This week’s theme marks my first official repeat of an artist I’ve already covered in my Songs of the Day, and I’ve given that honor to the worthiest of performers. Today through Friday I will highlight tracks from Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series.

Dylan was the first widely bootlegged rock artist and 30 years after those first bootlegs showed up he decided to release many of the hidden gems officially. The Bootleg Series started with three extraordinary volumes in 1991 covering that entire 30-year span. The next three volumes chronicle live shows throughout the years, including the famous “Judas” concert in Manchester. Volume Seven is the companion soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s seminal Dylan documentary No Direction Home. And Volume Eight, released just two weeks ago, covers outtakes and unreleased material from the last 20 years. I’ll pull this week’s selections from the lot of them.

Continue reading →