Vol. 1-3 I heard before a lot of the albums, and it's the thing that made me obsessive about Dylan. Had a 90 cassette of tracks, mostly discs 1 & 2, that I completely wore out that summer and beyond. It started with "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie". Upon hearing the original version of say "If Not For You" without the "Ready George?" and a certain wobbly reckless energy of a lot of the tracks on 1-3, the originals sounded rather polished or staid. "Santa Fe" is another good example. Even "Idiot Wind" at the end of Vol. 2 is more biting and mean than the album vers.
Vol. 4 opened my eyes in a big way to the pre-'66 material, as I'm sure it did for a lot of people. I actually prefer disc 1, particularly the devestatingly sad "Desolation Row" and Dylan's expressive harp playing thoughout. Almost like he's testing the audience with his harp playing, similar in aggression to part 2 "Play it fucking loud". I find the guitar playing on disc 1 tattered, like he means it, it all fits the mood nicely.
Vol. 5 I bought when it came out and only listened a handful of times. Need to return to it. I remember it sounding very punk rock, though.
Vol. 6 is the 1964 disc, right? Never bought that.
Vol. 7 don't have yet.
― mcd (mcd), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:54 (eighteen years ago) link
but anyway, i love the bootleg series' one and all, but part of me wishes that Dylan (or Columbia) would do like Elvis Costello and just reissue the albums each with a bonus disc of outtakes/live stuff/etc. Of course they just did that big SACD reissue series a few years ago, so that's unlikely to happen any time soon.
― tylerw, Friday, 7 October 2005 13:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:15 (eighteen years ago) link
The fall reissues have an extra disc, but as they mostly have Peel sessions, they are pointless if you have that "Ah, the Fall Peel Sessions box set, you guys" set.
― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― AleXTC (AleXTC), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:22 (eighteen years ago) link
― tylerw, Friday, 7 October 2005 13:38 (eighteen years ago) link
― AleXTC (AleXTC), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:08 (eighteen years ago) link
― tylerw, Friday, 7 October 2005 14:14 (eighteen years ago) link
Latest discoveries:
'Tangled Up In Blue' - a centrepiece of the set to me when I first heard it - is it in E, and the LP version in G?
'Call Letter Blues' is doing more for me than before: some poignancy in the words.
I have never loved 'Idiot Wind' but am now impressed by the relative tenderness of this (NYC?) version as vs the LP.
The bootleg 'If You See Her' is a lot better than the LP's, surely.
Is 'Golden Loom' the first time Bob and Emmylou H sang together? Assuming it's her.
It's funny how that is country, then 'Catfish' is blues. I have always thought 'Catfish' kind of unimportant, but actually I like the depth of its sound, the reverb around those slides and harmonicas.
Is the barking dog the reason that this 'Every Grain of Sand' was not used? I like this song a lot considering that it's religious.
The whole set is an amazing way to take a rapid-fire time-tour through Dylan's career, hearing the flavour of one year (those Desirous violins) for a track or two before the next sound comes along.
― the bobfox, Friday, 7 October 2005 14:34 (eighteen years ago) link
Unlike PJM, I like Live 1964 a lot.
This glockenspiel rumour remains mysterious to me.
But christ, so many great things: 'Barbed Wire Fence', 'Train To Cry', '... Go Now' on bootleg 2. Peerless!
― the bobfox, Friday, 7 October 2005 14:37 (eighteen years ago) link
fun and sad at once ! (especially considering the quality of this song you can imagine all the gems lost forever...). jeez, you'd think someone would have had the idea to record EVERY SINGLE NOISE dylan was making at the time...it's around the same time that he and the beatles recorded a track that made paul understanding the mysteries of the universe...but then forgot all about the next day !
― AleXTC (AleXTC), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:43 (eighteen years ago) link
The sad version of Idiot Wind is fantastic, I think. Ditto If You See Her.
I have not yet paid attention to 1964. Not properly. But I will. One of my problems with these records is that you have to pay attention, rather than just use them as a background to nosepicking or whatever.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Monday, 10 October 2005 07:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― don, Monday, 10 October 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 10 October 2005 17:35 (eighteen years ago) link
I finished my consecutive listen to Bootlegs 1-3 the other day. It is worth doing, I think. An odd thing is that I have listened to CD3 a lot in the past but certain tracks seemed almost previously unheard to me: 'Tell Me', for instance. I note that the sleevenote on this track is misleading.
