Bob Dylan's Minneapolis Party Tape Available Soon On CD

Archival specialists The Bob Dylan Archives have another semi official Dylan release due out at the end of next month.

“The Minneapolis Party Tape” follows BDA’s release of the Carnegie Chapter Hall concert.

By May 1961 Bob Dylan had been living in New York and working the Greenwich Village cafés and folk clubs for nearly five months. With the harsh winter now gone, Dylan decided it was time to return north to Hibbing, Minnesota to spend some time with his parents. While en route, Bob stopped off in Minneapolis to visit some of the friends he had made during his time at college there. This would be the first of several visits to Minneapolis and a pattern would soon emerge.
Whenever he returned, Bob would crash in the apartment of Bonnie Jean Beecher, a girl he had dated while in college, and Dylan would thereafter jokingly refer to her apartment as either the Beecher Hotel or Minneapolis Hotel. These forays to Minneapolis enabled Dylan to use a friends tape recorder to capture what progress he had made musically during his time in New York. Eager to demonstrate how much he had learned while living in the Big Apple, he performed on several occasions for his old friends, and the so-called Minnesota Party Tape is the combined result of either two or, more probably, three of these May sessions.
Whilst this tape illustrate how much Dylan had progressed in the four months since he left Minneapolis for New York, his performances still consisted of blues, folk and Guthrie numbers with only the final song, 'Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair'?, being an eccentric Dylan original. As one of the earliest documents of Dylans musicianship however it captures the birth of an icon, and thus provides essential listening for everyone with even a hint of interest in the genesis of Bob Dylan and of popular music more generally.  

1. Ramblin Round
2. Death Dont Have No Mercy
3. Its Hard To Be Blind
4. This Train (Is Bound For Glory)
5. Harmonica solo
6. Talking Fish Blues
7. Pastures Of Plenty
8. This Land Is Your Land
9. Two Trains Runnin
10. Wild Mountain Thyme
11. Howdido
12. Car, Car (Riding In My Car)
13. Dont Push Me Down
14. Come See
15. I Want My Milk
16. San Francisco Bay Blues
17. A Long Time A-Growin
18. Devilish Mary
19. Railroad Bill
20. Will The Circle Be Unbroken
21. Man Of Constant Sorrow
22. Pretty Polly
23. Railroad Boy
24. James Alley Blues
25. Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?  

You can preorder it cheap here :

Massive Bob Dylan Box Set On The Way?

Back in June 2010 the Tampa Bay Times reported that Didier C. Deutsch was working for Legacy Records ( Sony's Flagship reissue label ) on  a 40 CD Bob Dylan Box Set.
Then early last year Variety reported that "Sony's catalog division, Legacy, has released nine official Dylan bootlegs thus far and is currently developing a 40-CD "superfan" Dylan release featuring a wealth of previously bootlegged studio outtakes."
It seems that the idea has evolved.
Late last week Forbes reported the following : "The word is Columbia Records is preparing the ultimate Bob Dylan box set– a collection of all his albums including his bootleg series. The massive box will be a Dylanographer’s delight, collecting every single track including single tracks like “George Jackson” that never made into onto an album. There will also be a couple of CDs with miscellaneous tracks, so that just about everything you ever heard, had, lost, or wanted is all in one place. The price for this super collection is said to be $300–but there’s an upside. I am told that there will be a code so buyers can download the whole thing for free as well. “It seemed crazy to say here it is, now go upload the whole thing into your computer too,” says a source."
The interesting thing about this is that the Forbes article disappeared almost immediately to be replaced by an article titled Robert Johnson Gets Blues Celebration at the Apollo. 
This article contained only the following line to represent the former article : "Some of the gossip concerns Bob Dylan–and a big project set for the fall. Blues guys love Dylan and are always trying to collect everything he’s done. Stay tuned…"
So it seems that Sony have asked for the story, or at least major parts of it to be removed. Some say the release was meant to still be a secret. Or could they have pulled it because they have other plans for what will actually appear on the box, and that the Forbes report had the wrong idea about it's content ? Whatever the reason, it'll be very interesting to see whether this does surface and what exactly the couple of CDs of miscellaneous tracks will include. That report certainly makes it sound like it'll be previously released non album material, and not the wealth of previously bootlegged studio outtakes that Variety reported about last year.
Stay tuned indeed.

