Filled with outtakes, rarities and in-studio goof-offs, this is more revealing, even, than the sprawling 50-something track “Biograph” set. And, in fact, loaded with more songs.
“The Bootleg Series” proves to be an intimate, strangely personal statement — seeing as how Bob Dylan didn’t put it together.
It’s also a blind testament to the off-hand genius of Bob Dylan. This is the stuff he DIDN’T release?? Better than nearly all of the stuff that parrots him.
Nick’s Picks: The talking blues numbers on Vol. 1, many of which are included in live takes. … Also an acoustic version of “Tangled Up In Blue,” with clattering buttons from Dylan’s sleeve on the guitar.
And, oh yes, finally: “Blind Willie McTell,” that endlessly bootlegged gem from the early 1980s sessions for “Infidels,” produced by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler. (Dylan’s old backing group The Band redid this in the early 1990s, as well.)
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