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This Review and 209 more are in my E-Book
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LET'S GO CRAZY - 80ts Music On CD
Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
Classic Albums, Compilations, 45s
All In-Depth Reviews from the Discs Themselves
Over 1,650 e-Pages of Info
(No Cut and Paste Crap)
"...I Will Always Be Emotionally Yours..."
If I'm being brutally truthful about this latest addition to Columbia's amazing 'Bootleg Series' for all things Big Dill and unreleased - I can't help think that almost all of CD2 slaughters much of the tad underwhelming stuff on CD1. But more of that laterkins.
There are two variants of "Springtime In New York: The Bootleg series Vol. 16 - 1980-1985" - the 2CD Highlights Set commonly referred to as a 'Deluxe Edition' and it's 5CD brother - the 'Super Deluxe Edition'. Let's deal with door number one - the 2CD Highlights variant.
Long time fans will know that in 1991, "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 to 3" caused a sensation with the quality of its unreleased material across its 3CD/5LP haul. I mention this because seven of the alternatives presented to us here in September 2021 were on that 1991 first volume in better outtake form. The seven on this release (Tracks 1, 2, 9 and 10 on CD1 and Tracks 1, 3 and 5 on CD2) are to my ears not nearly as good. And the same unfortunately applies to a lot of the others - especially on CD1.
There are of course amazing versions here and the list of guest musicians is mouth watering - Guitarist Mark Knopfler and Keyboardist Alan Clarke of Dire Straits - Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile On Main Street" period with Sly and Robbie providing Rhythm section. There's Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, Fred Tackett of Little Feat, Ian McLagan of The Small Faces, Faces and The Who, Danny Kortchmar of James Taylor's band, singers Clydie King, Madelyn Quebec and Carolyn Dennis and more. There's a lot to unravel, so let's get into it...
UK and EUROPE released 17 September 2021 (16 September 2021 USA) - "Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol.16 - 1980-1985" by Bob DYLAN on Columbia/Legacy 19439868832 (Barcode 194398688329) is a 2CD 25-Track Compilation of Previously Unreleased Studio and Live material. It plays out as follows:
CD1 (61:35 minutes):
1. Angelina ("Shot Of Love" outtake, recorded 26 March 1981)
2. Need A Woman (Rehearsal, 20 March 1981)
3. Let's Keep It Between Us (Rehearsal, 26 Sep 1980)
4. Price Of Love ("Shot Of Love" outtake, 1 May 1981)
5. Don't Ever Take Yourself Away ("Shot Of Love" outtake, 23 April 1981)
6. Fur Slippers ("Shot Of Love" outtake, 2 April 1981)
7. Yes Sir, No Sir ("Shot Of Love" outtake, 2 April 1981)
8. Jokerman ("Infidels" Alternate Take, 14 April 1983)
9. Lord Protect My Child ("Infidels" outtake, 2 May 1983)
10. Blind Willie McTell (Take 5, "Infidels" outtake, 11 April 1983)
11. Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight (Version 2) ("Infidels" Alternate Take, 12 April 1983)
12. Neighborhood Bully ("Infidels" Alternate Take, 19 April 1983)
13. Too Late (Band Version) ("Infidels" outtake, 23 April 1983)
CD2 (62:44 minutes):
1. Foot Of Pride ("Infidels" outtake, 25 April 1983)
2. Sweetheart Like You ("Infidels" Alternate Take, 18 April 1983)
3. Someone's Got A Hold On My Heart ("Infidels" outtake, 26 April 1983)
4. I And I ("Infidels" Alternate Take, 27 April 1983)
5. Tell Me ("Infidels" outtake, 21 April 1983)
6. Enough Is Enough (Live at Slane Castle in Ireland, 8 July 1984)
7. Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love) ("Empire Burlesque" Alternate Mix, 15 January 1985, overdubbed March 1985)
8. Seeing The Real You At Last ("Empire Burlesque" Alternate Take, 14 February 1985)
9. Emotionally Yours ("Empire Burlesque" Alternate Take, 12 February 1985)
10. Clean Cut Kid ("Empire Burlesque" Alternate Take, 26 July 1984)
11. New Danville Girl ("Empire Burlesque" outtake, 6 December 1984)
12. Dark Eyes ("Empire Burlesque" Alternate Take, 6 March 1985)
Many have (quite rightly) complained about the flimsy nature of the card sleeve that houses three items inside - two card sleeve holders for CD1 and CD2 and the 58-page booklet that gets slotted in-between. It's eminently crushable and even in shrink-wrap as supposedly new - so many copies are exactly that. So be careful opening the thing. DAMIEN LOVE provides the seriously in-depth liner notes that are peppered with period photos. Dylan disappeared - not seen live or otherwise for nearly two years - found religion - did religous albums whether the world shared his faith transformation or not. And bluntly few cared after "Slow Train Coming" in 1979 - then the CD format was launched too and meant his back-catalogue of genuine brilliance began being re-discovered - a stark contrast with his first four years of the Eighties.
