Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series

He's good in documentaries and doc/sketchedRenaldo and Clara, although more the Seinfeld-on- Seinfeld-type straight man in the latter.

As Jerry plays "Jerry," Bob plays "Bob," that is (haven't seen Masked and Anonymous or the one he did with that singer--Fiona?---think it was Hearts on Fire).

Okay in Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.

Masked and Anonymous is hilarious

Okay in Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.

― dow, Tuesday, November 3, 2015 3:08 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well, i wouldn't say he's "okay." his weirdo presence kind of works in context, but he's no actor.

i've watched 60 minutes of renaldo and clara, and i strongly suspect that those who say it ought to be on DVD really haven't seen it. it's terrible.

xpost

bob dylan doesn't really seem comfortable enough on camera to play "bob dylan"

he just looks like a deer in the headlights

"Isis" performance clip is good though, innit?

maybe my favorite bit: dylan discussing his family, "my mother tried to love me, but I think she was trying to kill me."

In masked & anonymous. Also highly recommend watching the making-of on the DVD, everyone's so confused.

Okay in Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.

Bob Dylan plays a character named Alias, and should have used one. His screen presence makes him look as if he's the victim of a practical jokes involving itching powder.

Nah he was okay, considering Peckinpah didn't pay him much attention/no direction and didn't really know who he was, according to Kristofferson. Flitting around, kind of the mischievous-looking Ariel to KK's lurching Caliban. Mainly good in the docs, but I did see all of R and C, and do think it should be on DVD. Description here:
http://thefreelancementalists.blogspot.com/2012/02/renaldo-and-clara-can-this-marriage-be.html

The DVD version of PGABTK that came out a few years ago is supposedly better than the theatrical version I saw, according to the few reviews I saw.

The version of Garrett on the second DVD (the "Preview Cut") is a bit better than the so-called "Definitive Version" on the first. The new editor fucked the opening and doesn't quite recover aside from restoring the vocals to the "Heaven's Door" sequence, which somehow got dropped from the Preview but included in the Theatrical (which has never been on DVD).

This is the review I remember most specifically:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/06/sagebrush-cut

He seems to be comparing it more to the previous DVD, although "disreputable cult film" is about right: aside from Dylan (Sragow: "Billy's enigmatic new friend, and he fits right in here") and the scene, with Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado reaching out to each other, that "Heaven" 's vocals are restored to, plus a few other bits, the theatrical version pretty much seemed an abrupt downturn for Peckinpah.

Peckinpah didn't have anything to do with the theatrical version. The Preview Cut is based off a version he signed off on that played for a test audience right before he lost final cut, a print he had stolen from the cutting room by a loyal editor.

the weberman thing is kind of interesting as an example of an artist actually engaging (briefly) with a truly nutso fan -- almost (not quite haha) like the Beatles having a sitdown w/ Charles Manson.

agnetha from abba dated an obsessive fan in the 90s, a weird story that I once read abt being suppressed in swedish collective consciousness but dunno abt that

can't find proper sources on it but this blog post (and comments section) is extraordinary http://abbamikory.blogs.com/abbamikory/2013/07/agnethas-love-affair-with-gert-will-be-a-theatre-play-next-year-in-uppsala.html

Ranaldo and Clara is a masterpiece, just wish there was a longer version

whoa, take 1 of "just like a woman"

ha yeah, sounds like he needs to finish writing it!

Starting to think again about getting Another Self-Portrait, even deluxe, for sake of the Isle of Wight set. How are the performance & audio, as presented here? Heard a boot long ago, with erratic sound.

You can find Isle of Wight pretty easily online if u don't wanna buy

isle of wight show is a treat -- and of course sounds much better than those audience recordings. totally unique sound for both the band and dylan ... hard to believe they're playing in front of hundreds of thousands, they sound so casual. surprised that columbia hasn't put it out on its own, really.

i have a bootleg lp from the early 70s of the isle of wight show, it's one of my favorite dylan shows, i love how his southern affectation comes out - "thank you, thank you. great to be here, shorrre is."

hard to believe they're playing in front of hundreds of thousands, they sound so casual.

And the last time they played the UK wasn't an altogether pleasant experience; it probably took some convincing to get Bob on the festival.

This show wasn't even part of a tour; it was their second of a grand total of three shows in 1969. Amazing that they sounded so tight.

