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Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8
Bob Dylan , Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8 [Sony BMG]
» This week saw the release of the eighth of the hopefully endless Bootleg Series, a motherload of Dylaniana that would be a pretty insane discography if it stood on its own. Because it doesn't, the Series is a mind-boggling reminder that Dylan throws out tracks that would be career-makers for just about anyone ever to set foot in a recording studio. Case in point: "Red River Shore," a song so awesome that it could have been a perfect fit on John Wesley Harding or even Blood on the Tracks, but not, inexplicably, awesome enough to make the cut for Time Out of Mind. I'm guessing the first part of that statement explains the second: that rambling, folksy story songs are too 60s and 70s Dylan, that the wandering-man-redeemed-by-some-woman-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-who-happens-to-be-the-only-woman-who-can-or-will-ever-understand-him trope is a bit overplayed in the Dylan cannon, that attention spans are short and only die-hards can sit through seven minutes of this stuff to begin with.
Whatever. By any measure "Red River Shore" is one of the best things Dylan's recorded over the past couple decades--the instrumentation is understated enough to seem organic and folksy rather than self-consciously anachronistic (think JWH and not Modern Times), and it's delivered without the unintelligible rasp that's characterized Dylan's late-period work. This is the wistful, romantic, philosophical Dylan or yore--not the wheezing old man ogling Alisha Keyes. Or possibly it's fossilized Alisha Keyes-ogling Dylan looking back on wistful, romantic, philosophical Dylan, with the two locked in a riveting, self-reflexive stare-down? Either way, it's a chillingly good throwback to Dylan's most creative years, and one of the highlights of his late-career renaissance.
There's some other great stuff on the compilation, entitled Tell Tale Signs--a live version of "High Water," the recording of "Mississippi" that was eventually cut from Time Out of Mind, and a few outtakes and alternative versions from 1988's woefully underrated Oh Mercy! Worth a download if you still aren't over I'm Not There mania--and never will be.
Posted on October 16, 2008
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This is a great collection of songs. Mysterious, elusive, enigmatic...just like the man himself. Songs with color and character. And if you love the characters Bob's created here, you should (shameless plug alert) take look at my new novel, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, a murder mystery set in the rock world in which all the suspects are characters in Bob's songs. An entire book built around Bob's creations? That's just the kind of depth this man has. Intrigued? You can get a copy on Amazon.com or go "behind the tracks" at www.bloodonthetracksnovel.com to learn more about the book.
— Tom Grasty on October 16, 2008
nice one, wanker
— racky facky on October 16, 2008