Tag Archives: Bootleg Series

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Song of the Day #3,904: ‘Hard Times in New York Town (Demo – 1961)’ – Bob Dylan

My #3 album of 1991 is admittedly a bit of a cheat, as most of its songs were recorded decades earlier. But Bob Dylan’s The Bootleg Series, Vol 1-3: Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991 marked the first time most of these outtakes and demos were officially released.

This three-disc set covered Dylan’s earliest years up through his spotty 80s output, and found hidden gems throughout. Incredible songs inexplicably left off of mediocre albums, alternate takes of all-time classics, demos recorded before anybody knew the name Bob Dylan.

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Song of the Day #3,712: ‘Thirsty Boots’ – Bob Dylan

Here’s a cut from Bob Dylan’s 2013 Bootleg Series release Another Self Portrait, which compiled alternate and discarded takes from the sessions for his most loathed album, Self Portrait. It’s a fine collection, and one that makes you wonder how Dylan ended up with such a dog of an album given the source material.

However, even more entertaining than the music on Another Self Portrait is the comment section of my initial post about this album back in 2013.

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Song of the Day #3,592: ‘Sign On the Cross’ – Bob Dylan & The Band

Of all the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series releases, volume 11 (The Basement Tapes Complete) is definitely the most impressive.

Spanning six discs and 138 tracks, this volume contains all of the unreleased tracks recorded by Dylan and The Band in the basement of a house called Big Pink between May and October of 1967.

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Song of the Day #2,910: ‘Foot of Pride’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_bootlegAmong the great finds on Bob Dylan’s first Bootleg series were two tracks recorded for 1983’s Infidels but inexplicably left off.

Mark Knopfler produced Infidels but had to go on tour before the final mixing and sequencing, leaving that to Dylan himself. Dylan decided to omit the tracks ‘Foot of Pride’ and ‘Blind Willie McTell.’

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Song of the Day #2,340: ‘Call Letter Blues’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_bootlegThis Bob Dylan blues track from the second Bootleg Series album is essentially the classic Blood On the Track song ‘Meet Me in the Morning’ with different lyrics.

When Googling facts about the song, I stumbled upon a website called ‘…Just Another Tune’ that really blew my mind in terms of its depth and insight.

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Song of the Day #1,981: ‘Pretty Saro’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_another_self_portraitBest Songs of 2013 – #11

Another Self Portrait, the latest installment of Bob Dylan’s great Bootleg Series, goes a long way toward redeeming Self Portrait, widely considered Dylan’s worst album.

Or at least it makes you wonder about the album Dylan might have released had he gone in a different direction.

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Song of the Day #1,888: ‘This Evening So Soon’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_another_self_portraitThe latest installment of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series (the tenth) is, at first glance, a bit of a head-scratcher.

Titled Another Self Portrait, it’s a collection of tracks recorded mostly for 1970’s Self Portrait, the album widely considered Dylan’s worst. That was the record that prompted critic Greil Marcus to start his infamous Rolling Stone review with the words “What is this shit?”

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