Sunday, November 15, 2015

My Review of Bob Dylan 1965-1966 The Cutting Edge.


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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