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122 of 127 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent later Dylan round-up, October 7, 2008
Thank goodness for the Bootleg Series; not only does it constantly present us with new ways of approaching our favorite Dylan songs and reveal his often fascinating creative process, it's also provided me with some of my very favorite Bob Dylan albums, which I return to again and again. This most recent installment rounds up unreleased, alternate, and live material from what can generally be called Dylan's "late" period--from 1989's Oh Mercy to his most recent studio album, 2006's Modern Times. When I first heard about this release, I was really excited. I've really enjoyed Dylan's more recent work; Oh Mercy is one of my favorite Dylan albums, and to me it really marks the beginning of his latest comeback in terms of quality, which has fortunately lasted until today. As always, Dylan's more prolific than the final studio releases would have you believe, and, as often happens, much of the material that ends up off the records is as good or better than the album cuts.
The collection opens with a stripped down acoustic take of "Mississippi," one of Love and Theft's most memorable tracks. It's a good choice as a lead-off--it's more buoyant and conversational than the official version, and sets the tone of intimacy and warmth that really permeates this entire collection. A lot of people can't stand Dylan's voice these days, but I really enjoy it--not only does it convey the sometimes world-weary tone of a lot of his later material, I think it's the perfect instrument for forcefully transmitting the tenderness and occasional anguish that also appears in his recent work (not to mention enhancing the live reinventions of his extensive back catalog). On many of the tracks here, his voice is also a tool for wringing dry humor and fun out of his ever-playful words. "Most of the Time" follows suit, sounding almost like a Blood On The Tracks outtake. "Dignity" is a priceless inclusion (we get two versions here with vastly different production)--after reading Dylan's extensive notes on this song in Chronicles, Vol 1, it's great to finally hear the song's stark and moving imagery.
Although these songs span nearly 20 years, it's remarkable how well they sit alongside each other--the compilation isn't sequenced chronologically, and it's all the stronger for it: in many ways, it plays like a brand new double album. Sure, the moody, murky Daniel Lanois production from Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind is noticeable, but the spirit and vibe of many of the songs is cohesive throughout. It seems that many of the best songs on this set simply weren't included in their original albums because they just didn't fit with the rest of the songs or mood--"Red River Shore" is a bit too playful for Time Out of Mind, while the driving "Dreamin' of You" was probably too fast for the album's languid pace.
This collection highlights a number of Dylan's other strengths, including slow blues--"Marchin' to the City" and the second version of "Mississippi" are weighty examples of his inimitable skill with preventing slow blues from being boring. It also shows that Dylan is still sometimes best experienced live--"High Water" (probably my favorite Love and Theft track) from 2003 rocks almost crushingly, and "Ring Them Bells" is achingly poignant, supplemented by the sounds of an appreciative audience. In addition, this set reminds us of Dylan's power as an interpretive singer--"32-20 Blues," "Miss the Mississippi" and "The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore" communicate this with humanity, and also act as a nagging reminder that he put out two excellent folk standard albums in the mid-90's (Good as I Been to You and World Gone Wrong), which are still largely neglected. Finally, tracks like the moving "'Cross the Green Mountain" demonstrate that Dylan the songwriter STILL unquestionably has something big to say.