New Bob Dylan Studio Album In The Works

Los Lobos' David Hidalgo has confirmed in an interview with the Aspen Times that Bob Dylan has been working on a new album.
There's been conjecture since the start of the year as to whether Dylan has been recording in Los Angeles, which Hidalgo has confirmed by stating that he's finished work on the album.
Recorded in Jackson Browne's Groove Master Studios, this is the third Dylan album in a row to feature Hidalgo, after 'Together Through Life' and 'Christmas In the Heart,' both released in 2009.
The forthcoming album will be Dylan's 35th studio effort.
"It was a great experience," Hidalgo said. "And different. Each one has been different, all completely different approaches. It's an amazing thing, how he keeps creativity. I don't see how he does it."

Bob Dylan "Carnegie Chapter Hall 1961" Review

Another excellent new release in this series of legal, but not officially endorsed releases by major artists, this intriguing archival release presents all known surviving songs from Dylan's first non coffeehouse concert in New York.
Recorded days after Dylan signed his contract with CBS, this concert was organized by Izzy Young at the Carnegie Chapter Hall, a rehearsal space upstairs at the famous concert hall which seated around 100 people. With only 53 paying punters and a few friends of the promoters in attendance, Young lost money on this particular gig but can gain some satisfaction from being involved in such an historic performance.
Around a third of the performance was either not recorded in the first place, or has since been lost, but the producer's of this CD have done an excellent job of sourcing all known surviving material from three different sources and mixing it seamlessly into a coherent and entertaining snapshot of a young and keen to please Dylan.
Sound quality is very good, with the only issues being some not particularly distracting audio dropout during Pretty Peggy-O, and some occasional vocal issues caused by Dylan straying off mike.
Dylan is full of nervous energy, chatting excitedly between songs and constantly fidgeting with his guitar, but once he starts playing a song he's focused, and his easygoing, almost Chaplinesque shtick is instantly swept aside.
We get committed readings of a number of tunes that would end up on his first album, but the real reason to buy this is for the slew of interesting covers. You've likely heard Pretty Peggy-O elsewhere as it stayed in his live repertoire well into 1963. More interesting are his readings of Leadbelly's ever popular In The Pines, which he admits " he don't know so good " yet, and Woody Guthrie's 1913 Massacre, from which he borrowed Song To Woody's melody.
A Long Time a Growin' is another new number in Dylan's repertoire, having just learnt it from Liam Clancy, and is one of the most delicate performances on here, with Dylan showing an unexpected subtlety and sweetness in his vocal phrasing.
Fixin' To Die and Gospel Plow are raw and spirited - both very similar to the performances that would end up on the first album.
Backwater Blues is present in it's only known surviving Dylan performance, and despite a few dubious moments on the guitar early on is another gritty Dylan blues vocal.
It's impressive that even at this very early stage, the Dylan originals here stand up admirably to their time - tested company.  Man On The Street and Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues are confident and insightful pieces of observational songwriting which should have seen release before the Bootleg Series kicked off in 1991.
Overall then, a surprisingly fully realized and versatile performance which is worth acquiring for far more than historical significance.

New Bob Dylan and Neil Young Live Titles Available For Preorder

There are a few CD companies in Europe lately that have been taking advantage of a copyright loophole that allows the manufacture of unauthorized live CDs of concerts broadcast on U.S radio that were not performed in European countries.

There have been a number of these released already, and two of the best of these quasi-legal CDs are available to pre-order very cheaply now.

Bob Dylan's Carnegie Chapter Hall Concert From 1962, and Neil Young's Cow Palace Show From 1986.

Bob Dylan - Carnegie Chapter Hall    BUY IT HERE

On the evening of November 4, 1961, ten months after arriving in New York and nine days after signing with Columbia Records, Bob Dylan performed 22 songs at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City, an auxiliary practise room to the main, very prestigious central concert hall. With a 100 person capacity, only fifty three paying customers attended the show, meaning a loss for the promoter.
Dylan had been making a reasonable name for himself in the folk community around NYC’s Greenwich Village since his arrival in the city, and had achieved good reviews playing in the area’s coffee bars and folk cellars, most notably from Robert Shelton on the New York Times.
The first seven songs from this performance came into circulation among collectors some years ago. Five additional songs appeared in December 2004 and a further two (‘Talking Merchant Marine’ and ‘Talking New York’) turned up in May, 2008. It is generally believed that no other songs from this earliest of Dylan performances are in existence anywhere. All of the available material has been pulled together for this remarkable release.
With a tracklist comprising four Dylan originals, plus a further two Dylan arrangements of traditional tunes, two Woody Guthrie songs plus a mixture of other traditionals and folk and blues standards, the historical value alone of this recording, available legitimately now for the first time, is reason enough for its release. However, the show is enormously enjoyable and the quality of the recording remarkably good considering the circumstances and its age. Certainly during the actual songs, the sound remains relatively consistent. Interestingly, the drops in volume that occur between certain numbers were unavoidable as, being a rather informal event, Bob would be shuffling about for lyrics, harmonicas in different keys and other paraphernalia while addressing the gathering, and in doing so moving away the vocal mic, which was connected via a fairly primitive two channel mixer to the PA.

