Best of the 1974 Copyright Collection Playlist

 

    Another year another Copyright Collection release. This time it's cleaning up the leftovers from the 1974 tour with The Band. In the face of the 27 disc set from earlier this year that covered the same tour in far better sound quality (i.e soundboard and multi-track vs. this set's audience tapes) I couldn't blame someone for skipping this one. There's nothing revelatory here, these are the same recordings which have circulated amongst fans for decades. For those of us who haven't torn through the 1974 audience bootlegs already though, and still have the stomach for it after the four-course meal that was the box set, this release seems like as good an excuse as any to engage with that material. 

    For 2019's Rolling Thunder Revue boxset, the compilers chose to include a disc of "Rare Performances" alongside the three sessions of rehearsals and five complete Dylan sets that made up that box. These tracks in general have poorer sound quality than the rest of the box but are still noteworthy and help paint a fuller picture of that tour. As I dug into the 1974 copyright collection I started imagining what a theoretical "Disc 28" of rarities for the '74 box set might look like. The playlist that came out of my musings also serves as a sort of "Best of" for the Copyright Collection.

1. As I Went Out One Morning (Toronto 1/10)

2. Maggie's Farm (NYC 1/31a)

3. Visions of Johanna (Denver 2/06a)

4. Desolation Row (St. Louis 2/04a)

5. Fourth Time Around (Memphis 1/23)

6. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (St. Louis 2/4a)

7. Blowin' in the Wind (Boston 1/14b)

8. Like A Rolling Stone (Chicago 1/4)

9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) [Reprise] (Boston 1/14b)

10. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Uniondale 1/29)

    Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent one off performances for the tour that only exist as audience recordings. "As I Went Out One Morning" is perhaps the most infamous, this fully backed electric version is the only time Bob has ever performed it live (as of 2024) and it's an incredible rendition. The other 4 tracks are all solo acoustic performances, all well delivered although "Fourth Time Around" does see a couple lyrical flubs that give it a particularly unrehearsed vibe.

    Bob and The Band tried "Maggie's Farm" 4 times across the tour, each time bringing a slightly different energy to the performance. This attempt from the January 31st afternoon show splits the difference between the versions from Chicago on January 4th and the Oakland show on February 11th. This is the sweet spot I think and may be the best the song was performed the entire decade.

    "Blowin' In The Wind" was much more prevalent in the set list compared to the previously discussed tracks. The version included here though represents one of only two times it was played solo on the tour, neither of which were included in the '74 box set. I opted for the evening Boston show recording as it sounds less washed out to my ears when compared to the Montreal show. There's also slightly less audience chatter, but to be honest that stuff does have it's own charm.

    In fact it's the crowd that makes track 9 so special to me. This version of "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) closed out the night in Boston and the crowd is hyped. The sound of the audience clapping along is audible from almost the instant the drums kick in and doesn't let up till the end. Somehow the performance still comes through. The surrounding feeling of excitement is a rare example of an audience tape having a distinct advantage over a soundboard.

    "Like A Rolling Stone" from the tour's second show is potentially the best the song sounded all year. Bob and The Band still full of energy drive through the song having eschewed the tepidness of the opening night's rendition. It's a shame that this was among the five songs from that night that weren't professionally recorded for one reason or another. Still this doesn't sound too bad especially when compared to the worst of the audience tapes (i.e Atlanta 1/22).

    We wrap things up appropriately with "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". The send off song of all time. This is the only performance of the song not included in the '74 box set and is somewhat unique. Bob's singing is much more strained here, reaching at notes that are just barely in his grasp and the effect is wonderful. The echoey sound also lends well to the delivery, creating a particularly desperate ambience. The next time Bob broke this one out would be on the last day of shows in a comparably more subdued version.

