Little White Wonders
A short introduction into Dylan & Bootlegs
A bootleg recording is one that is produced from material not commercially available, such as live performances or studio outtakes. Today there are bootlegs circulating of nearly any popular artist, but Bob Dylan and bootlegs are linked in a special way: Not only was he the first popular artist whose unreleased work was bootlegged (”Great White Wonder” was the first bootleg album in rock history), he also probably is the one single artist worldwide with the most bootleg releases until today.
Copyright versus historical relevance
It is illegal to produce bootlegs and most of those inofficial releases lack in sound quality and generally are only interesting for collectors. Yet there is some material that is relevant for both rock history and fans. In some cases the request of certain recordings has been so intense that Columbia decided to release it officially: Selected songs of “The Basement Tapes”, a 1967 recording of Bob Dylan & The Band in the basement of their house “Big Pink” in Woodstock, has been released officially in 1975. Several individual songs have been put on “Greatest Hits” albums and other compilations. And from 1991 to 2005 Columbia has released 7 volumes of “classic bootleg material” in perfect quality.
This page is a recommendation for the general Dylan fan who owns official recordings and wants to hear more. It’s Mike Hobo’s personal selection of some of the greatest inofficial releases, excluding bootlegs that in the meantime were already released officially.
The Folk Years
The Gaslight Tapes
“The Gaslight Café” was a folk music club in New York. Between 1961 and 1962 three of Dylan’s performances have been recorded. They are now available in great sound quality on this rare 2001 bootleg CD. Dylan performs renditions of folk traditionals and cover versions of songs by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson and others. He also presents then-new own songs that have later been recorded for “Bob Dylan ” and “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”. A few tracks have been officially released on 1991’s “Bootleg Series, Vol.1-3″. On the inofficial CD however you get the complete set.
Folksinger’s Choice
Shortly before Dylan released his self-titled debut album on Columbia, he was guest on Cynthia Gooding’s New York Radio Show where he performed folk traditionals as well as some of his first own songs. The conversation between Gooding and Dylan in between each song is both fascinating and funny. The CD version of this bootleg was released in 1992 and is in perfect quality.
Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
When Dylan released his second album “The Freewheelin’” in 1963 there was no doubt he was heading the right way. Of the 13 songs on the album 12 had been composed by Dylan, and about half of the tracks became all-time folk classics. The fascinating outtakes bootleg, which was first released on CD in 1994, includes several great tracks that until today remain officially unreleased. Even the cover photography is an outtake of the official cover photo sessions.
Going Electric
Thin Wild Mercury Music
Between 1965 and 1966 Dylan and The Hawks (who later became “The Band”) recorded several studio sessions for “Bringing It All Back Home”, “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Blonde On Blonde”, Dylan’s most important albums of his “classic period” and probably ever. On this 1994 bootleg CD release you get to hear very different early versions of later album tracks. The outtakes have later been released officially on “Biograph” and “The Bootleg Series, Vol.1-3“.
Country Callin’
The Dylan/Cash Sessions
In 1969 Dylan released “Nashville Skyline” which not only included the classic “Lay Lady Lay”, but also a re-recorded duet version of “Girl From The North Country” with country legend Johnny Cash. The song had originally been released in 1963 on “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan“. The 1994/2004 bootleg CDs feature the complete recording session, where Dylan and Cash performed several country classics, traditionals and original Dylan songs together. The performances can rather be described as something like a jam session and it’s clear why the other tracks have not been released officially yet.
The Genuine Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes are one of the most famous bootlegs in rock history. Between April and October 1967 Dylan & The Band recorded several hundred demos in the basement of their house “Big Pink” in West Saugerties (Woodstock). In 1968 The Band released their debut album “Music From The Big Pink” with studio recordings of Basement Tapes demos. Seven years later in 1975 Columbia released a selection of 24 original recordings on Dylan’s double album “The Basement Tapes“. Many of the demos have been lost and discovered after twenty years. In 1989 and 1990 they have been released on 5 bootleg CD volumes. Many of the tracks had been on “Great White Wonder”, the world’s very first bootleg album.
Reborn in the Seventies
Blood On The Tracks - New York Sessions
It’s a real treat for any Bob Dylan enthusiast to get the chance to hear “Blood On The Tracks” as it was originally intended for release. This bootleg contains the original 1974 New York session recordings taken directly from a Vinyl test pressing. Half of the tracks on this CD are different to the released newly recorded versions.
Desire Sessions
This could very well be one of the best-sounding studio outtake compilations out there. The double CD includes 18 unreleased tracks from the 1975/76 “Desire” sessions recorded at Columbia Studios in New York City. Apart from alternate takes of the released songs this CDs also include all the important outtakes, some of which have been released on the Box Sets “The Bootleg Series, Vol.1-3” and “Biograph“.
In The Eighties
Rough Cuts
In 1983 Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler recorded music for the “Infidels” album. Mick Taylor, Sly & Robbie and Ronnie Wood were among the great studio musicians. The official release only included 8 songs. A few songs have been released on “The Bootleg Series, Vol.1-3“, but there are more great outtakes and early versions of songs that later appeared on “Infidels”, “Empire Bourlesque” and “Down In The Groove“. The bootleg CD was released in 1994.
Outside The Empire
In 1984 and 1985 Dylan recorded for his upcoming album “Empire Bourlesque“. The studio musicians were pretty much the same as on the “Infidels” sessions. “Driftin’ Too Far From Shore” was released in 1986 on “Knocked Out Loaded“. On the 1994 bootleg CD you also get several outtakes.
The Deeds Of Mercy
“Oh Mercy” is probably the greatest late Dylan album. It was released in 1989 and recorded with Daniel Lanois in New Orleans. The original session can be found on this 1996 rarity. It includes different takes of released songs as well as original versions of “Dignity” (re-recorded version released on “Greatest Hits, Vol.3“), “Born In Time” (re-recorded version released on “Under The Red Sky“) and “Series Of Dreams” (overdubbed version released on “The Bootleg Series, Vol.1-3“).
Neverending History
Live at The Supper Club
In 1993 Dylan returned to New York’s Greenwich Village to perform an unplugged-like set with his neverending tour band at “The Supper Club”. Video clips of that show can be found on the CD-ROM “Highway 61 Interactive“. The show was great and it’s a pity that it was never officially released. This double CD bootleg release includes both November 16th shows complete and in perfect soundboard quality. If you only want one live album of the 1990s, this is probably it.