1. Pretty Peggy-O
2. In the Pines
3. Gospel Plow
4. 1913 Massacre
5. Backwater Blues
6. A Long Time A-Growin’
7. Fixin’ to Die
8. Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
9. Man on The Street
10. Talking Merchant Marine
11. Black Cross
12. Freight Train Blues
13. Song to Woody
14. Talking New York

Neil Young - Cow Palace 1986     BUY IT HERE

By the time Neil Young played the indoor arena just outside San Francisco formerly known as the California State Livestock Pavilion - but since 1941 simply known as The Cow Palace - on his Live in a Rusted Garage with Crazy Horse tour of 1986, he had already released 16 solo albums, three more with Buffalo Springfield and another three with Crosby, Stills & Nash or members thereof. And while across this staggering body of work, amassed by the time this troubadour of troubadours had reached only his 40th year, there were highs and lows, the overall quality and influence of his work by this juncture in his career was almost unsurpassed in the world of contemporary music.
This spectacular show was caught in all its magnificence by KLOS FM, and broadcast across the airwaves for all to witness. The Palace held a particular resonance for Young; it was here that he recorded live a majority of tracks for Rust Never Sleeps in 1978, with the accompanying film of the same name directed by Shakey himself capturing that gig perfectly. At well over two hours long, and boasting impeccable sound quality, on his return visit some 7 years later Young draws from his full catalogue of work, albeit peppered with 8 of the 9 tracks that would be included on his 1987record Life, here being given an early airing to crowd and listeners alike, and proving popular if the reaction of the live audience is anything to go by. Somewhat sensibly, Neil restricts choices from his July 86 offering, Landing on Water, to a solitary cut, then as now an album often considered his worst.
After a lengthy introduction Young reveals his ongoing fondness for the vocoder, before he finally launches into the earliest composition performed during proceedings, the much-loved Buffalo Springfield number Mr Soul, followed by two more classics, When You Dance I Can Really Love You and Down By The River. By this point the mood of the evening is set and over the next 120 or so minutes Young and The Horse do what they do best, playing what is often voted Neil Youngs finest show of the 1980s.
With Young in a boisterous yet jovial mood, and displaying so much of his unique guitar work, plus forays with harmonica, vocoder and even a telephone, and Messrs Sampredo, Molina and Talbot in their finest form for years, this performance at Cow Palace on the 21st November 1986 illustrates perfectly if anyone were still in doubt - what all the fuss is about.

Disc: 1
1. Introduction
2. Mr. Soul
3. When You Dance, I Can Really Love
4. Down by the River
5. Too Lonely
6. Neil s Mom Calls
7. Heart of Gold
8. After the Goldrush
9. Inca Queen
10. Drive Back
11. Opera Star
12. Sam Kinison Calls
13. Cortez the Killer
Disc: 2
1. Sample and Hold
2. Computer Age
3. Violent Side
4. Mideast Vacation
5. Long Walk Home
6. The Needle and the Damage Done
7. When Your Lonely Heart Breaks
8. Around the World
9. Powderfinger
10. Like a Hurricane
11. Hey Hey, My My
12. Prisioners of Rock n Roll

Bob Dylan - Essential Bootlegs

The Genuine Bootleg Series
Taking the first 3 volumes of Dylan's official Bootleg Series as it's inspiration, this long running series cherrypicks the best obscure Dylan material and presents it in a chronological context. An ideal place for the beginning or casual collector to start, the more serious Dylan collector will end up doubling up with a lot of this material as you pick up other titles, but there's no faulting the scope or track selection in this series.

Folksinger's Choice
A very animated Dylan's February 1962 appearance on Cynthia Gooding's Folksinger's Choice radio show. Alternating between performance and interview, the obviously enamored Gooding engages Dylan in some hilarious bouts of myth making which have to be heard to be believed. Emmett Till and Talkin' New York get airings as do a number of covers, most of which are found here in better quality than on other circulating bootlegs of the era. Even better, due to a loophole in the English / European copyright laws bypassing radio / TV material broadcast in the U.S, this is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk for almost nothing. Click on the cover to be taken there.

The Freewheelin' Outtakes
Dylan recorded enough material for the Freewheelin' album to fill another couple of LPs, but managed to get away with filling the final release with mostly his own material. The covers found on here show off Dylan's growing diversity well, from Robert Johnson's Milk Cow Calf Blues, to Hank Williams Lonesome Whistle Blues to rock n roll rave up That's Alright Mama. There's also a number of quality Dylan compositions too, with the Death of Emmett Till leading the pack, sounding like a dry run for much of the material on his next album.

