The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991 [BOX SET]

Bob Dylan

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 26, 1991
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002AJG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,081 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #56 in	Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters

• This item is part of The Bob Dylan Bootleg Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bob Dylan has always been incredibly prolific, only releasing a fraction of what he records. Such a policy has made him a prime target for bootleggers over the years, finally prompting this sanctioned 1991 triple-disc dive into the Dylan vaults. It consists of rare tracks, unreleased outtakes, early versions of classics ("Times They Are a-Changin'," "Like a Rolling Stone," "I Shall Be Released"), and alternate versions that sometimes cut the originals ("Idiot Wind"). A measure of Dylan's depth is his list of discarded songs ("She's Your Lover Now," "Blind Willie McTell," "Series of Dreams") that would be the crown jewels of most catalogs. These 58 tracks serve as a shadow history of one of our most important artists. --Ben Edmonds

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Top 5 Dylan releases, June 7, 2001

By	Mike London "MAC" (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

The saddest thing about this collection in my mind comes from the fact this is something the casual find might not think to look at first. This is the type of release that is usually aimed at the already established fan base of a particular artist, but in this case this is as valid a first buy as his albums are.

Dylan does not falter at all on this collection, and it shows the depth of his songwriting, making this (to my mind) as essential in his catalogue as anything else people recommend for newcommers to Dylan. The only thing added by knowing Dylan's albums before this is the amount of frustration the listener feels that he didn't put these tracks on the prospective albums they belong too. The majority of them could have been MUCH longer, with INFIDELS being a double album even, and SHOT OF LOVE would have greately benefited, making it rated higher than it is and give Dylan a critical boost when he really needed it. Dylan, for all his skills, has proven one thing with this release: the method he uses to assemble albums could stand up to some fine-tuning and work, because most of these are good enough to be released. The songs are absolutely wonderful, all of them (with maybe the single exception of Talking Negeliah Blues, which is just a 50 second guitar doodle and Suze -- not because of the song itself which is an instermentual but because the track breaks down, as does "She's Your Lover Now" which is the single most exasperating song on this record for that exact reason.) The real meat of this set is its unreleased stuff, and while some of the alternate takes are interesting just downright terrible (only one of these is REAL bad, and that's "It Takes A Lot to Laugh", while techinically good ruin the gorgeous song by playing it way to fast).

Some one said they wished this had been like The Beatles' Anthology series. I simply could not disagree more. The sad thing about The Beatles came from the fact they simply did not have that much in the vaults in terms of unreleased original compositions. Instead they had to go with all the outtakes of their songs. (A side note: 1 is average, interesting just for historians, 2 is pretty good maybe 3 & 1/2 stars, and 3 is very good.) But with Dylan, besides having a much longer career (and the fact that The Beatles were incredibely prolific, releasing two albums of material per year with singles and what not and their quality never faltered) also has so much unreleased stuff its simply amazing and these songs have priorites of outtakes of the classics. Indeed, one of the essential frustrations with Dylan (and in a much smaller sense The Beatles as well) is, as amazing as his discography is, there are songs here that simply should have been on the album (the greatest victom of this phenomena is INFIDELS which had the outtakes on this and the ones still unrealesed been included it would hold its head up high next to anything else he released).

Volume I is the true folk album of this lot. In that sense this has the most artistic cohesion because of the period of compsoition (just over 2 years) is very close chronologically and the general sound remains the same. There are some real gems here, including Hard Times, Bear Mountain, Let Me Die, Walls of Red Wing, Who Killed Davy Moor, and others. Although artisticially this is straight on, for my personal tastes there are some of these tracks that are just servicable instead of overwhelming. But that's just taste -- musically you can't touch Dylan on this one.

Volume II: There isn't quite feel of cohesion on this one as the first volume because of the amount of stylistic changes it has to cover, going from folk to folk rock to rock to Basement Tape outtakes as well as the music of New Morning and Planet Waves (that sound) and then ends with outtakes from BLOOD ON THE TRACKS. Individually all the tracks stand out, though the easily must frustrating is "She's Your Lover Now" which is an almost perfect take but breaks down after six minutes resulting in a lost verse. It should have been redone and put on BLONDE ON BLONDE. My least favorite track here is the up-tempo version of "It Takes a Lot to Laugh" off Highway 61, which simply does not have the appeal of the original. "I'll Keep It With Mine" is a particular favorite, although this is a rehearsal and it shows.