    Unfortunately the 1974 Copyright Collection appears to have been pulled from streaming sites. So even if you were lucky enough to be in a country where you could access it, you no longer can unless you have a download. I hope that Sony/Legacy eventually makes all of this stuff easily available to all fans, but assuming they don't, fan uploads will hopefully remain mostly untouched. Below you can listen to the five unique songs from the above playlist. A highlights of the highlights if you will. Prime material for a second instalment of "Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections" if they decide to do that again.

Some Thoughts On A Complete Unknown (Spoilers)

 

    2024 ended up being a pretty big year in Dylan for me. Tearing through the humongous 1974 tour box set was a lot of fun and something that took up a considerable amount of my music listening time. I acquainted myself with a few more tracks from the ever shrinking pool of officially released tracks from the depths of Bob's catalogue that I hadn't yet heard ("King of Kings" from Ronnie Wood's Not For Beginners for example) The main attractions for me though were seeing the man himself live at the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park as part of the Outlaw Festival Tour and then most recently seeing A Complete Unknown in theater with my family. Hilariously my brother's reaction to the film walking out of the theater was the same as the woman who sat behind me at the Outlaw show as Bob closed out his set: "What an asshole!".

    That made me smile. Sure the situations were entirely different but there is something very satisfying to me about the way Dylan can generate such visceral negativity across contexts. That's just kind of the figure he is. People feel very strongly about him one way or another, the fact that the movie was able to pull that off means something to me. Still I prefer my "Asshole Bob Dylan" as one who counters expectations. One who doesn't play the hits, unless you don't expect him to. The one who preformed at Tinley Park as opposed to the basic jerk of A Complete Unknown. 

    I guess I should just get it out of the way and say I did actually like the movie a lot. How couldn't I? I'm not immune to feeling affection for homage that gestures toward the things I love, especially when it's so slickly presented. Leaving the theater though I had to wonder how anyone not already as deeply in love with the music as I am could come away feeling anything but confused disdain for this unexceptional, somewhat anti-social, weirdo. 

    I think the movie generally does a poor job of communicating why the public of the movie are so in love with Bob's music and by extension Bob himself. When he breaks into a wild rendition of horny deep-cut "All Over You" we are, I guess, expected to understand why the audience is so impressed with him. It even wins the affection of Sylvie, one of our two female leads. This was the kind of thing that catapulted Bob to fame we are meant to believe and it just doesn't really land for me.

    The writers seem to be invested in downplaying the role of topical/political songs in Bob's early rise to fame. Especially with respect to the civil rights movement. We do get a little taste of how he had his finger on the pulse in one of my favorite scenes, where Joan Baez rushing down the streets amidst the panic of the Cuban Missile Crisis happens upon Bob performing "Masters of War" in the basement of a folk music club. That and literally less than 10 seconds of footage from the March on Washington are the only indication that anything he said was speaking to a specific societal moment. 

    The fact is that the distance between "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" is much greater than that between "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Like A Rolling Stone". Was the fear that the film would make Bob out to be a grifter, who built his career on the back of the suffering of people who he later abandoned? Personally I think that's the more interesting topic to confront, it's the tougher one to confront and isn't it really the conflict lying at the heart of the real life 1965 Newport performance?

    With context at the fringes, anthems like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin" come across as platitudinous and the audience who eat them up as vapid. Meanwhile the smarter-than-everyone-else Dylan of the film comes across as annoyed for having written them. I'm not sure how the movie-goer is supposed to feel. At one point Dylan and Seeger duet on a version of "When The Ship Comes In" at some kind of house party or something, it's a standout performance but after it concludes we learn that Bob feels like a phony for having to play a song like that. It's an odd effect.

    Regardless of how viewers are supposed to feel about the music, the movie clearly wants us to understand that Dylan needs some kind of a change, he needs to get free. A point that's drilled home when he accuses his fling-of-the-week Becca of trying to control him the same way the folkies of the house party apparently were. Is he not free though? He can sleep around, treat the people closest to him callously and record whatever music he feels like. We never get a real good sense of the social pressures coming down on this version of Bob outside of the standard "it's hard to be famous" until the final moments leading up to his electric performance at Newport. 