The Gaslight Tapes
An excellent early document of Dylan's residency at the Gaslight Cafe in 1962, this features a mixture of early Dylan compositions ( Hard Rain, the excellent Freewheelin' Outtake Rocks & Gravel ) and traditional folk material ( Cuckoo, Cocaine, Ain't No More Cane ) , all very nicely recorded and with Dylan's confidence noticeably growing and his performance skills maturing nicely too. Sony released an official version of this via Starbucks, but left off a lot of the more interesting material. Until they get it right, you're better off sticking with one of the numerous bootleg versions.

Stolen Moments
Probably the best solo live Dylan performance you're ever likely to hear, this concert was originally recorded in 1963 for release as Dylan's first official live album, even getting to the point of having some promotional copies pressed before it was inexplicably abandoned. The abridged version intended for that release has been circulating for years, but the full concert has only recently seen the light of day on this fabulous release. Loaded with otherwise unheard gems ( Dusty Old Fairgrounds, Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag, Hero Blues etc. ), and compelling, authoritative performances of some of his best known early material, this is class all the way and an impressive document of a confident young performer who knows exactly what he's got to offer the world. Unbeatable.



A Tree With Roots
Here's another four discs of material from Dylan and the Band's six month Big Pink Basement Tapes sessions. These have been bootlegged in many forms before, but this has the best sound quality so far and does a great job of assembling a huge amount of material into a manageable, logically sequenced whole. There's a lot of great material on here which didn't make it onto the official release. Without the Band's post production tinkering it's a little rougher around the edges, but that's a large part of it's charm. An official release beckons, but until then this will do the trick nicely.

The Dylan / Cash Sessions
A very loose and charming session with Dylan joining Cash and his band to run through a selection of old country and rock n roll standards as well as a few of their own cuts. Their duet version of Girl From The North Country found it's way onto Nashville Skyline of course, but the majority of this is much looser so as long as you don't go into this expecting finished takes, there's a lot of fun to be had here. Dylan and Cash's affection for each other is evident , and it's obvious that they're both a little nervous performing with one of their heroes. Fans of Dylan's smooth country croon from this era will find much to enjoy here, and Cash's presence is felt strongly enough for even none-Dylan fans to need a listen to this.

Hold The Fort, Lock Up The Warehouse
A more thorough look at the 1976 Rolling Thunder Tour than the officially released Hard Rain, this is a very well mixed soundboard recording. Among the rarities we have the entertainingly Desire-esque Vincent Van Gogh, Rita Mae, T-Bone Burnett's Silver Mantis and a gripping version of the rarely performed Going Going Gone. There's also an excellent duet set with Joan Baez with an intense version of Railroad Boy, and a lovely take on Woody Guthrie's Deportees. A great, high energy show.

The Rundown Rehearsal Tapes
An excellent collection of informal rehearsal recordings of Dylan running his band through material for the upcoming Street Legal tour. Bizarrely many of these versions are more committed and confident than the shows captured on Live at the Budokan, and there are some great reinterpretations, The Man In Me, and You're A Big Girl Now work particularly well in their new format. Sound quality varies from session to session, ranging from good to excellent.

Rock Solid
Dylan's shows in Toronto on April the 19th and 20th were filmed and professionally recorded - a rare instance of Dylan having professional recording gear in the right place to capture the best show of a tour. It was never released officially, but has circulated as a good quality bootleg for years. Featuring most of Slow Train Coming and Saved, these are much more lively than the studio versions of these songs and Dylan's enthusiasm for the material is obvious. Also includes the excellent Coverdown, Breakthrough which seems to have only been played at this show.

Rough Cuts
An excellent selection of outtakes and alternate mixes from the Infidels sessions, this includes a number of cuts which saw official release on the Bootleg series Vol. 1-3, but also a number of other interesting rarities, like Julius & Ethel, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground and an excellent electric version of Blind Willie McTell which is just as good as the acoustic version on the Bootleg Series.

Stuck Inside of New York
1988 was a pretty great year for Dylan's live shows with a powerful new band and Dylan's voice at it's forceful best. There are a number of good quality Soundboard recordings you could check out from these shows, but this is the best in terms of performance and interesting track selection. Subterranean Homesick Blues, In The Garden and John Brown all get committed performances and there's also some great solo acoustic work on the traditionals Barbara Allen and Waggoner's Lad.

