Bob Dylan's new 'Bootleg' CDs: More Range Than a Prius

Someday Bob Dylan's going to die -- probably in a hotel room in a two-bit city, after playing his 300th concert of the year on his endless "I don't wanna go home" tour -- and then everybody will suddenly realize he was America's Picasso. (Or is it Shakespeare?)

For days afterward, we'll be subjected to the Great Man for Dummies lecture. Dylan, the protest singer. Dylan goes electric. Dylan the cryptic recluse. The born-again Christian. And then the astonishing mid-life -- well, for a musician, late-life -- revival.

Somewhere in there will be a mention of the Bootleg recordings, as if they're footnotes to the real records. You know: outtakes. Which got released only because this guy inspired reverence and his devotees couldn't get enough.

No.

Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8 is some of the best Dylan I have ever heard. And there's a lot of it: 27 songs, weighing in at around 135 minutes. As I write, Amazon.com is selling the two-CD set for $13.99, which makes this beyond a bargain.

The songs were recorded between 1989 and 2006. It's a fascinating period -- in these years, Dylan streamlined his music, rediscovered his love of the blues, and made CDs that are shockingly accessible. And he was prolific; music poured out of him, he couldn't keep away from it. Although his voice is a disaster now -- my wife and I worship at his shrine, but we don't feel we ever need to see him in concert again -- between 1989 and 2006 he still had it. The result: CDs that shine.

This may not be apparent to you the first few times you hear it. What you hear may make you think this is a white man imitating a Southern blues master, with an occasional break for stripped-down rock and a bit of folk. True, but nothing here is an imitation -- Dylan dearly loves American roots music, and he's taken it into his DNA.

Just look at his picture on the cover of the unusually helpful booklet that accompanies these CDs. White jacket, black collar. White shirt, black Kentucky Colonel tie. His face is a portrait of bright lights and late nights and beds that are not his own. His hair is an uncombed mass of ringlets. He has a circus master's mustache. All he needs is a cape and a cane.

If these visual cues fairly scream 19th century, you've got your first clue. Dylan's up on what's happening now -- some phrasing suggests he's gone to school on rap -- but he's really working a more ancient vein. That's another reason you'll have trouble really hearing the brilliance; the surface is so familiar you don't think to look for depth.

There's a junior Dylanologist in our family, and he's been listening harder and longer to some of these songs than I have. In an excited e-mail, he wrote me: "His lyrics are so rhythmic. He'll have a simple walking baseline and then do all the syncopation with verse. And he'll repeat the same line over and over again. But it's not repetitive, because he changes the meter of the phrase subtly each time."

Okay, so the junior Dylanologist knows far too much. But he got that knowledge because repeated listening to Dylan is so rewarding.

These two CDs? Very rewarding. The music has more range than a Prius. You can play it as pleasant background -- music to cook by. It's fun in the car. And at the deepest levels, I think, Dylan offers us an alternate vision of America, the whole man-woman thing and even Life itself.

I remember how, after Andy Warhol died, Julian Schnabel was asked to name some exciting new artists. "Andy," he said sadly. Thinking about exciting new musicians, I'd say: Bob Dylan, born in 1941.

Don't wait until he's gone to find out.

[cross-posted from HeadButler.com]

Comments

[S1m0n]

Dylan went to school on rap? Please! Rap went to school on Dylan.

[darthdarcy]

"Bob Dylan is bad, he's the brother that you never had.."

TJ..

[starboymikey]

With just a verse or two, Dylan can create an entire world that I get totally lost in, filed with people I believe I've lived among, streets down which I must have walked, rooms filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of cheap wine, where a young girl weeps softly in the corner.

Sometimes just a single Dylan phrase can explode like a freight train roaring through a tunnel, leaving behind an unforgettable image that echos in my mind for hours: "The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face ..." What it means to me is hard to explain, since it may mean something entirely different to you. But Dylan's great gift is to let his audience see the world through his eyes, in way they may never have seen it before, and if they are lucky, perhaps better understand themselves.

That's part of the gift we get from great art.

[cobraxus]

I've been listening to the bootleg "Between Saved and Shot Of Love".Those were my first two contemperanious Dylan albums(Street Legal is still my favorite).BSASOL is not out-takes it's an album onto itself and oddly enough would have been better received than Shot Of Love.After awhile you begin to realize each album was a choice and there were many choices.

[ohmercy]

wonderful review- except for the first line.

this is something I never want to be reminded of.