PJM is right about the acoustic, quiet 'Idiot Wind', so much better than the LP version; yes, right too about 'If You See Her. Say Hello'. But PJM, I thought you already liked heads-down, no-nonsense boogie rock!!
I'm glad Don likes 'Golden Loom' with ELH. Big surprise for me from the notes: it's not ELH singing on 'Every Grain of Sand', but Jennifer Warnes! I almost think this must be another mistake.
Has anyone explained the barking dog yet?
'When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky' is disappointing. 'Blind Willie McTell' is more about the US South than I had realized. 'Series of Dreams' is still good.
I think I need to listen to 'Eternal Circle' again.
― the bobfox, Tuesday, 11 October 2005 12:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― the bobfox, Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:55 (eighteen years ago) link
Today I almost went and re-bought some 'proper' albums. But I think I probably have enough with the Bootlegs and Biograph. Enough to be going on with.
I wonder if I kept that Mo-Jo comp or if I threw it away like a pranny.
PS: This is the only thread I like now. I may 'subscribe' to it.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 18:09 (eighteen years ago) link
― William Paper Scissors (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 18:22 (eighteen years ago) link
Miller, I am glad that you like the thread.
― the bobfox, Tuesday, 11 October 2005 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― William Paper Scissors (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 19:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― shookout (shookout), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 23:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― don, Tuesday, 11 October 2005 23:56 (eighteen years ago) link
― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 17:47 (eighteen years ago) link
Last night I went to The Fopp to re-buy Blonde on Blonde, but the queue was too long and they kept messing about and I was missing the football.
However, perhaps I would be better off getting Volume 7 instead. Thing is, it's £15, whereas the previous volume was £13.99 (I still have the receipt). That's £1.01 more expensive. Perhaps if I think about it long enough, the urge will pass.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 13 October 2005 06:41 (eighteen years ago) link
Also, I note that Germany has entered a Grand Coalition.
― the bobfox, Thursday, 13 October 2005 14:39 (eighteen years ago) link
More troubling is a member of the Animals going uncriticized for opening a bottle with a hotel piano. Does Dylan let pass from a star what he would justly rebuke in an ordinary person? It happened behind Dylan's back. Maybe he was unaware of it.
The LC album is called I'm Your Man.
The Grand Coalition seems to have been shunted off the front pages since last this thread was updated.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Monday, 24 October 2005 12:15 (eighteen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 24 October 2005 12:22 (eighteen years ago) link
The story I heard is that this take was a home demo. You can also faintly hear a door close after one of the barks.
― General Doinel (Charles McCain), Monday, 24 October 2005 20:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 06:15 (eighteen years ago) link
― AleXTC (AleXTC), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 11:10 (eighteen years ago) link
or so the Germans would have you believe... I think careful editing amps up this impression. I do agree that NDH exposes the kind of crap Dylan had to put up with at the time. Or as a recent Stereogum post put it, "Suck On Your Glasses, Judas!" I usually don't laugh out loud at things I find on the Internet, but that did me in.
― Edward III (edward iii), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 19:09 (eighteen years ago) link
― gewsgf, Tuesday, 25 October 2005 20:44 (eighteen years ago) link
How about 'I Was Young When I Left Home'? Does vol 7 repeat the version issued with Love & Theft; either way, does anyone save me rate the latter? Its very guitar playing seems poignant.
― the bobfox, Wednesday, 26 October 2005 12:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― AleXTC (AleXTC), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 14:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― tylerw, Wednesday, 26 October 2005 14:56 (eighteen years ago) link
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 27 October 2005 07:35 (eighteen years ago) link
It seems that vol 7, unlike other volumes, repeats existing and possibly familiar material.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 27 October 2005 11:52 (eighteen years ago) link
Lou Reed NYC Man - a best of, 2 CDs for a fiver, from Fopp. So it was a part-exchange.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 27 October 2005 12:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― the pinefox, Thursday, 27 October 2005 12:50 (eighteen years ago) link
Sung with such beauty, control, and weight, I can't get over it. Devastates me every time.
No. It's my single favourite Dylan performance.
― I.M. (I.M.), Friday, 28 October 2005 00:23 (eighteen years ago) link
I like the alternate take of "Stuck Inside of Mobile" the best.
― John Hunter, Friday, 28 October 2005 00:38 (eighteen years ago) link
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 12:56 (eighteen years ago) link
I am glad to hear about Vol 7. I'll have to get it!