The Supper Club
The four Supper Club performances were originally filmed in 1993 for Dylan to edit into an unplugged special to compete with MTV's popular show. For some reason it never came together, but we're left with excellent quality Soundboard recordings of the four shows, which leave Dylan's performance on the official MTV Unplugged special for dead. A prime candidate for issue in the official Bootleg Series.


The Tell Ol' Bill Sessions
This is a fascinating look at Dylan's studio process, following the evolution of  the track Tell Ol' Bill in the studio. Over an hour of the same track may drive the uninitiated nuts, buts there's plenty of variety on display here, and it's priceless for anyone trying to work out what makes Dylan tick.

Bob Dylan In The 21st Century - Beginner's Guide ( And Selected Compilations )

Love & Theft ( 2001 )
Dylan's first of the century is also one of his best of the last thirty years. It's got an authentic fifties twang to it, with a whole lot of rockabilly, western swing and the blues. It's also the first album for a long time where Dylan's chosen to use his touring band in the studio, which works a treat here. Of the highlights, Mississippi is a great song which had been percolating for quite some time, Summer Days is a great old fashioned rock n roller with energy to spare, and Po' Boy has one of Dylan's best couplets ever ( you'll know it when you hear
it ). Awesome. ( 9/10 )  BUY IT HERE

Modern Times ( 2006 )
Love & Theft's more laidback cousin, this evokes a similar era but is a much more thoughtful affair and on the whole, more Muddy Waters than Chuck Berry this time around. He's become adept at using established blues material as a launching pad for a total rewrite, as evidenced by Rollin and Tumblin' and The Levee's Gonna Break. Spirit on the Water has a nice relaxed swing to it with some lovely understated guitar work. Someday Baby and Workingman's Blues #2 provide the mid album solidity, while the moody closer Ain't Talkin' delves deepest into his psyche, although how much of this character is a construct of Dylan's, only he probably knows. Intriguing stuff that doesn't quite grab me as much as Love & Theft but is still highly recommended.    ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Together Through Life ( 2009 )
This had a somewhat muted release and critical response compared to the fanfare that was accorded Modern Times, and while it doesn't live up to the quality of the previous two albums, it's still very entertaining. Los Lobos' David Hidalgo makes his presence felt on accordian, injecting enough tex mex to make opener Beyond Here Lies Nothin' rattle along nicely. Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter has co-written nine of these tracks but the overall impression seems to be that Dylan doesn't have as much to say, or maybe he just doesn't play well with others on the songwriting front. Nevertheless, there's nothing weak on here, and musically it's all great stuff, it just doesn't have anything with the staying power of Ain't Talkin'. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Christmas In The Heart ( 2009 )
This is a pretty hard album to recommend, but also a really hard album to not like. Dylan's enthusiasm and sincerity are both quite evident here, and while his voice may not always be quite up to reaching some of the notes you expect on some of the more well known fare here, the arrangements are top notch. Particularly good are the more raucous numbers Christmas Island and Must be Santa. Some of the slower, more traditional numbers on the other hand drag a little, but these are certainly in the minority.  It's not really fair to judge this against other Dylan albums, and while this is admittedly not an album you're likely to play at any other time of the year, it's a fun Christmas album which does exactly what it sets out to do.
( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Biograph ( 1985 )
Aside from the Australasian only Masterpieces, this was the first attempt at a multi disc
( 5LPs or 3CDs ) Dylan retrospective, and it does a pretty good job of compiling a legacy that is almost impossible to compact. The main drawcard for fans though, is a spate of previously unreleased tracks, the best of which, Percy's Song, Abandoned Love, Up Top Me and I'll keep It With Mine, easily vie with his very best. This makes it a great starting point, but a little frustrating for bigger fans that have a lot of this material already. There's a definite market for a large scale Dylan rarities collection of previously released non album material. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE


The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased 1961-1991 ( 1991 )
This is an essential set, definitely the most consistently surprising rarities set released by a major artist. The fact that Dylan had this much amazing material which he didn't deem fit to place on his original albums shows just how great a lot of those albums are, but also illustrates that he's not always the best judge of his own material. There's a lot of interesting stuff here from the sixties and seventies, but it's the eighties material which is particularly illuminating, and had the tracks from the last disc of this release been peppered throughout his eighties albums, we may have a very different opinion of his work of that decade. Blind Willie McTell, Foot Of Pride and Series of Dreams are up there with the very best of his work. Essential. ( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Live 1961 - 2000 Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances ( 2001 )
Essentially a live rarities collection, this is unfortunately only available in Japan at a very high price. It does as good a job of representing the many different live sides of Dylan as it's possible to do with a single disc collection, and the main drawback is that you want to hear more from certain shows than just the one track. highlights for me are Woody Guthrie's Grand Coulee Dam from a 1968 tribute show with the Band ( although Dear Mrs Roosevelt from the same show is even better ), and a great version of Nashville Skyline's Country Pie. Now let's have an expanded multi disc version at a more reasonable price. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Masked And Anonymous ( 2003 )
This is an interesting and challenging soundtrack to an interesting and challenging movie. The Dylan covers on here are a middling and very unusual bunch, but what you really need this for is the four Dylan recordings. Great reinterpretations of Down In The Flood and Cold Irons Bound, and nice takes on traditionals Diamond Joe and Dixie. These four tracks are fantastic, but frustratingly only represent a very small amount of the material Dylan and his band recorded for the film. There are a number of tracks featured in the film that we don't get here, not to mention a wealth of material that didn't even make it to the film so one can't help feeling a little cheated by this. ( 4/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 : No Direction Home ( 2005 )
The soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's fascinating Dylan documenatry, this covers the same ground as the film, leading up to 1966. The first disc focuses on his acoustic folkie material with some interesting early work ( Dink's Song especially ), but the second disc is where things get particularly interesting. On his fiery Maggie's Farm performance from Newport, complete with blistering guitar leads from Mike Bloomfield you can really see why Pete Seeger thought the apocalypse had hit. A clutch of interesting alternate versions from his first three electric albums are also great, with the Highway 61 material proving particularly illuminating. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

I'm Not There ( 2007 )
Another Dylan covers soundtrack, this succeeds where Masked & Anonymous ultimately failed by gathering a more unified set of artists - generally a hipper, younger crowd of indie folk and americana stars, with some notable appearances by a few more grizzled Dylan contemporaries ( Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn etc ) fitting in nicely. The star turns go to the younger crowd though, with particular highlights being Jim Jones soaring vocal performance on Going To Acapulco, Iron & Wine & Calexico's mysterious Dark Eyes, and Yo La Tengo channeling Highway 61 era Dylan to perfection on I Wanna Be Your Lover. And to top it all off we finally get an official release of Dylan's title track from the Basement Tapes. Perfection. ( 9/10 ) BUY IT HERE


The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 : Tell Tale Signs : Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 ( 2008 )
A follow up volume to the original Bootleg Series 1-3, this is a surprisingly revelatory experience. Some great unreleased songs here in the shape of Red River Shore and Dreamin' of You among others, alternate takes which often better the originally released versions ( Someday Baby in particular ), blazing live cuts ( High Water ), early, completely different takes on established classics ( Mississippi and Most Of The Time ) and selected soundtrack material never previously released on a Dylan title ( Tell Ol' Bill, the epic 'Cross the Green Mountain ). The limited edition three disc version is even better, but you need to sell a kidney to afford it.  
( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 : The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 ( 2010 )
A great collection of Dylan's original publishing demos. Often primitively recorded perched on a desk in a small office, it's amazing that these sound as good as they do. The fidelity is surprisingly good for the most part, and Dylan's performances while not quite as committed as he would generally present live or on an album intended for commercial release are all very fine. Generally acoustic guitar, vocal and harmonica arrangements with piano sometimes substituted for the guitar, these tracks will appeal to fans of Dylan's first three albums, and offer an excellent alternative chronicle of that early Dylan era. Scattered amongst the familiar gems are plenty of otherwise unreleased oddities, most very good indeed. Ballad for a Friend, All Over You and Gypsy Lou are just the tip of the iceberg. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Bob Dylan In The Nineties - Beginner's Guide

Under The Red Sky  ( 1990 )
Certainly a disappointment after the resounding return to form of Oh Mercy, Under The Red Sky's not really as bad as it's made out to be. Admittedly it's best track, Born In Time, is a leftover from Oh Mercy's sessions and lyrically many of the tracks here are not as ambitious as many would have liked ( a number of songs were written for Dylan's daughter who was 4 at the time ), but it's still an enjoyable release which is let down mainly by the Was Brother's over slick production. The title track, 2X2, Cat's In The Well and TV Talkin' Song are all pretty good, and everything else is at least listenable. This isn't a return to his mid to late eighties doledrums, but it's a couple of classics short of being totally recommendable as well.  
( 5/10 )

The Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 3 ( 1990 )
The Wilbury's humorously titled second album has a hard time living up to the quality of it's predecessor. It's still got that distinctive Jeff Lynne sound, and it's obvious that all involved are still having a great time but the songwriting is below par here, leading to an album which is very easy on the ear, but with nothing you're likely to remember once it's finished playing.  ( 4/10 )