    That Newport set is another point of confusion. Bob and the band are received unbelievably badly by the crowd, garbage is flung at the stage and actual fist fights breakout between audience members. Bob is unmoved. He plows through the set, as if this reaction is what he expected and wanted. Why though? Even if he had beef with Pete Seeger, or Alan Lomax (the film's villain for all intents and purposes) why does he hate this crowd? Up to this point they've loved everything he has done regardless of the content of songs, but he's not even a little surprised that this previously unquestioning audience now turns into a violent mob because of an electric guitar. I mean Johnny Cash got away with it earlier in the film. What makes Bob so different? I think the film makers could feel this emotional contradiction because as the set unfolds the previously blood-thirsty audience becomes peppered with people placidly grooving in their chairs. That's theoretically fine but you never get the impression that Bob has won anybody over, more like pro-bob NPCs have spawned into some of the seats.

    

    When the moment comes for "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" the emotional distance between the viewer and the song is unfortunately palpable. One last chance for Dylan to throw a middle finger at the crowd. Devoid of any of the pathos that original performance had. The single tear rolling down Dylan's face in the actual footage from Newport is, in my opinion, more powerful than anything in A Complete Unknown, and is also evocative of the kind of mystery the film seems to want to revel in.

    There are other aspects that I could go on about. The portrayals of Al Grossman and Joan Baez, are quite poor. On the other hand Pete Seeger is very vividly realized, the highlight of the movie if you ask me. There's the historical inaccuracies which are innumerable. Meanwhile the set design is fantastic, the best I've seen in a movie recently. None of that really strikes me as super important though, and none of it sits at the heart of my feelings about A Complete Unknown.

    I'm left wondering if anyone will walk out of this film a newly minted Bob Dylan fan. How might they come to understand his work, in particular the aspects largely ignored by the film. How has my understanding of his work changed if at all since I saw it? Only time and maybe another viewing on Blu-ray will tell.

Introducing: City Of Red Skies

There is no shortage of YouTube channels posting Dylan rarities, but that's not going to stop me. City Of Red Skies is my new channel where I've been doing just that on a daily basis for a few weeks now. I'm trying to focus on tracks that aren't easy to come by in video form such as this full take of Too Late.

This video actually made its way to ExpectingRain's front page among other fan forums which is one of my proudest achievements online.

Ultimately though I just want this page to provide an easy way for YouTube users to access the man's music which is why I've taken the time to create playlists of all the tracks that his official YouTube page has posted separated by album. If you're interested you can check out the channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_njwQgUZKIhpMZKoUrWpg

A Lily Among Thorns - Thoughts on "Tight Connection To My Heart"

    Critically speaking the 1980's were not kind to Bob Dylan. The decade started with two more albums of gospel music, Saved and Shot of Love, both of which critics seemed to hate on principle alone. These were followed by 1983's Infidels which is now considered to be a career highlight but at the time was dismissed by much of the popular music press, and then came Empire Burlesque in 1985. An album which for many signals the beginning of a creative low for Dylan, that would produce some the most poorly received albums in his entire catalog. In the years since it's release Empire's reputation has only sunk lower and lower.

    

    So what is it about this album that people dislike so much? The first hints are right there on the album's cover. Everything about Empire screams the 1980's, and nowhere is that felt more than the production on the songs. Arthur Baker, a DJ who had found success in creating dance remixes of contemporary hits, was brought on to finish production on Empire. It's his work that is primarily responsible for the albums so-called "Disco Dylan" sound which is so derided. I'm not comfortable putting all the blame on Baker for the albums perceived shortcomings, in fact it was their suggestion of including a single stripped down acoustic track that lead to the only undeniable gem of the record with "Dark Eyes." Also having listened to an early worktape of EB which lacks Baker's contribution, I can say the improvement is only marginal. 

