Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
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Free Music Notes for Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
Free Music Review: Born Again, Indeed!
Hit: 5 Stars
Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" - The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 is an impressive package, the music, as others reviewers have noted, flows together wonderfully with brilliant sound quality, and Dylan's choice to have Larry "Ratso" Sloman (the author of the excellent "On The Road with Bob Dylan" which chronicled the Rolling Thunder Tour) write the liner notes, song analysis and history, was a wise move as Sloman brings it all back home. Dylan has lived more musical lifetimes than any major artist I've ever known. The notion that he was born again certainly applies to more than just his spiritual beliefs, Dylan has taken the notion of being prolific to new levels, and these cds document the high standards of the material Dylan has been working with in the late 80's, 90's, and on into the 21st century. Some purist still cling to the idea that Dylan never wrote as well after his socially reflective songs during the 1960s. Dylan addresses this issue head on in his "Chronicles" book when he points out that during the "Oh Mercy" sessions, producer Daniel Lanois implored him to write more anthem like 60's songs. But Bob was true to his art, and realized that what he needed was not to mimic his past music, rather he reached deep into where he was at in the present time: and the next night he wrote "Shooting Star," which blew Lanois away when he recognized the sheer beauty of the song.
Dylan has moved with the pace of a poet and musician who is evolving and continually creating new forms of expression. Yes, Born Again, and I can't wait for the next time Bob's muse inspires him to do it all over again in whatever style that feels right. A long time ago Bob's film "Don't Look Back" provided us with a forecast for Dylan's future, he has never looked back. Spend some time with "Tell Tale Signs," listen, read, and appreciate that Bob Dylan was the right artist for our times. He's proven it time and time again.
Free Music Review: There's No Success Like Failure
Hit: 5 Stars
Anyone who has enjoyed Dylan's output over the period covered by "Tell Tale Signs" should enjoy this album which chronicles an amazing third act of an American icon. That being said, this holds together very well for a collection of unreleased, alt, live and soundtrack songs spanning a nearly two decade period--there are no jolting variations of style, and the songs seem to fit together here better perhaps than they would have on their respective albums. Some of the unreleased versions surpass the material of the released versions--"God Knows" and "Born In Time" are far superior in these versions from "Oh Mercy" than the previous (later) versions from "Under The Red Sky". Most of the alt versions complement previously released material, such as the classic Dylan guitar/harmonica take on "Most of the Time", or the more uptempo take on "Ain't Talkin'", including some alt lyrics. Even some of the "failures" such as "Mississippi", with two versions recorded during "Time Out Of Mind", show his process as a singer and artist as he tries to discover the true nature of a song. Other failures like "Red River Shore" or "Marchin' To The City", would be stand outs on any album, but didn't make the cut for "Time Out Of Mind". The live versions included here include two previously unreleased covers and a raucous version of "High Water". There are occasional weak moments-an inferior, relatively uninspired "Everything is Broken", but he ends strong with a great duet with Ralph Stanley, and the poignant "'Cross The Green Mountain". As with the best of the Bootleg series this stands out as a Dylan album equal to the standard releases.Free Music Review: Great stuff....but a scholarship oversight
Hit: 5 Stars
I recall a NY Times article around the time of "Love and Theft" called "Plagiarism in Dylan, or a Cultural Collage?", discussing Dylan's use of many lines from a Japanese historical memoir in his song "Floater (Too Much To Ask)." It went on to side with Dylan's borrowings, citing his longtime fondness for "dipping into a shared cultural heritage."
I have no problem with Dylan 'sampling', as it were. I DO have a problem with Larry "Ratso" Sloman in his otherwise excellent liner notes to the Bootleg Series 8. He ends his description of "'Cross The Green Mountain" with this: "But has Dylan ever delivered any lines better than: 'A letter to Mother came today/Gun shot wound to the breast is what it did say/But he'll be better soon he's in a hospital bed/But he'll never be better, he's already dead?" Great, moving lines, but they were nearly all written by Walt Whitman in "Leaves of Grass."
The relevant text from Whitman's poem, "Come Up From The Fields, Father":
"And come to the front door, mother, here's a letter from thy dear son..."
"Sentences broken,'gunshot wound in the breast,....taken to hospital, at present low, but will soon be better...'"
"Alas, poor boy, he will never be better,..."
"While they stand at the door he is dead already..."
I can excuse Mr. Dylan for going once again to the shared well of cultural heritage, and he did paraphrase somewhat, turning Whitman's narrative into a great lyric. But someone should have told Mr. Sloman--he could've excerpted a dozen worthy lines on this great disc that were wholly Dylan's own.
Free Music Review: Tell Tale Signs
Hit: 5 Stars
Tell Tale Signs was a real shock to my system. I always knew Dylan had some special vocal moments during the 90's and 00's all the way up to today, but I thought they were only captured live (like the 1996 version of Boots of Spanish Leather) or with the occasional officially released song (To make You Feel My Love from Time Out of Mind, for example). Nothing prepared me for what I was about to learn about Dylan's painfully bad judgement about which songs he decides to include on officially released albums and which ones remain on the cutting room floor.
Many of these songs were arranged both musically and vocally in such a way where you hear the world-weariness in the voice, guitar, harmonica, Hammond Organ and the myriad of other rich sounding instruments found in this treasure chest. This is at a time when Dylan was emerging from a creative slump for a short period (as are all his creative slumps) and he really hasn't had a creative slump since 1988 in my opinion. Oh Mercy, Under the Red Sky, Good as I Been to You and World Gone Wrong all have amazing moments in my opinion, some more than others. Of course, then there's two albums rated 5-stars in Rolling Stone Magazine (Love and Theft and Modern Times) and one rated 4-stars (Time Out of Mind) and you can take Rolling Stone's opinion however you want, but I've usually respected them, however after hearing Tell Tale Signs I think those albums should all be knocked down a star or two after considering what was cut from them.
Cheers!
Jeff
Free Music Review: another side of bob dylan
Hit: 5 Stars
this set confirms dylan as a prolific artist.it confirms his ability to interpret his own songs in so many wonderful ways that each and every one is a new discovery,almost a different story,although the lyrics is well known,by now.in fact,the treasure that lies within this set is so rich that one may unconditionally recommend it to the uninitiated as an entrance to dylan's work.i am also certain that it would entice the listener enough to go back to the classic dylan albums and delve deeper into what is one of the corner stones of modern music and poetry.
i for one will be forever gratefull to dylan for allowing the bootleg series to be published.this stands proudly next to any of his best work.
and as is the case with any great artist,criticism is inevitable.
some appears to question the wisdom behind the bootleg series,or at least in its de luxe version.whilst there may be merit in the sentiment against the heavy price,let it not be directed against the music itself.
i confidently re-iterate that many songs found on this series in their specific format would fit comfortably alongside anything that any body else have produced the past decade.
and at the end of the day,when all is said and done,does the real test of what makes for a classic song,a brilliant album,a wonderfull bootleg series,not lie in that sense of pure unadulterated enjoyment,when one hears a song,interpreted by dylan,and one knows,thats how good music was intended to sound?
and this,is what makes this series a five star series.