I haven't seen duylan in years even though, ala Amy Sedaris, he is my Imaginary Boyfriend. I just couldn't afford to go, and logistics were often difficult but recently he appeared in my town (asbury park,) and it was a standing room ticket so I was able to go.
Because of hjealth issues I was sick for a week afterwards, probably dehydrated, but it was worth it to see him again. Yes, his voice is shot but I still love it- yes, I didn't always catch what the song was in the beginning but I was standing with some of those that follow and see tons of concerts a year so they could tell me from the first note!

But the thing was there were moments in the concert that were sublime- he did something on Nettie Moore that would break your heart- I just had to stop grooving and breathe it in.

He always amazes- what he leaves on the cutting room floor when putting out an album is sometimes better than what he officially released. This is the case on Tell Tall Tales.

When I heard this new CD- it was streaming on NPR before the release- I was floored. A couple of songs moved me deeply that my eyes actually teared up- due to his phrasing, inflections, nuances.

[ohmercy]

BTW, listen to his stellar radio show if you want to really "get" him and what has inspired him.

Honestly, I don't kPS, please forgive my typos above.
now how he does it, how he accomplishes all he does.
I bet he doesn't spend his time writing responses to blogs or playing computer games.

sigh.

[ohmercy]

OOPS, screwed up my addendum- Listen to Bob's radio show for a real treat, a revelation into more of this wild man's multi faceted self.

I honestly don't "get" people who don't like Dylan or who say things like "Who ever told him he could sing?"
huh?

I have found it a good signal as to whether there is much chance for a friendship of depth or not.
LOL

of course maybe its just me who is shallow.
;-)

[Badbone]

Dylan's popularity is just another extension of the "everything we do is important" baby boomer generation. He"s a moderately talented song writer who was lucky enough to be born at the right time in history.

If he existed 10 years earlier, or later, he"d be working open mic nights at coffee houses. But, since he was part of the me-generation"s overwhelming tide, he"s "Picasso". If there is one thing that defines this generation, it is the belief that they, and everything associated with them, are the best the world has to offer.

This review of a broken down, past "master" is no different.

[Fabini]

AH! That's it! Why haven't I seen it all these years. Thank you Badbone for your insightful social commentary. Please, when you listen to the music, let us know what you think then.

[VungTauVet]

So Badbone, what great compositions have you authored lately?? And you're right, 10 years earlier and he would have been in 'the Weavers', !0 years, 20, 30, 40 years later and he is still rockin. What is it you've accomplished again?? Whatever it was I just ain't getting it.

[editorjuno]

Do you have any idea of how much competition Dylan had back in the day? I'm talking about accomplished wordsmiths and solid musicians who played the same NYC clubs and knocked on the same industry doors. Dylan was different in a qualitative way as a lyricist in the same way that Louis Armstrong was qualitatively different from the other instrumental soloists of his time.

Without Dylan, the Beatles would have remained a shallow pop sensation, Johnny Cash would have never transcended rockabilly, The Byrds would have probably never existed, The Band would have remained an obscure Canadian bar band, the concept of the singer-songwriter as we know it might never have become commercially viable, and the entire broad genre called "Americana" wouldn't exist -- can you really imagine any such phenomena if the wunderkind of early '60s Greenwich Village had been Phil Ochs or Tom Paxton, even though those guys stand as major talents in their own right to this day?

If you think he was only "moderately talented," take a look at the generations of accomplished songwriters who've tried to effectively imitate him -- it has not and probably cannot be done because he's really that much of an original. Nobody ever quite managed that with Armstrong either.

[mondobleu]

"Red River Shore' is worth everything. I can't stop playing it over and over. Dylan at his best.
The track has Jim Keltner on drums who plays the best Border Town Beat in the known universe.
Thanks again Bob.

[ohmercy]

absolutely.
The first time I heard it I actually had tears come to my eyes.
Incredible.

[Fabini]

I concur. Now, back to lintening...

[Fabini]

I agree. The songs on this new CD go way beyond just out-takes. They also link his CDs from Good As I Been To You ('92) to Modern Times ('06) in a way that shows a truly fertile period of creativity and mastery in his music.

Keep that Never Ending Tour going Bob.