    At the end of the day if Empire failed as a record the blame falls on Dylan. I'm not sure if it did fail, for me at least, but even if it did that wouldn't preclude the possibility for some really great tracks being included. One such track is the albums first: "Tight Connection To My Heart." A song that has all the elements that make a classic Dylan song. An infectious, almost hypnotic melody drive the song through scenes of betrayal, unforgiving cities and surrealist outbursts of violence set to 1940's traditional pop songs. It makes for one of my favorite compositions of Dylan's 80's output. There is however one major issue with "TCTMH", it pales in comparison to it's older sibling "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart."

    "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart" was recorded for Infidels but along with fellow masterpiece "Blind Willie Mctell" missed inclusion on the final record. It would go officially unreleased until 1991's The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. "SGAHOMH" is the prototype for "Tight Connection", sharing similar music and some lyrics, but ends up being the more successful song. The main thing it does better is set the stage on which all the drama will transpire without sacrificing any of that drama. Wildfire moons, crooked streets that twist and turn into nothingness, and blue skies with patchy clouds are the backdrop for the contradiction laden love affair at the heart of the song. "Tight Connection" on the other hand is more concerned with the particulars of what was said and done in the relationship. This is effective in its own way, but when the violence of the city becomes a focal point in the third verses of both songs, it feels much more earned in "SGAHOMH."

    That isn't all that "Someone's" has over "Tight Connection." Dylan's more understated vocals and harmonica are a great improvement over the high whine (even for Dylan) and backup singers that dominated Empire Burlesque as a whole. It's also just more effective poetically. The opening lines for example make use of visual metaphors to setup the entire relationship dynamic perfectly:

They say, “Eat, drink and be merry 

Take the bull by the horns” I keep seeing visions of you, a lily among thorns Everything looks a little far away to me

With just four lines "SGAHOMH" is able to achieve what it takes "Tight Connection" two whole verses to communicate.

    There is however one thing that "Tight Connection" has that "Someone's" doesn't, a music video, and it's one of the strangest things Dylan has ever done. It's apparent through various interviews of the time that Bob resented doing music videos. This was partly because of a lack of creative control, and partly because he comes across extremely awkwardly in most of his on screen performances of this era. The music video for "Tight Connection" takes the cake in terms of awkwardness though.

Every time I watch it (and I have watched it dozens of times) something newly wrong presents itself. From his acting, to the goofy costumes, and of course the utterly surreal moments when other actors lip-sync to Bob's vocals, there's always something weird going on. The fact that it's all played straight is what makes this maybe the only ever unironically "so bad it's good" music video.

    Like much of "so bad it's good" media this video strives for greatness but botches the execution. That is to say there are some good ideas to be found here. The reoccurring visual of the blue wig for example goes a long way to elevate what might otherwise be dismissed as just a weird lyric when it appears in the third verse. The video even creates a more direct parallel between the love story and the societal unrest by involving Dylan in a murder investigation where he is wrongfully accused and arrested. The details of this plot are a little strange and don't make all that much sense when you really start to think about it, but i'm willing to accept it on an emotional rather than logical level.

    Dylan's music has always been about the intersection of different ideas and concepts. "Tight Connection To My Heart" takes that to a very meta level for me. To me perhaps no song better represents his career as a whole. The good, the bad, the strange, and that inexplicable magnetism that continues to draw me back to his work even when it isn't entirely successful. 

Bob Dylan - Folk Songs of America Playlist

 Self Portrait remains one of the most controversial albums in Dylan's nearly 60 years as a recording artist. Though opinions have softened considerably, in no small part thanks to the release of 2013's Another Self Portrait bootleg series entry, it still has plenty of detractors.

SP is a strange album by design being a mix of original compositions, covers and live material. This might paint a fairly (and fittingly) comprehensive picture of the man's work but it also means that the album lacks really any sort of cohesion. This lack of cohesion is further exacerbated by the track listing heavily favoring cover songs. Of the 24 tracks included: 16 are covers and 8 were written by Dylan. Comprising the 8 Dylan compositions are all 4 of the live tracks, and 4 studio tracks (half of which feature no vocals by Dylan).

