Tag: Bob Dylan

The Basement Tapes is a batch of songs/demos recorded by Bob Dylan and The Band in 1967-1968. These recordings were later cleaned up by Engineer Rob Frabonie and compiled by Robbie Robertson along with additional tracks that The Band had recorded. After years of bootlegs circulating through the music industry, the official release finally happened in 1975.

The original double album is loose in nature with lots of shorter tracks including a few that would also appear on The Band’s debut album. Dylan handles the vocals on two-thirds of the tracks while various members of The Band handle the rest. There is plenty of great playing here including the organ of Garth Hudson on “Million Dollar Bash” and the funky drumming and bass work on “Yazoo Street Scandal”.

The loose nature of the recordings come out in songs like “Apple Sucking Tree”, the drinking song of “Please, Mrs. Henry” and nonsensical lyrics of “Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread”. The first track, “Odds and Ends” is a really catchy 60s rocker. These are evened out with heavier tracks like the excellent “Tears of Rage” with the lyrics, “Come to me now, you know we’re so alone/And life is brief”. This gets followed by “Too Much Nothing” where “Too much of nothing/It just makes a fella mean”.

The sprawling album does have a few clunkers and a few of the tracks by The Band feel tacked on. Still, other highlights abound like the blue eyed soul of the Richard Manuel sung “Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)” and highlight “Katie’s Been Gone”. There is a drug deal gone wrong on “Nothing Was Delivered”, a date with Blues legend “Bessie Smith” and a great closer “This Wheel’s On Fire”. Much speculation about other tracks followed for the next 40 years, while others were frustrated by the inclusion of so many tracks by The Band. Finally in 2014 fans got the holy grail in the six disc deluxe edition of “The Basement Tapes Complete”, Volume 11 in Dylan’s celebrated ongoing Bootleg Series.  Even after all these years, the legend of The Basement Tapes continues.

8/10

After finishing the album Planet Waves, Bob Dylan and The Band headed out on tour of North American hockey arenas in early 1974.  Before the Flood collects a double album of tracks mostly from the final three shows in Inglewood, California.  The release sees both artists sharing the spotlight with The Band taking the lead on eight of the albums 21 songs. Several of Dylan’s songs appear in alternate forms from their originals.

In later years Dylan would reportedly complain that the only compliment he would receive about the shows were ones about the energy.  The well meaning compliment is spot on – opener “Most Likely You Go Your Way” from the classic album Blonde on Blonde really gets things moving before top 10 hit “Lay Lady Lay” is performed. The energy shifts with the one track taken from a New York show with “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” that brings a heavier atmosphere than the rest of the side. Side 2 sees The Band turn in a funky groove on their classic “Up On Cripple Creek” and a beautifully soulful version of “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down”.

The second album opens with Dylan playing an acoustic set with sped up versions of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” that the crowd really appreciates and “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”.  These two tracks + a countrified rock version of “Blowin’ In The Wind” take the Dylan sound out of folk rooms and onto the massive arena stage. “Like a Rolling Stone” appears as a groove laden country take on the incendiary classic.  The drumming of Levon Helm steals the spotlight away from the original’s organ. Both versions work.  Along with these Dylan songs, The Band turn in a vocally rough and ready version of “The Weight” that really swings + the upbeat “The Shape I’m In” from their Stage Fright album.

Years ago, there was a commercial that aired on MuchMusic that showed Bob Dylan mumbling through a song in concert. It was an amusing commercial but that is far from what Dylan sounds like here. His vocals are clear and the different arrangements on several of the tracks work really well to give a different flavour of his sound. The Band locks into grooves and really swing throughout.  A great live album of two legends.

8/10

In late 1973, Bob Dylan entered the studio with old friends The Band to work on songs that would become Planet Waves. For the most part, gone are the voice of the generation songs that defined his 60s output.  Instead, “You Angel You” uses lyrical clichés on lines like “the way you walk and the way you talk” but is played with energetic country rock making it a winner. “Tough Mama” is a bit funky with some terrific organ work from Garth Hudson and opening “On A Night Like This” works as a country tinged uptempo folk song. 

Dylan’s ode to to one of his sons, “Forever Young” appears in two different versions with the slower version working as a lullaby. “Dirge” takes in a classic dirgy melody as he sings that he has “paid the price of solitude, but at least I’m out of debt”.  Album closer “Wedding Song” is a terrific acoustic song in the older Dylan style but replaces the politics with love. 

Surprisingly, this is the first Bob Dylan album to go to #1 in the US where it stayed for for four weeks starting in mid February, 1974.  His first release for Asylum Records after leaving his longtime Columbia home, Planet Waves is greatly benefited by the playing of The Band who help elevate an album of OK songs. Like 1970’s New Morning, this is another album of decent 70s singer songwriter tracks but nothing that could be called essential.

6.5/10