Good As I Been To You ( 1992 )
With his songwriting muse once again deserting him, Dylan revisits his roots on this excellent solo acoustic album. Recorded at his home studio, the story is that he was working on material for a Traveling Wilbury's B-Side and was having such a good time that he knocked out a whole album. Made up of folk and blues material, Dylan certainly presents this with authority, and his gravelly voice gives this an authenticity that his early 60s folk covers sometimes lacked.  The biggest surprise for me is how dexterous his acoustic guitar work is here, crisp, economical and beautifully recorded. It's all great stuff whether it be the gut bucket blues of Step It Up and Go, the seasoned croon of Tomorrow Night or the winsome folk narrative of Canadee-I-O. ( 8/10 )

World Gone Wrong ( 1993 )
Essentially Good As I Been To You Volume Two, this has a very similar approach but with more of an emphasis on blues material. GAIBTY's variety certainly gives it the edge over this, but this is still convincing stuff, with Blood In My Eyes and Blind Willie McTell's Delia being the highlights. These albums don't offer an immediate fix, but they've grown to be two of my most played Dylan albums, and if you like one, you're bound to like the other. ( 7/10 )

MTV Unplugged ( 1995 )
One of the better official live Dylan releases this gives his excellent live band a chance to shine. Unfortunately a number of the better tracks from this session ( Love Minus Zero especially ) are only available on the DVD, or in the case of I Want You have been cut from both. What the CD does have to offer is an excellent version of the rarely performed Shooting Star, a riveting Desolation Row,  and a solid reading of John Brown, a song dating back to Dylan's early folk years which gets it's first official release here. Some of the old chestnuts suffer from over-familiarity and the impression that Dylan's a little bored with them at this point, but this is generally a pretty good snapshot of live mid nineties Dylan. ( 6/10 CD ) ( 8/10 DVD )

Time Out Of Mind ( 1997 )
Seven years is a long time to wait for new material, but sometimes it's worth the wait. Dylan had a major health scare after this was recorded, but around about the time of release which gave it an added sense of poignancy and certainly gave it a lot more exposure than it would likely have otherwise received. "Filled with the dread realities of life" in Dylan's words, it's a great album, with Daniel Lanois doing an impressive job behind the desk again. There's some great organ work on opener Love Sick, with wonderful dusty guitar work. Not Dark Yet is as close as Dylan's likely to get to a tearjerker and Cold Irons Bound lurches along in a sinister fashion belied by it's bouncy bassline. Dylan saves the best for last with the hilarious sixteen minute Highlands, which makes it seem even more likely that there's a great screenplay within him waiting to get out when it gets the chance.  Great stuff. ( 9/10 )

Bob Dylan In The Eighties - Beginner's Guide

Saved ( 1980 )
Dylan's crusade / tirade continues with the second of his so-called Christian trilogy. The least popular of the three ( which is saying something ), this is definitely the most in your face lyrically, but musically is full of interesting stuff and one of Dylan's most underrated albums. The production is fairly nondescript which makes this a bit of a challenge to get into, but it's worth the effort. What Can I Do For You is a winner, with it's committed vocal, and some of Dylan's best harmonica work. Pressing On has developed a deserved reputation lately, thanks to it's faithful John Doe cover on I'm Not There, and Dylan realised In The Garden's potential enough to keep it in his live set for most of the eighties. With a slightly better production job and less bible-thumping lyrics, this would stand up to favorable comparison with Slow Train Coming. ( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Shot of Love ( 1981 )
Dylan chills out a bit with this, and presents his faith in a less provocative manner which makes it a far easier secular listen. The production and band performances are both a little shambolic and loose, but for the majority of this material this approach works. In Lenny Bruce, and Every Grain of Sand  it contains Dylan's first two masterpieces of the decade, while The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar was hailed as a return to his mid sixties Highway 61 sound. Dead Man, Dead Man sounds like a blueprint for I & I from Infidels and In The Summertime has the feel of Van Morrison's contemporaneous material.  Unfortunately at this point Dylan began to lose a little confidence in some of his better material and two more ambitious and superior tracks ( Angelina and Caribbean Wind ) were left off in favor of some more pedestrian material. These weaker tracks bog things down a little, but generally this is a pretty consistent albeit unspectacular listen.   ( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Infidels ( 1983 )
Producer Mark Knopfler brought in the big guns for this one. Reggae legends Sly & Robbie lay down the bottom end, Rolling Stone Mick Taylor joins Knopfler on guitars, and Dire Strait's Alan Clark provides keyboards. Unsurprisingly this is Dylan's smoothest sounding album since Slow Train Coming, but it's still a little on the inconsistent side, and suffers from the same track selection problems as Shot of Love. Jokerman is fabulous and shows Dylan's grasp of language at it's very peak. I & I continues in a similar vein and is moody and mysterious. The romantic tracks Sweetheart Like You and Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight are pleasant but slight. The more politically oriented material, particularly Neighborhood Bully and Union Sundown come across in a less sympathetic light unfortunately and had Blind Willie McTell and Foot of Pride found their way on here instead of these tracks this would be a contender for Dylan's best album of the decade, as it is it's still a step in the right direction. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Real Live ( 1984 )
Dylan's first tour since 1981 is captured here on the Infidels tour, but doesn't do a particularly good job of showing the tour at it's best. It's not as bad as it's reputation would have you expect, but it's not the lost gem you were necessarily hoping for either. There's a more adventurous selection of tracks than we've come to expect from Dylan's previous official live albums, which works in it's favor. It's also nice to hear a couple of the better Infidels tracks in a grittier setting. Dylan's habit of reinterpreting his catalogue continues here with mixed results, the highlights being a rockier version of Masters of War and Tangled Up In Blue given a major lyrical overhaul. Elsewhere this is a collection of semi committed performances which is good enough to retain my attention when it's playing, but not good enough to make me go to the effort of putting it on all that often.
( 5/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Empire Burlesque ( 1985 )
Dylan's mid eighties slump begins here with an album not even a mother could love. The garish cover tells you exactly what this is going to sound like, with horrible Arthur Baker production which must have felt dated a week after release attempting to disguise an uninspired collection of duds as contemporary pop. In all fairness the eighties wasn't a happy time for many rock legends - Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are two artists that come to mind who also found it hard to find their place in the eighties aesthetic. Several of the songs on here have since been given some semblance of respectability with more sympathetic live arrangements throughout the nineties, but here they verge on unlistenable. Closing track Dark Eyes on the other hand is a solo acoustic gem, which would stand out in far more esteemed company. ( 2/10 ) YOU CAN BUY IT HERE, BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT

