Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series

I think they already said that except for three tracks, all songs are previously unreleased versions.

Yeah, they even named the three tracks. I was referring to whether or not previously bootlegged tracks (unofficially but not officially released) would be on this new box set. It's also possible they dug up alternates of outtakes that are arguably better than what's been unofficially released or previously/officially released in the Bootleg Series - there's a few on Tell Tale Signs that are like that, but it's usually a similar (but noticeably different) version that's more of an improvement in terms of sound quality.

frankly i can't wait to hear every disc of this

otm

What of the "Third man" 4lp version?

Some more details:

Terry Gans says "Blind Willie McTell" will be "the familiar unreleased take we are all familiar with. There is about 20 seconds extra piano at the start that has been edited out and about two minutes at the end they have edited out.”

That would be this version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sahaKRuEZfk

"20 seconds" at the start and "two minutes at the end" must refer to the original uncut and unfaded recording - there's no way you can edit that much on the bootlegged version with chopping off large chunks of the actual song. I just wish they did something with that cough, like cut in a line from another take. (These were all digital multi-track recordings.)

Also, the Third Man 4 LP set seems to drop "Blind Willie McTell," "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" and "New Danville Girl" - major omissions IMHO:

https://thirdmanrecords.com/news/third-man-records-announces-vault-package-49-bob-dylan-springtime-in-new-york-the-bootleg-series-vol-16-1980-1985

*without chopping

Ah, missed this: "The songs on the Third Man Vault will be the ONLY vinyl release of those 42 songs. There is NO material overlap between the 2xLP version from Sony/Legacy and the 4xLP release from Third Man."

So by design the 4 LP set goes after what's leftover after Sony/Dylan's camp cherrypicked the best stuff for the 2 LP/2 CD Sony set..

(I'm guessing the 2 CD set is the same as the 2 LP set...)

Man, that's just asking to be taken to Flipper City

I need to make a playlist of best Dylan-on-piano moments like "Blind Willie McTell."

i'm sure they left just enough over from the 4lp + 2lp sets to make a record store day release down the line.

Is Third Man some kind of record company that releases extra / different copies of The Bootleg Series?

It's hard enough to keep up as it is !!

Birdistheword et al: No way could I cut out 'tight connection to my heart' - enjoyable on EB and redeemed even more by the GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY musical.

Yes 'Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart' is related but is it better? Not that I recall.

It's funny to reflect that GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is not a real Dylan LP (but it's Columbia maybe?) but contains some of the best recent versions of Dylan material.

The 'tight connection' on it really is the best thing that ever happened to that song.

Third Man is Jack White's Label/Pressing Plant operation that specializes in different limited run analog geegaws.

ImportCDs has deluxe version for $93.

Pretty excited about this one. I binged Dylan hard for a long while and skipped the last two bootleg releases. Just went back and ordered relatively cheap used copies so soon I will have Too Much Dylan. Stoked.

oh, the price was the only thing holding me back. thank you!!

€125 on Amazon Germany. A bit much for me. Maybe some shops will offer it for less.

Bob Dylan’s 'Infidels'-era Bootleg Series won’t arrive until September, but a source close to the Dylan camp tells us they’re already thinking about a 25th anniversary reissue of 'Time Out of Mind' for the next one https://t.co/dXMINYPoDk

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 23, 2021

That would be great

Much less attracted by the also-mooted pre-fame box set.

give me an early 90s set with all the takes of Froggy Went a-Courtin'

my bootleg series wishlist
- a Rolling Thunder 76 set
- a Rundown Rehearsals set
- Time Outtakes of Mind
- Maybe something similar to this Springtime thing that handles the latter half of the 1980s?

I'd like a NET set, but that'll be a tough one to compile. I'm not even sure they have great tapes for most shows - Rosen himself said the bootlegs often sounded better than the recordings they made from the board.

yeah, i think the NET stuff would be best served as a separate thing altogether, like a Dicks Picks situation. They should just use audience tapes (I think they've used some here and there previously) — there really are some amazing ones.

Really enjoying the "Too Late" linked above ^^ and released this week. Sounds like a sibling of "Tangled Up In Blue" with this arrangement, one I'd never heard before. (Had never heard "Foot of Pride.")

They’ve already covered TOOM outtakes on Tell Tale Signs, but I would love to hear a better master of the album.

also the Supper Club shows please

"Too Late" sounds to me like a very early draft of "Jokerman."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUT7N8RYgSI

Yeah, I love outtakes like this - I feel like every great artist has them, and they generally show why they're a cut above most. It's a good song and a lesser artist probably would've put it out or just polished it up if they managed to come up with this, but Dylan kept working at it and came up with a truly great track in "Foot of Pride."