Volume III: In terms of style this is the most consistent of the three volumes, and I would argue if you cut the first three tracks which belong to the mid seventies (and so should have been on those albums) and released this as an individual album it would be hailed as a comeback for Dylan, who had a notoriusly dry and inconsitent spell during the 1980s. They would compare it to Oh Mercy! and it may have even had a better critical reputations. The cuts I would make it this if it were released as a real album would be "Every Grain", "Someone's Got a Hold", "Lord", and "When the Night" or call them bonus tracks. Not a big fan of Tell Me. "Julius and Ethel" (an Infidels outtake) would have been nice to be on here too. Oh well, I suppose. And to those who say the EMPIRE BURLESQUE version sounds like disco, go suck off. It's a good song.

All in all, one of the single most impressive collections assembled, especially since this is ALL outtake material. A lot of this would have been the major material in other people's catalogues. As Mark Prindle said, that's pretty impressive Weezer (talking about the band). There's still a lot more in his vaults, and I want more of this stuff released. Also, I'd like a full release of THE BASEMENT TAPES, with ALL known material released. There's still a large amount of the TAPES in the vault. "I'm Not There", one of my favorite Dylan compositions, is still unreleased. Get the ball rolling, release some more!

Bottom line: Get this release. If you're new, it's just as good, as valid a first buy as any of the others often cited. This should be on your top five list to buy.

79 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What You Didn't Know You Were Missing, March 4, 2000

By	Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Perhaps the most substantial reason to buy this album is to hear what you did not know you were missing in the 80's. There are some unbelievably brilliant performances here that were left off of various 80's albums, like Blind Willie McTell, Series of Dreams, and Foot of Pride.

Then there are some sizzling 70's performances, like the live Seven Days or Catfish, an outtake from 1975's wonderful "Desire" album. Also, the original verson of "If Not for You," with none other than George Harrison on guitar, is ten million times better than the version featured on the actual studio album, "New Morning." The "unplugged" verisons of some "Blood on the Tracks" songs are powerfully raw.

Then, of course, his songwriting brilliance of the 60's shines on the tear jerking "Moonshiner," which is, arguably, his best vocal performance EVER. "Seven Curses," 'Eternal Circle," 'Farewell, Angelina" are as good as anything on his early to mid 60's albums. Yes...really.

This collecton got me scratching my head, frustrated, wondering why Dylan never released these songs. It is anyone's guess as to why the 60's material was never released, but in the 80's, he seemed to be more interested in angering his record label than anything else. That may be why "Blind Willie Mctell" and 'Foot of Pride" were both left off of 1983's "Infidels," which is brilliant in its own right, but would have truly been one of Dylan's best albums ever with the addition of those songs. Oh well. He never did release them. And now we have it all here, on this 3CD package. Any Dylan fan who does not buy it should be criminally prosecuted. And anyone who is curious about Dylan's career should begin with 'Biograph" and this collection. It is truly an outstanding gem that puts this genius's 40-year career into some perspective.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary -- and essential., November 5, 1999

By	Joseph L. Shipman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It was known that Dylan had a great deal of unreleased material, but nobody was prepared for the unbelievable range and quality of this set when it came out in 1991. The first disc is a treasure trove of old songs and early compositions, given Dylan's inimitable spin, and a great history of his development as a songwriter. The second disc contains some interesting alternative versions, plus a few new gems like "Seven Curses", "She's Your Lover Now", and "Wallflower".

But it is the third disc that is the stunner. Several very great songs that would have been the crown jewels for any other artist appear for the first time here (Angelina, Foot of Pride, Blind Willie McTell, Series of Dreams). In addition, the alternate versions of "If You See Her, Say Hello", "Every Grain of Sand", and "When the Night Comes Falling From the sky" are in my opinion even better than the original released versions, and the other new songs are of very high quality. This third disc all by itself would make a list of Dylan's top 5 records.

The liner notes and pictures are great too -- arguably the best study around of the first 30 years of Dylan's career.