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/05/bob_dylans_electric_trilogy_masterpieces_i_played_all_18_discs_and_357_tracks_heres_why_you_should/

Disappointed that the track order isn't purely chronological...I plan on listening to each session properly but will be a pain to sequence

tl;dr

ugh salon
yeah the isle of wight recording is pretty tantalizing ... wish there were other tapes of dylan & the band from 1969. Maybe even rehearsals for the isle of wight?

he moves on to the one and only take of “Farewell, Angelina,” an absolutely glorious song and performance that was only a rumor until 1991 when it was officially released on the first Bootleg Series. Here is a composition with carefully crafted, beautifully poetic lyrics and a haunting melody equal to some of Dylan’s best songs, yet, he only performed this one time, on this one day, before, yes, moving on to 10 more takes of “On The Road Again.” Sigh

hmmmm

y'know, i've never been crazy about "farewell angelina" -- it's OK, but kinda feels like a stretch of surrealist images that don't really connect (unlike dylan's other stretches of surreal images that REALLY connect). i can see why he cast it aside.

yeah and the melody is kind of slack, which of course means that in joan baez's version she has to oversing even more than usual

i kind of reflexively winced just thinking of that btw

lol.

Not a big fan of her singing or guitar playing. That Fred Astaire idea of making it look easy never seemed to catch on with her. Mimi, on the other hand...

Haven't heard the Baez version, but can imagine. Although I do like her sometimes when she isn't overdoing the vibrato, which was pretty often in the 60s (liked that Steve Earle-produced album several years ago; of all people, Steve Earle helping her get her vox together!). Some of the 70s albums were okay, and liked her in the 60s when she got a bit more down to earth. "Farewell Angelina" can be good lesser Dylan---it really was a scribbled goodbye note, and/or maybe a tease (playing hard to get?). Liked his version, and Mellencamp's, on his fun covers collection, Rough Harvest. From my review:
that Pied Piper glint in Dylan's (Bootleg Series box) "Farewell Angelina" ain't here, probably because Mellen figures we'll never get out of this world alive, so rather than tease, he takes us on a merry-go-round tour of the song.

farewell angelina always just makes me put on angelina.

Too bad the other side of Baez's personality doesn't come across on record---like when she used to flash dead-on parodies of Dylan in her concerts, and zing him in her memoirs and interviews for Dylan bios.

like when she used to flash dead-on parodies of Dylan in her concerts

saw her do this once, she does it well

xxp i might even say that "angelina" is my favorite dylan song - that thing is unbelievable.

Love the part in No Direction Home where Baez talks about Bob hearing her version of "Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word" on the radio and he says, "Hey, this is pretty good!" She goes, "You wrote the thing, you fuckin' dope!"

http://i.imgur.com/rXfiyxD.jpg

If it doesn't reproduce, click on it to see Box Set #527!

goddamn it!
xp it's too bad this set doesn't have a dylan version of love is just a 4 letter word! i think that was rumored.

I clicked on it, it did nowt.

works for me. looks HEAVY.

it was SO heavy to carry home from work, it's 15" x 15" x 6"....waiting a little before i lift the lid, let the excitement build. I'll post another 1 or 2 if there is interest...

As you can see it comes with a big boy Da Buddha vaporizer (I kid)

xxxxpost Yeah, she's pretty salty in Hajdu's Positively 4th Street, and in Rolling Stone's coverage of Rolling Thunder Review. She finally agrees to get on the bus when assured a proper stipend. ("I dunno, we're not dealing with the most stable personalities here--what if Ramblin' Jack decides he wants to go live in a boxcar when we're playing the hardcore folkie places?") Then Dylan comes sidling up, "with a collector's glint in his eye": "Hey you gonna sing that song, yknow---" "What song?" "Aw yknow that song,,,I heard it on the radio the other day---" (reporter picks up that they're referring to the recent "Diamonds and Rust") "You mean," she grabs him by the hair at the back of his neck, looks him hard in the eye,"that song I wrote about my husband?"

http://iagogaldston.imgur.com/all/

I made some snaps of the box set if anyone is interested. The whole thing is incredible but the fetish Powerball is an actual 35mm strip of the release print of Don't Look Back. Completely over the top.

iagogaldston's images are not publicly available

they were an hour ago! looked good

xp dow: where's that story from? hilarious stuff!

haha, this thing is dylan nerd heaven