Bob Dylan

I'm still waiting for sony to do a decent re-mastering job on the Dylan catalogue-I hadn't realised how poor the quality was on some of the CD's until I picked up some original vinyl pressings-Blonde on Blonde sounds like a different record-half the instruments are lost on the CD mix.
Several tracks from B.O.T.T are featured in alternate form on The Bootleg Series box from several years back.Don't know of an album dedicated soley to BOTT though...

The original US mastertapes for Blonde on Blonde are apparently missing. The same goes for a few other of Bob's albums. The Gold mastersound CD is a re-mix from the original multitrack tapes, done wiothout Bob's knowledge or concent. Bob hated the result.

Your best bet from a best bet from a sound quality point of view is a original US vinyl copy or the rather nice Simply Vinyl version (which is made from the original analogue British copy master).

Bob has assisted in the re-mix of Blonde on Blonde for SACD. It is said that this version is the vesrion to have. Hopefully CBS will release this on CD and Classic on vinyl.

Sundazed have released Highway 61 revisited in mono on vinyl from the original analogue master. The quality of sound and clarity of the mono mix are superb (for H61R that is...). It is highly recomended by me and relatively chaep (about $14 in the US).

Happy listening.

Thanks for that information Martin. I’m intrigued where you sourced these details from…?.I know my son would be very interested.

Dave

Michael Fremer in the Tracking Angle. A great, but now sadly defunkt, magazine. Michael knows his stuff (or at least knows someone who knows his stuff). He did articles on many great musicians and is in a position where actually knows the original engineer and/or mastering engineer, so he can ring them up and ask questions.

He does write in Stereophile but he doesn't really get the chance to talk about the music very much.

If you have the turntable, get Sundazed Highway 61. Its rather good.

Martin.
Yes I do,but not used for a while.
An LP12 which needs it's Koestu Black replacing.
I'm hoping to get it serviced and another MC before xmas.Once done I'll search this version of H61R out.

thanks once again

Dave

I have a list somewhere of which Simply Vinyl Dylan releases are analogue and which are digital. The analogue ones are worth having, the digital ones will sound just like the CD but with more distortion so are not.

I'll dig it out sometime and list them here.

The wonderful mid seventies classic, "Blood on the Tracks" has been the subject of much speculation amoung Dylan fanatics. Apparently, Dylan has been approached about issuing a deluxe version of the album that would collect in one place the album as released, and the complete sessions for the album. Amoung Dylan collectors, there are some, including British writer Clinton Heyland, who have heard bootleg versions of the "original" version and feel it is superior to the album as it was released. In the recording sessions, Dylan had finished the album with less instrumentation than the release we all know and love. This version is said to be more emotionally immediate and revelatory. After listening to the master tapes, Dylan decided to schedule additional sessions with the band that appears on the record. Thus there are two different sets of takes generated from different sessions, perhaps even two complete versions of the album. So, there may be a release at some point in his Bootleg series that showcases this material officially.

To date, there are outakes from Blood on the Tracks on both the "Biograph" box set, including the wonderful "Up To Me", as well as some tracks that were included on the Bootleg Series Volumes I-III box set. As far as sonics go, I would endorse finding a vinyl copy from the US, which is a bit harder for our British friends, but should be easily available in used record stores in the US due to the sales volume of the record in the 70's.

If you enjoy this title, you might try his earlier acoustic based "John Wesley Harding" album, which is a real favorite of mine.

The outakes from Blood on the Tracks - as in actual songs that aren't on the album aren't really all that interesting. What are very interesting indeed are the earlier alternative versions of some of the songs that were included.

The whole album was apparently first recorded in sparse accoustic style - no drums if I remember rightly (I've lost the tape I used to have of it) - just piano or guitar and electric bass.

Some of the songs were later re-recorded - ie the ones with a full band on the final release.

The two originals you really want to hear are Idiot Wind and You're a Big Girl Now. Both are slower and more reflective and tremendously moving performances. You're a Big Girl Now was included in Biograph, and even if it was the only good thing on it (it's not) it would be worth tracking this down just for this track.

An accoustic Idiot Wind is included in the first Bootleg Collection box set, but it's not the one I used to have on my tape. That one had a beautifully haunting organ part in addition to the Bass and guitar. Of course whovever edited the collection probably had access to the organ version and chose the other one, but I was disappointed when I heard it. The lyrics are significantly different in both earlier versions. Some of the later revisions are definitely improvements, but not all of them, I think. It's good to have both versions.

The organ version of Idiot Wind is one of the great Dylan Bootlegs. I like it much better than the released version and I wish I hadn't lost it.

The real gems in the box set are two out takes from Infidels - Foot of Pride and Blind Willie McTell. Buy it! Buy it!

Incidentally Love and Theft is terrific. The band's great, Dylan's voice is better recorded than it has been for years and the songs are fascinating. His rapport with his current band is obvious and really brings the whole thing to life. It's uncannily like listening to tapes of him playing live with the band in the 60's. Except that it's completely different of course! You know what I mean. How sounds like he's utterly in command of his perfomance and has complete confidence in the people around him. Even sounds like he's enjoying himself.

Apparently he's writing his memoirs. Now who would have thought he would ever do that?

David

I seem to remember a really good acoustic, possibly live, version of this. Am I on acid or does this exist somewhere?

-John

JohnS,

There's quite a few bootleg recordings of him singing It's all over now baby blue around 65, 66. One version has been released officially on both Biograph and the "Albert Hall" set.

He also sings it to Donovan in Don't Look Back.

His 65,66 accoustic sets are really terrific, and this song really comes into it's own with some spooky, stoned, freeform harmonica playing; the lyrics slurred and drawled and painstakingly articulated at the same time. This is probably only possible when you're pretty well out of your box. It's amazing that he (usually) remembered the words.

The electric set on the official "Albert Hall" release is great too. Most of the unofficial tapes I've heard of that stuff are hard to listen to. But then that's part of their charm!

David

Was that the title of a bootleg I used to have?
I seem to remember it was really good, around the time of the acoustic to electric shift. Can you still get it? Maybe it just sounded sizzling on my autochanger

-John

Don't know the names of the bootleg LPs. I had a friend who made up tapes for me.

I'm sure all this stuff can be got - and of course it's mostly on CD now which eliminates (or reduces) the problem of listening to tapes copied from tapes copied from tapes copied from...

But I'm out of the loop and the web isn't much help as the biz police are very diligent and proactive.

Both the official bootleg box sets are well worth getting though as is Biograph.

David

I assume this track from the film "Wonder Boys" would be on any sound track CD, but does anybody know if it was released in some other format.

Thanks

Dave

It's on the new "greatest hits 2" (not the old blue double album of course). But if you've got a lot of Dylan already I'm not sure there's much else on there you'll need. I've only glanced at it in the shop.

David

It was released in the uk as a limited edition 7" vinyl single(Columbia 6693797-which plays at 33 rather than 45 as the label says).The B side was a live recording of 'Blind Willie Mctell' from jones Beach 1997.It was also issued as a CD single as well(Columbia 6693792)in radio edit form.
I don't know how hard it would be to find a copy but I can't imagine they are that rare.

Dave & Von,
Thanks for that information. It looks like a visit to HMV next week.

Dave