this sh-t?" review)

 

Sign me up!

 

Yep, that's what I'd want -- and this whole period was pretty much ignored by Bootleg Series 1-3, except for two tracks ("If Not For You" and "Wallflower"). It would help "complete" the "studio outtakes" catalog, just as BS7 added vital stuff to the mid-60s, and BS8 picked up where BS1-3 left off.

 

As long as "Yonder Comes Sin" remains unreleased, the studio outtakes ain't done in my estimation!

 

Hallelujah to that -- "Yonder Comes Sin" is one of my favorite booted-but-unreleased tracks -- and possibly one of my favorite of ALL the Christian songs.

 

It's certainly one of the most apocalyptic. It's got this unholy vibe to it, very dark and menacing, which is ironic given the spirituality of many of the songs in its midst. It might have been too challenging for the 1991 Bootleg set. The statement it makes is hardly couched beneath any poetry; the message can't be mistaken. But it's 2012, I think people are more open-minded about delving deep into that era. On most days it's #1 on my list of coveted Bootleg entries. I just pray that there's a more complete and vivid film account of the Toronto '80 show than the circulating boot, which is good but not release worthy.

 

It was supposed to appear in BS1-3 but Dylan himself vetoed it. Let's hope he has changed his mind about it. My personal Holy Grail is soundboard of the one and only live performance of Caribbean Wind. According to Heylin it does exist. The born-again-era really needs a volume in the Bootleg Series...

 

Am I the only one who thinks that producing a definitive Basement Tapes should be options 1, 2 and 3?

 

I'd welcome that one too, of course, but I'd file it under "inevitable" and just wait for it to happen someday. The fantasy sets I outlined would be more surprising if they actually happened, so I'll spend more energy hoping for them.

 

It may be inevitable. But I'm not getting any younger.

 

Personally, I'd rather have some obscurities from the born-again years before the Basement Tapes.

 

Yeah -- neither am I!

Me too -- I think it helps that the Basement Tapes have already been exhaustively (and authoritatively) covered by the gray market. There's not much Sony can do with them except put together a lesser set (can't see an official 5-CD box happening) that's better than the existing 2-CD album, and stamp it "official." But there's a TON of potential within the Gospel years (and the other eras I outlined), so there's more to get excited about.

 

I'd also say I have to agree with this. The whole cache of "basement" recordings is certainly a fascinating thing, but I've never felt like the whole set is that compelling a listen, start to finish. The original album, despite the problems with the mix, actually did a pretty good job of selecting out most of the very best material. There is more worth hearing--and a better mix for all of it would be nice. I do hope a Bootleg Series set comes out that gives us that better mix and a good survey of the stuff that has yet to be released officially, but I'd glady welcome the '67-'73 set we've been discussing or a Gospel Years set before the basement's day comes.

L.

 

If we don't get a Complete Basement Tapes I think, having heard the 5 discs that have surfaced so far, that a 3 cd set could cover the most "worthwhile" tracks. Imo.

 

I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. The track selection on the official Basement Tapes was lacking in many [most?] of the standout cuts from those recordings. Where's "Sign On The Cross," "I'm Not There," "All You Have To Do Is Dream," "The French Girl"?... the list goes on & on. Even some of the tracks included have far better takes. Of course, YMMV.

 

I'm not sure I see how "the list goes on and on." I'd be very happy to see those four tracks and many others (including alternative takes of the released trakcs) on a 2 or maybe 3 disk set, but even among those stand-outs you list here, only "I'm Not There" really to my ears can stand shoulder to shoulder with "This Wheels on Fire," "Clothesline Saga," "Tears of Rage," "Nothing Was Delivered," etc. And, of course, there's also the sound-quality issue to consider. I can't see anyone at Sony or among Dylan's people approving a sprawling warts and all boxed set. What would be very cool would be a website with high quality streams of the whole thing.

L.

 

In another Dylan friendly universe a more comprehensive Basement Tapes set is released the same day as the long in the making 8 cd Levon & The Hawks box set From Bacon Fat To Judgement Day.

 

You don't even have to go that deep to get to some really head-scratching omissions. After all, it's arguable that the two most famous songs from the sessions are "I Shall Be Released" and "The Mighty Quinn" and yet inexplicably the original (and definitive) versions of these songs went unreleased for ages! If they had just released the 14 song Dwarf Music demo as originally compiled, it would have been a legitimate contender for his best album, even in the absence of a bounty of other amazing originals from the sessions.

My favorite, at least of the non-originals, must be "Young But Daily Growin'." Gets me every time. A lot of people are justifiably drawn to the humor and surrealness found in much of the material but I think sometimes the emotional power of his singing can get a bit overlooked.

 

I've all but given up on the Levon box. The long-standing announcement on the other people's musis website is becoming increasingly impossible to believe.

 

I believe the best way to handle the material might be to compile it into several different configurations for different audiences and budgets. They could make a 1CD set with the most famous originals all together, perhaps based on the Dwarf Music acetate. For the folks who want more, Sony could pack full a 2CD Deluxe Edition set, perhaps with one disc of originals and the other all covers. And for the die hard fans, a 4CD (or more, depending what's in the archive) comprehensive super deluxe type-set with EVERYTHING. They took a similar approach with the Tell Tale Signs box (but hopefully in this case the big box wouldn't be quite as extravagantly overpriced) as did more recent Beach Boys and Velvet Underground archival collections.

However, there should be a law against putting any exclusive material on the smaller sets. As someone who'd certainly buy the big box, I'd resent being compelled to buy one of the other configurations due to a cynical marketing strategy.

 

If they ever do get around to the COMPLETE BLONDE ON BLONDE SESSIONS release, I'd imagine they'd also use a similar, multi-format strategy. Somehow it seems that narrowly casting the box at that percentage of fans willing to wade through (let alone afford to purchase) a 40CD box might not be a winning formula.

BTW, the "40CD" is, of course, totally made-up. But it would certainly have to be massive.

 

Don't forget Banks of the Royal Canal too. Great version of that.