I have two main points to make in today’s Random Weekend selection.
The first is that Ben Folds is such a great songwriter that even his B-sides can be powerful and moving.
‘Wandering,’ released on Folds’ Speed Graphic EP, and later in demo version on his Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective (and I believe on a movie soundtrack originally), is a beautiful, sad portrait of a relationship — it could easily stand alongside the best of his album work.
My favorite tracks on Bob Dylan’s first Bootleg Series release are the demo versions of two other Blood On the Tracks classics.
The first is ‘Idiot Wind,’ which I featured on the blog nearly two years ago. That slow, aching version of a song that became so frantic and angry on the finished record, is one of the finest Dylan recordings I’ve heard.
It’s partner is today’s track, ‘Tangled Up in Blue,’ which hews closer to the final version but is equally enchanting.
Meet Me In Montauk 