― the bobfox, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 14:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 14:55 (eighteen years ago) link
it was sitting in the back of my memory untill cat power did it so damnedwell...these days i cant decide which i like better...
i've meant to dig up some old versions of it. a co-worker knows it from houseparty sessions when she was a kid..but hasn't pointed to any recorded versions..allmusic herei come
― bb (bbrz), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 17:34 (eighteen years ago) link
has anyone bought/heard the starbucks tapes?
― bb (bbrz), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 17:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― morris pavilion (samjeff), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 18:09 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tyler Wilcox (tylerw), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 18:59 (eighteen years ago) link
And speaking of xpost going back to the beginning for the end of The Bootleg Series, here's another Swingin' Pig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ZlUjQ2bQ0
As promised, here is the complete "Minnesota Party Tape 1961", a mysterious bootleg with a colorful history. It shouldn't be confused with the "Minnesota Hotel Tape" (also recorded at Beecher's home but several months later) or the "Minnesota University Tape" (recorded a year earlier). However, these tapes go by many different names, so I recommend you look over Olof's files if you're interested in Dylan's timeline: http://www.bjorner.com/DSN00020%20196.... According to his database, this tape was recorded at an unidentified coffee house at Minneapolis, MN in May 1961.Below is a tracklist with timestamps, and below that is an amazing backstory about "Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?" told by Jaharana Romney (wife of Hugh Romney/Wavy Gravy), formerly Bonnie Beecher, the subject of this song.TRACKLIST:0:00 - Ramblin' Round (W. Guthrie)4:15 - Death Don't Have No Mercy (G. Davis) [Amazing rendition, wish he finished it]6:40 - It's Hard To Be Blind (trad.)9:35 - This Train Is Bound For Glory (B.B. Broonzy, arr. by W. Guthrie)12:50 - Harmonica solo [Fun little jig to wake you up in the morning]16:44 - Talkin' Fish Blues (W. Guthrie)22:56 - Pastures Of Plenty (W. Guthrie) ["I learned this from Woody", Dylan says, referring to his meeting with him in January 1961. Can't tell what he says after that--Can anyone transcribe it?]29:05 - This Land Is Your Land (W. Guthrie)33:00 - Two Trains Runnin' (M. Morganfield)36:14 - Wild Mountain Thyme (trad.)39:00 - Howdido (W. Guthrie)40:45 - Car, Car (W. Guthrie)42:55 - Don't Push Me Down (W. Guthrie)44:37 - Come See (W. Guthrie)47:09 - I Want My Milk (W. Guthrie)50:17 - San Francisco Bay Blues (J. Fuller)52:57 - A Long Time A-Growin' (trad.)57:32 - Devilish Mary (B.L. Hawes)59:13 - Railroad Bill (trad.)1:03:26 - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (A.P. Carter)1:04:30 - Man Of Constant Sorrow (trad.)1:07:40 - Pretty Polly (trad.)1:13:12 - Railroad Boy (trad.)1:16:00 - James Alley Blues (R. Brown)1:19:35 - Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?"He came to my apartment and said, 'It's an emergency! I need your help! I gotta go home an' see my mother!' He was talking in the strangest Woody Guthrie-Oklahoma accent. I don't know if she was sick, but it was an unexpected trip he had to make up to Hibbing and he wanted me to cut his hair.' He kept saying, 'Shorter! Shorter! Get rid of the sideburns!' So I did my very best to do what he wanted and then in the door come Dave Morton, Johnny Koerner, and Harvey Abrams. They looked at him and said, 'Oh my God, you look terrible! What did you do?' And Dylan immediately said, 'She did it! I told her just to trim it up a little bit but she cut it all off. I wasn't looking in a mirror!' And then he went and wrote that song, 'Bonnie, why'd you cut my hair? Now I can't go nowhere!' He played it that night in a coffeehouse and somebody told me recently that they had been to Minnesota and somebody was still playing that song, 'Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?' It's like a Minnesota classic! And so I've gone down in history!"~Jaharana Romney (Bonnie Beecher)"Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?" is one of the earliest recorded Dylan originals, only preceded by a few tracks recorded from 1958-1960.Credits to Olof Björner for information and backstory.Peace & Love,~SP
Below is a tracklist with timestamps, and below that is an amazing backstory about "Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?" told by Jaharana Romney (wife of Hugh Romney/Wavy Gravy), formerly Bonnie Beecher, the subject of this song.