Knocked Out Loaded ( 1986 )
Where Empire Burlesque was at least filled with Dylan songs, his muse seems to have deserted him completely here, resulting in a set heavy on co-writes and covers. The production, while still dated, is marginally better which makes this an easier album to listen to, but still a hard one to enjoy. His cover of Kris Kristofferson's They Killed Him may be the worst track he released in the eighties, but Brownsville Girl does it's best to even up the odds and with more appropriate production would be held in very high regard. The rest of the material is generally bland and inoffensive, but to me Dylan should never be background music.
( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Down in the Groove ( 1988 )
The bland corporate rock continues here, with a bunch of superstar guests failing to light a fire under the floundering Dylan. The dirge-like Death is Not The End is held in reasonably high regard but is a leftover from Infidels. Silvio is a moderately engaging rock number which works a lot better live, while the acoustic cover of the Louvin Brothers classic Rank Strangers comes across particularly nicely, although one suspects it wouldn't fare so well on a stronger album. Much like Knocked Out Loaded, this is a decidedly average listen that's not offensively bad, but offers little in the way of reward for listeners. ( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Traveling Wilburrys Vol. 1 ( 1988 )
Whether it was being surrounded by quality musicians or just the chance to have fun with little in the way of expectations, Dylan seriously raised his game here. Sharing the writing duties would certainly have helped ease the pressure for Dylan, and his tracks on here are all excellent. Tweeter and the Monkeyman is a fantastic Springsteen pastiche full of drama and intrigue which would have seemed totally out of place on any of his own albums, but fits perfectly here. Dirty World is more fun than Dylan sounds like he's had for years, and Congratulations coasts along nicely. Lots of fun and a bit of an unexpected reward for those who'd been loyally buying up his previous albums as they'd been released. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Dylan & The Dead ( 1989 )
It sounds good on paper, but there's a reason this took two years to release. Recorded in 1987 this has the Grateful Dead as a glorified back up band - a prospect that they don't seem to know how to handle. They're constantly wandering off into ponderous noodling, with Garcia's usually excellent spidery lead breaks being particularly ill fitting. Dylan's in rough form too and doesn't seem to have the confidence to take charge on what should have been a very interesting combination. The intriguing track list isn't given a chance to shine and apart from few moments of inspiration in Slow Train this is turgid and disappointing stuff. ( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Oh Mercy ( 1989 )
Refreshed after his first stint in the Traveling Wilburry's, Dylan here comes up with his most confident and assured set of songs of the decade, and an album that compares favorably with his very best work. Most of the Time and What Good Am I? show a lyrical depth that we haven't seen from Dylan for a number of years. Daniel Lanois' production gives this an ambience which sounded fresh at the time and sounds timeless now, illustrated best on the fabulously spooky Man In The Long Black Coat, while Everything is Broken and Political World are brimful of pop smarts.  Dylan's best since Desire. ( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE