For those that don’t know, the Bootleg Series are releases of Bob Dylan’s material that didn’t make it onto any studio albums or other releases. It is a testament to the volume of his work that even after a staggering 40 studio albums, there is still much to be heard.
Most of each Bootleg release is admittedly rehearsals and outtakes, but it’s still fascinating, and they are studded with hidden gems from the studio and concerts.
Given that he was still finding his feet, this early period is one of his least interesting, but there is still much to enjoy. The album opens with some material from the mid-50s, whose age makes it inherently fascinating, and follows Dylan’s career until a 1963 Carnegie Hall show.
We can see Dylan’s influences in real time— Appalachia Blues styles, British folk, and the Greenwich Village—and one of the most intriguing songs I noticed was ‘The Cuckoo,’ which is one of many folk standards.
I would be lying if the song’s history was what piqued my interest though. It shares a line “The Cuckoo is a pretty bird, she warbles as she flies” with ‘High Water (for Charley Patton)’ from 2001’s Love and Theft, one of Dylan’s most accomplished albums. This brings me on to what disappoints me.
Of course, it is interesting to hear work from any period of Dylan’s career and the music is good, but his late career is the most unexplored, and far more interesting than his first few years. Further illustrating this is the song ‘Cocaine.’ It appears too as a 1997 live version on Bootleg Series 8: Tell Tale Signs as ‘Cocaine Blues,’ and has far greater feeling and depth. Again, it is the work of a much more experienced and accomplished musician.
Every single second of Dylan’s life and work in the 1960s has been analysed to death, and he has grown so much as an artist since. Especially with his work in the early 60s, until Another Side, where he began to become more creative (and ironically the point where this album stops), Dylan had so much to learn. He was still yet to make the journey away from the folly of political music, and towards a more interesting sound.
This album then, while it is an interesting historical document, is somewhat disappointing. It gives us curiosities, but nothing genuinely new.
“Bob Dylan in November 1963-5” by Unknown authorUnknown author is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