In an interview with session keyboardist Al Kooper to promote the release of ASP, Kooper mentions that he thought the name of the album was going to be something like Folk Songs of America. In my opinion that hypothetical album would have been much more positively received especially if it included some of the covers that didn't make it onto Self Portrait. In this post I want to present my ideal version of this album and briefly discuss where I sourced the tracks from.

Bob Dylan - Folk Songs of America 1. Spanish is the Loving Tongue (1970) 3:08

2. Thirsty Boots (ASP) 4:07

3. Belle Isle (ASP) 2:35

4. This Evening So Soon (ASP) 4:49

5. Early Morning Rain (SP) 3:34

6. Railroad Bill (ASP) 2:47

7. Take A Message to Mary (SP) 2:46

8. Annie's Going To Sing Her Song (ASP) 2:23

9. A Fool Such As I (Dylan) 2:44

10. Alberta #3 (ASP) 2:37

11. Wild Mountain Thyme (Isle of Wight) 2:51

Total Runtime: 34:21

The material from the Self Portrait sessions has been released on multiple albums and archival compilations in the years and decades following the original recordings. The main sources I investigated were as follows: Self Portrait (1970) Dylan (1973)

Another Self Portrait (2013) The Isle of Wight Concert (2013)

Travelin' Thru (2019)

The 50th Anniversary Collection 1969 (2019)

1970 (2021)

In the end I used tracks from all these releases apart from Travelin' Thru and the 1969 collection.

Another Self Portrait was my main source. ASP is home to some of the greatest recordings of Dylan's entire career and many are featured in this playlist. Why songs like "Railroad Bill", "This Evening So Soon" and "Thirsty Boots" were excluded from inclusion on SP itself is beyond me. Furthermore "Belle Isle" is given new life by the removal of the orchestral overdubs added to the SP version.

Two tracks from the original album are included more or less out of necessity. "Early Morning Rain" didn't receive a stripped down version on ASP and the alternate version of "Take A Message To Mary" that can be found on the 1969 collection seems to have been poorly mixed.

"Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" is taken from the forthcoming 1970 release scheduled for February 2021. This track was previously released on the ultra-limited 50th Anniversary Collection 1970 that released in late 2020. As 1970 is for all intents and purposes the same album but expanded and with a wider release I chose to source it from there. The song itself is a magnificent rendition. Dylan recorded the song many times from 1969-1970, the best version being an outtake from the New Morning sessions, however this is easily the best attempt from the recording of SP. The piano is reminiscent of the New Morning version where as the vocals start by sounding like "country crooner" Dylan of 1969's Nashville Skyline before morphing into his natural voice.

"A Fool Such As I" comes from 1973's Dylan, allegedly released out of retaliation toward Bob for leaving Columbia for Asylum Records. The album itself is mostly constructed of outtakes from New Morning but also two from SP being "A Fool Such As I" and a horrendous version of "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue".

The last track is "Wild Mountain Thyme" from the Isle of Wight 1969 concert. This was the concert that the live material was sourced from on SP and I thought it'd be nice to include a live track as a nod to the original album. The Isle of Wight concert was never given a standalone release and was instead issued as an extra for the deluxe release of ASP. "Wild Mountain" was the only traditional/cover song he performed that night and is a highlight of the entire show.

I think this produces a very high quality album even if it doesn't reach the level of excellence set by the albums directly proceeding it. I would say it runs a bit short, nowhere near his shortest album but a bit short still. If I were to add anything, "House Carpenter" and "These Hands" from ASP would be my first picks, followed by "Folsom Prison Blues" from Travelin' Thru.

So there you go, consider giving this playlist a go yourself and tell me what you think. I think that improvements could be potentially made to the sequencing to blend Dylan's two distinct voices of this period better but i'm not sure how. I'll be doing more of these in the future, so stick around if you're interested.