At the request of Mary Ellen Brown aka
Snoopy I am writing a review of Bob Dylan 1965-1966. The Cutting
Edge. It is Bootleg Series #12. which took me over a week to listen
to this 6 CD package. A bootleg, of course, is a recording not
released by a legitimate record label. I would say that Bob Dylan is
likely the most bootlegged artist in history going back to the early
1960s. Columbia Records is trying to cash on this by issuing concert
and studio recordings not on earlier Dylan albums.
Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61
Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde are by far my favorite Dylan albums.
The Cutting Edge includes rehearsals and alternative takes for most
of the songs on those albums. As someone not a musician, I never
experienced how a record developed from a demo to the finished
product. Any recording artist and his producer must make a decision
on what version to put on the final product. The engineers also get
involved by mixing the tracks.
CD #3 on the 6 CD set is devoting to
the various versions of Like a Rolling Stone. I spent over 1 hour on
Wednesday listening to Dylan's greatest hit. I certainly enjoyed
listening to all of the 100+ cuts in the series. With the exception
of Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, I felt that the versions that I've heard
for 50 years are better. This set is not for the casual Dylan fan,
it is appropriate for people like myself who have followed Dylan for
decades.
On a related note, I am disappointed
that the Never Ending Tour will not come to the New York area in
2015. I am hoping the tour will resume on the east coast in early
2016.
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