[sion]

This review only covers the two disk version, but the third or bonus disk is even better then the first two! It contains the best versions of Mississippi, Red river shore, Marchin' to the city and a truly incredible take of Can't wait. The last mentioned is in my opinion the diamond of this release and among the best performances I've ever heard by anybody period! "Also" (quoting Palin!), you'll find two exceptional covers: 'Duncan and Brady' and 'Mary and the soldier', plus three fantastic live recordings.
The price of this three disk selection is of course a scandal, but if you can't afford it, then download it from somewhere or steal it. You won't be sorry!
Oh and thanks for the review Jesse :-)
sion

[ohmercy]

Steal it?

sheesh.
never.
Wish I could have downloaded it but that is stealing too.
I am disappointed I won't be able to get it
Of course if there was someone out there, say a big Dylan fan who was able to afford it and who was able to find it in their heart to burn the third disc for a Dylan "friend" that would be OK-
but seriously, steal it?
or were you being rhetorical?

;-)

[sssteverrr]

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.

WOW!!!!!!!

[editorjuno]

Best Dylan cover CD: "Red On Blonde," by Tim O'Brien.

[auramac]

One thing I don't understand: if he's not worth seeing in concert anymore, what's to "find out" except from timeless recordings? It'll never be "too late." But there are indeed a great many who don't know what they're missing. See him live, too. That voice- he uses it.

[ohmercy]

YES-
I saw him in August, first time in many years due to unfortunate finances and logistics - and there were moments that were amazing with their nuanced delivery.
If you focus on the "croak" and the disappointment of not seeing "the old dylan" as some complain then you miss the beauty in Dylan as he is now.I hope he never "retires," and I dread the time he is gone from the planet.

That being said I do miss his sometimes crowd banter and moments of saying "hi."
But his radio show makes up for a lot of that, what a delight to hear him talk, tell stories about the music and musicians he plays and tell his corny jokes.
Love it.

[auramac]

I can't wait to listen to the new CD's. The world is a better place with him still in it. There has never been anyone like him, and at his white-hot peak in the late 60's, he was completely untouchable. He's made some bad records, and his voice is more shot now than Satchmo's- but that's how he uses it- as a different instrument. A few years ago, I was watching him sing while on tour with Paul Simon. Simon came out and sang like Paul Simon. Dylan came out and altered every song. No way could Joan Baez do an impersonation of This Dylan! I was confused, a little disappointed. Then I realized that not only wasn't he trying to sound like Bob Dylan, he wasn't necessarily trying to limit himself to rock and roll or even the blues. What he was doing with his voice was what Miles Davis did with his trumpet. As I began to listen to what I now felt was more like jazz music, my expectations evaporated and I was absolutely mesmerized.
I love Paul, too- but Dylan made him look like a lightweight.

[daveguy]

... I always hate it when people say "they don't make 'em like they used to!" Well, they DO make 'em like they used to. In fact, he's here now - Dylan IS one of the all-time greats, and he's still (more or less) in his prime. Oh, one other thing -- he absolutely IS worth seeing live now, if for no other reason than that he currently has one of the greatest touring bands in the history of rock/folk/blues, whatever! Don't miss it!

[shawshank]

Being a member of the hip-hop crowd, I've had to search out other forms of music cos I'm really not into the escapism and materialism being churned out now. In the process, I came across Dylan's music, now i feel like someone who stumbled upon a goldmine. What gives me the chills, is the large body of work that Dylan has put out, I can't believe what I'd been missing.

I've always been very particular about the lyrical content of songs, and I've come to believe that Dylan is the greatest lyricist ever. "What was it you wanted" and "Sara" are two songs that have jumped to my all time top 10. I moved to this country from Nigeria 5 yrs ago, so you can imagine the novelty of his songs to me.

Now because of him, I'm into the sixties and seventies folk-like artists, just discovered a lovely artist named Joni Mitchell.

[xtown]

shakespeares in the alley with his pointed shoes and bells

[jukesgrrl]

Welcome to America. Some things here suck, but the soundtrack can be great. Keep exploring and keep away from the escapism and materialism; you'll be a great addition to our country.

[RedDogBear]

If you haven't already you should check out Jimi Hendrix. Of course an unbelievable guitar player (IMHO best ever) but also quite a good song writer. He worshiped Dylan.

[ohmercy]

Congratulations!
your post made me smile, it is always wonderful to come across someone who "just" discovered Dylan and seeing the wonder and appreciation.

Listen to his radio show on XM
There are places you can download it every week if you don't get it on radio.
It is a true revelation and shows another dimension to this mercurial wild man.