Someone previously pointed out that Copyright dates for recordings and Copyright dates for lyrics are two distinct things. It appears BobDylan.com has posted the Copyright date for the lyrics to MMF as: "Copyright 2020 by Special Rider Music" Am I right in saying so? Viewing the lyrics to "Mississippi" on BobDylan.com I see the Copyright listed as: "Copyright 1996 by Special Rider Music" ... Which would be when the song was written. L&T was released in 2001. I realize some alternate takes dating from the TOOM era were released on BS8 ...Wikipedia states Dylan recorded demos of new songs for TOOM before the official album sessions began in January 1997, so maybe the Copyright date reflects when the first demo was recorded (possibly 1996) ... That's a possibility I guess.
Mississippi might not be the best example. Dylan wound up giving the song away to Sheryl Crow before Love & Theft. Her version came out in 1998. Surely he wasn't offering it around without getting a copyright first. What copyright dates are listed for Red River Shore or Dreamin Of You? Well, Red River Shore has a 1997 copyright. But Dreamin' Of You has a 2008 date.
Shoot ... Good point. "Dreamin' Of You" was written and recorded for TOOM, but, as you point out, not Copyrighted until 2008 ... So the Copyright listed for MMF doesn't necessarily mean it was written in 2020, only that the lyrics were Copyrighted in 2020.
Twitter Interesting comment here from Chris Shaw: I wonder what details he could be chomping at the bit about...
i dont hear stu on it and stu was all over tempest my guess written and recorded in the last couple of years
And someone over at ER (can't recall who offhand) made the interesting point that George rarely does cymbal work and it's quite prominent here - Matt Chamberlain and therefore sometime post July 2019 when George left to earlier this year?
With the global impact MMF has clearly made, they'd really be missing a trick if Bob didn't follow up with an album of more original material.
Also, the success of MMF in terms of its reach is bound to be partially linked to the ability of people while in lockdown to have the time to listen and absorb. If there is a new album, there's certainly an argument for putting it out digitally while that situation pertains rather than waiting months for physical copies to be made and launching it at a time when the world will have gone back to semi normality and the marketplace is flooded with releases which were put on hold.
this should encourage them to push forward with a spring digital release of the album. keep the momentum going. physical sales will come later obviously.
It's earlier than that. The first entry for the phrase in the OED is from 1432, about 160 years earlier than the play. L.
The copyright date is supposed to be the date of first publication (release), although it’s often not listed correctly. Regardless, I wouldn’t consider the date on Dylan’s website as the definitive be-all end-all. The PA registration on the Copyright Office’s website is going to be the most accurate source.
Everyday I hope Dylan surprises releases a new record of original material.. taking advantage of the surprise hit MMF and this weird horrible moment we are all experiencing..
Know this is being greedy but if we are lucky to get a new album, I'll be disappointed if Chris Shaw isn't on recording duties. What he (and whomever mastered it if someone different) have achieved with MMF is staggering in purely sonic terms.
That enigmatic statement by Bob Dylan is certainly not going to lead to hundreds of pages of speculation about what it means.
Is he readying an 18 minute epic about Walt Whitman? Is he going to do readings from Leaves of Grass in the style of "Murder Most Foul?" I hope he's well.