Anyway, it does sound like an early run-through, like Dylan's got a complete draft of the words down but wants to try it over some basic music. There's a bit of a "Like a Rolling Stone" vibe and the acoustic guitar part recalls the basic riff from the Beatles "I've Got a Feeling."

yeah, it's odd hearing those lyric delivered without the anger of "Foot of Pride."

I was listening to "Pretty Saro" the other day and his vocals are just stunning, I don't know if I've ever heard him sing so beautifully.

Pretty Saro gets me every time.

Complete Masked & Anonymous sessions or GTFO

They’ve already covered TOOM outtakes on Tell Tale Signs, but I would love to hear a better master of the album.
in terms of the TOOM sessions, tell tale signs was just the tip of the iceberg apparently

The multi-tracks alone for TOOM are interesting because they had a shitload of people playing on that record. Jim Dickinson talked about this and kind of complained how much of that was lost (i.e. there are two drummers but that's not even discernible on the final mixes). He derided the finished mixes as "monitor mixes" which shouldn't be taken too literally - given how meticulous Lanois and Howard can be, if something's muted or buried, it's done so for a reason. But it does suggest that something like a 5.1 mix could be interesting, and I think contractually that would have to come from Lanois. I don't think Lanois would ever remix his stereo mixes, but I can see him doing 5.1 and adding more stuff back in due to the wider soundscape. Then again, how many people have 5.1 setups?

And yes, "Pretty Saro" was genuinely a lost classic - no one knew about it as it was never bootlegged. It's probably better than anything Dylan's released from that era, which may not be saying much, but it was a truly great discovery.

I think it was Duke Robilard that complained about most of his bits on TOOM were reduced to whatever bled into Dylan's mic. He also did a cover of "Love Sick" arranged the way it was on an earlier, to him superior take.

ooh it’s would be first in line if there’s that kinda stuff on offer. I love that record so hard and I respect the seductive production job but I’d love to peer deeper into the mire. I can’t think of a Bootleg Series retreading the same ground so maybe TTS was intended to close that door.

*I not “it’s”, jeeze

The only thing nobody's asked for:

all the takes from UNDER THE RED SKY!

Lost solos from "Slash" and Reg Dwight!

The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Wiggle 'Til You Vomit Fire, 1989-1991

Loool!

Wow, never heard this “Pretty Saro” until you guys just mentioned it.

:)

Another Self Portrait is so good

"too late" is fascinating wow

Dylan promised to write about the UTRS sessions in the next memoir.

Still waiting.

The only thing nobody's asked for:

all the takes from UNDER THE RED SKY!

Lost solos from "Slash" and Reg Dwight!

There are two outtakes that would be worth releasing, and they were already bootlegged in good sound: "Handy Dandy" built almost entirely around Stevie Ray Vaughan's joyous bottleneck playing (probably one of the last things Vaughan recorded in the studio) and the original, more ominous "TV Talkin' Song" with a darker set of lyrics. They're not lost masterpieces, but they would've been good improvements on the album (which to me only works as a set of novelty songs - that kind of makes sense when you hear it back-to-back with the second Traveling Wilburys album, which isn't exactly great either). It's a shame they didn't release those two on Tell Tale Signs. They certainly could've done it on the overpriced three-CD deluxe edition as that third disc had room to spare. It's hard to imagine another good and feasible Bootleg Series installment where their inclusion would make sense.

In fairness, there's two other outtakes that may be worth releasing, but I doubt they are: a lost song called "Shirley Temple Don't Live Here Anymore" and a supposedly unfinished song that eventually became "Heartland." The former was performed in concert later on by producer Don Was's own group, Was (Not Was), but rewritten as "Mr. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." The latter was supposedly given by Don Was to Willie Nelson during the Across the Borderline sessions (which Was produced) and Nelson not only finished the song but had Dylan sing with him on the final recording. FWIW, that Willie Nelson album is a good one, a commendable way of finishing his contract at Columbia.

maybe you could do a bootleg series with oh mercy > under the red sky > bromberg sessions > supper club stuff.

That was essentially Tell Tale Signs though. They didn't have anything from the UTRS sessions, but they did include two songs that were used on the album (albeit as outtakes from the Oh Mercy sessions). I guess you could do Tell Tale Signs Vol. 2 but some of the interviews they did at the time implied it wasn't something they'd want to do - that is, disc one to them had all the prime stuff most people would want, and from there it was diminishing returns (in their view).

The Supper Club stuff should just get their own DVD/Blu-ray release anyway. It was all filmed, and they could put all four hour-long concerts out on one or two Blu-ray discs. (Probably one if it's a 50 GB disc.)

I'm pretty skeptical of the Bromberg sessions - I actually know someone in Chicago who has them all and won't share, but the stuff that was leaked sounds too slick to me. You can hear a few on the super deluxe Tell Tale Signs, but I think Dylan's instincts were right to push them aside in favor of new, stripped down recordings of just him and an acoustic.