TRACKLIST:0:00 - Ramblin' Round (W. Guthrie)4:15 - Death Don't Have No Mercy (G. Davis) [Amazing rendition, wish he finished it]6:40 - It's Hard To Be Blind (trad.)9:35 - This Train Is Bound For Glory (B.B. Broonzy, arr. by W. Guthrie)12:50 - Harmonica solo [Fun little jig to wake you up in the morning]16:44 - Talkin' Fish Blues (W. Guthrie)22:56 - Pastures Of Plenty (W. Guthrie) ["I learned this from Woody", Dylan says, referring to his meeting with him in January 1961. Can't tell what he says after that--Can anyone transcribe it?]29:05 - This Land Is Your Land (W. Guthrie)33:00 - Two Trains Runnin' (M. Morganfield)36:14 - Wild Mountain Thyme (trad.)39:00 - Howdido (W. Guthrie)40:45 - Car, Car (W. Guthrie)42:55 - Don't Push Me Down (W. Guthrie)44:37 - Come See (W. Guthrie)47:09 - I Want My Milk (W. Guthrie)50:17 - San Francisco Bay Blues (J. Fuller)52:57 - A Long Time A-Growin' (trad.)57:32 - Devilish Mary (B.L. Hawes)59:13 - Railroad Bill (trad.)1:03:26 - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (A.P. Carter)1:04:30 - Man Of Constant Sorrow (trad.)1:07:40 - Pretty Polly (trad.)1:13:12 - Railroad Boy (trad.)1:16:00 - James Alley Blues (R. Brown)1:19:35 - Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?
"He came to my apartment and said, 'It's an emergency! I need your help! I gotta go home an' see my mother!' He was talking in the strangest Woody Guthrie-Oklahoma accent. I don't know if she was sick, but it was an unexpected trip he had to make up to Hibbing and he wanted me to cut his hair.' He kept saying, 'Shorter! Shorter! Get rid of the sideburns!' So I did my very best to do what he wanted and then in the door come Dave Morton, Johnny Koerner, and Harvey Abrams. They looked at him and said, 'Oh my God, you look terrible! What did you do?' And Dylan immediately said, 'She did it! I told her just to trim it up a little bit but she cut it all off. I wasn't looking in a mirror!' And then he went and wrote that song, 'Bonnie, why'd you cut my hair? Now I can't go nowhere!' He played it that night in a coffeehouse and somebody told me recently that they had been to Minnesota and somebody was still playing that song, 'Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?' It's like a Minnesota classic! And so I've gone down in history!"~Jaharana Romney (Bonnie Beecher)
"Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?" is one of the earliest recorded Dylan originals, only preceded by a few tracks recorded from 1958-1960.
Credits to Olof Björner for information and backstory.
Peace & Love,~SP
― dow, Tuesday, 26 December 2023 05:44 (three months ago) link
As speculated: “Sony Entertainment this year will be releasing a box set of 1974 Dylan/Band tour concerts.”
Per Harvey Kubernik: https://www.musicconnection.com/kubernik-robbie-robertson-testimony-autobiography/
― birdistheword, Thursday, 21 March 2024 06:25 (one week ago) link
I forget which Dylan thread gets used the most. Here’s drummer Jon Wurster re 2 recent Dylan gigs he saw , and Dylan on the St Patrick’s Day show doing a song he hadn’t done live in 20 years . An Irish folk song
https://www.flaggingdown.com/p/notes-from-the-road-in-north-carolina
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 21 March 2024 15:48 (one week ago) link
I think the “Overrated” thread is most used for general purposes…
― let’s get intertwined (morrisp), Thursday, 21 March 2024 15:55 (one week ago) link
Is there a Dylan site, comparable to Sugar Mountain for Neil Young, which documents the performance history of all songs? I know about boblinks.com but it doesn't go into that level of detail.
― lord of the rongs (anagram), Thursday, 21 March 2024 16:00 (one week ago) link
the official site!
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Thursday, 21 March 2024 16:24 (one week ago) link
Thanks, I'd never have thought to look there...
― lord of the rongs (anagram), Thursday, 21 March 2024 16:29 (one week ago) link
Setlist.fm also has Dylan concert information
Irish folk song “The Roving Blade”
https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/bob-dylan-1bd6adb8.html?songid=5bcf6314
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 21 March 2024 19:11 (one week ago) link
https://www.flaggingdown.com/p/guitarist-jj-holiday-talks-bob-dylans
Guitarist Jj Holiday and the bassist and drummer of the Plugz rehearsed a bunch with Bob Dylan 40 years ago and backed him on David Letterman. Holiday talks about the experience in this long q and a
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 23 March 2024 19:52 (six days ago) link
You should post that to this thread as well: Bob Dylan's punk period
― let’s get intertwined (morrisp), Saturday, 23 March 2024 20:11 (six days ago) link