I could wax poetic about each and every one of these songs, but it's a long album and this review is already long enough! I'll only mention that, like all of the other Bootleg releases, this one has excellent photos (charting the rarely-seen late 80's Dylan and into his more recent Col. Sanders cowboy outfit days) and exhaustive prose liner notes, as well as track-by-track notation. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the "Deluxe" edition, since I don't have $100 to spend on one more disc of material (not much of a value, by the looks of things), though it would be nice to hear more of the same. Whereas the No Direction Home installment sometimes begged the question "Haven't I pretty much heard all of these songs before?", this installment ties together unheard material with very fresh-sounding versions of more familiar tunes, making it a more necessary addition to a collection. If nothing else, this set is a resounding reminder that, as he turns his songwriting eyes on his cavernous past and to the strange and uncharted present and future, Dylan is producing some of the strongest material of his career.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Priceless documentation of one of the finest songwriters ever to live..., October 8, 2008
The bootleg series has, if nothing else, provided an amazing document of some of the interesting side-roads that Dylan has taken. Some of the discs have been transcendental, showcasing little known or difficult to find songs; others have been full of alternate versions that have not been that different from versions that we know. Volume 8 is a revelation, shining a light on a period of Dylan's output that is much misunderstood for reasons that have never been completely clear to me. The 80's are a hard period for many musicians as they are changing from the 60's and 70's song craft that made them famous in the classic rock and roll or folk mold towards a more technology savvy and friendly time period. At worst, this decade has foisted an unconscionable amount of bad drum machine tracks onto otherwise amazing artists. At best, it has pushed legends like Dylan to find something genuine and timely. The early years of the 80's (not covered by this disc) found him searching--spiritually, musically, stylistically. By the late 80's and into the 90's, Dylan had reclaimed his visionary status.
This disk is an essential companion to some of his most listenable albums of his career. The opening track, Mississippi is an unreleased track from the Time Out of Mind album. For those who were agog at Daniel Lanois ability to coax more Bob out of Bob, this will be continued vindication of that period. Red River Shore, also from the same sessions is possessed of a languid beauty, and a raw power that is palpable.
In general, the rest of the tracks on this album are of similar quality--genuinely revelatory takes on pieces that you may have heard before in bootleg format or perhaps live, but always something new. Bob's gravelly baritone is shown in all its rough glory, and the production value on the tracks is generally high. The live tracks are, in my opinion, equally good, and show some of the live music spark that makes a Dylan show something special.
Probably none of this is revelation to you, if you are reading this. You probably already love Dylan, and are probably chomping at the proverbial bit to get this disc. You won't be sad that you did. For those of you who don't know much about Dylan, there are a lot worse places to get your feet wet than here. Sure, it isn't one of his albums, and therefore won't give you that sense of togetherness that his best vinyl collections give you, but the songs are uniformly strong. If you find yourself enjoying these songs, you've got some realy treasures yet to explore. Overall, it was all that I had hoped for from this much anticipated release, and I'm certain that Dylan fans will generally rank this among the most indispensable of his bootleg releases.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Late Round Knockout, October 9, 2008
Listening to Bob Dylan's new release Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series #8, I am reminded of a classic quote often attributed to Jay Leno regarding Axl Rose... "What the hell does someone have to do to get thrown out of Guns `N Roses?" Put within the Dylan frame, "How the hell did any one of these songs miss the original release of his last four studio cd's?"
Far from the usual half-baked throwaways that clog the arteries of most alternative cut "retrospectives" Tell Tale Signs is anything but, containing fully-realized music that if not for the "Bootleg" banner would be considered a double cd of staggering beauty - easily cracking the top ten (or top five) of his prolific original catalog.
Whether in studio or in concert, Dylan's songs are never really finished. Their role has always been one of artistic baseline, original renderings that have spawned thousands of permutations of lyric and arrangement answerable only to his mood or circumstance on any given day. The deleted work from Time Out Of Mind and Oh Mercy (Dreamin' Of You, God Knows and Series Of Dreams among others) is ample illustration of just how deep his reservoir of material really is. The release itself is extraordinarily well done - the sound is brilliant and the expansive liner notes by Dylan acolyte Ratso Sloman brings real texture to the proceedings.
Almost fifty years in Dylan has mastered his role as changeling to perfection and honestly, that's what makes his enormous body of work so damn interesting - sobering when you consider that the seventeen-year "period" represented by Bootleg #8 would encompass four and a half careers given the popular half-lives of most contemporary artists.
As anyone who has followed Dylan live or on disc can attest, he is quite capable of "mailing it in" (and has done so frequently) so the fact that this is a stunner right out the box makes it all the more enjoyable. Jump in.
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by Bob Dylan 