The audio is handled by MARK WILDER, STEVE ADDABBO and CHRIS SHAW with a further team of seven and the whole shebang feels fantastic - even the live outdoor arena sound to the Slane Castle track is brilliant when it could have been crap. On stuff like "New Danville Girl" and "Dark Eyes" - the audio is release-quality storming. To the content...
A
studio version of the unreleased song "Need A Woman" initially showed
non The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3 in 1991 - you are given the 'rehearsal'
here with Steve Ripley and Danny Kortchmer on Guitars, Carl Pickhardt
on Keyboards , Tim Drummond and Jim Keltner on Bass and Drums with a
bevy of three singers adding muscle - Carolyn Dennis, Madelyn Quebec and
Clydie King.
Word that the April 1983 "Infidels" sessions were filled with better songs, slicker production values via Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and great playing are amply born out by "Foot Of Pride" - an outtake recorded 25 April 1983. The killer 5-piece band featuring Knopfler of Dire Straits and Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones on Guitars with Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar on Bass and Drums - while Dylan did hard-edged vocals and played guitar. And again Track 2 on CD2 whomps too - "Sweetheart Like You" - the gorgeous pained ballad from "Infidels" helped by Alan Clark of Dire Straits providing a church-like organ while Clydie King gives it some lone lady backing vocals (Knopfler and Taylor both give it some acoustic - gorgeous audio too - if anything it ends too soon).
Messy yet slightly awkward sounding electric guitars open the Stones slapdash rock of "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart" - Dylan in passionate vocal form - Mick Taylor giving it the ramshackle. We settle into a classier guitar shuffle from Knopfler for "I And I" - his playing and Dylan's different and impassioned lyrics both highlights. In what is a rarity on this set, Dylan drags out the harmonica for "Tell Me" - a song that also sways and swims with a Sly and Robbie Caribbean shuffle - Dylan does Calypso. Not sure I like it, but it's interesting. First live track is from Slane Castle in Ireland where the Bobster laughs with the crowd before he rocks it up with "Enough Is Enough". The Irish outdoor crowd is hearing Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones lay his guitar into what could easily have been The Fabulous Thunderbirds getting all message. Ian McLagan of The Small Faces and Faces is on piano while Colin Allen plays huge drums. It's a welcome interlude of 'Watching The River Flow' boogie.
That's followed by a very poppy perhaps 'too full' "Tight Connection To My Heart..." where the 'Has Anybody Seen My Love' chorus is sung by a group of four ladies - Knopfler and Taylor on Guitars with Alan Clark of Dire Straits on Keyboards. Way better are two different moods of Bob - the angry "Clean Cut Kid" and the hurting for the outlaw "New Danville Girl" - a genuinely amazing outtake from "Burlesque Empire" - his band featuring three of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers - Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein. Co-written with actor and playwright Sam Sheppard - the liner notes quite rightly call it one of his great songs - a filmic epic that has it all - great vocals, lyrics, sympathetic band, his harmonica - wow. Dylan would officially put it out as a re-recorded and re-named "Brownsville Girl" for the much-derided album "Knocked Out Loaded" in 1986. But what a wow - all eleven-minutes and fifty-two seconds of it.
And Vol.16 comes a dignified end with "Dark Eyes" - just Dylan, his guitar and Harmonica - a request by Co-Producer Arthur Baker to Bob for a simple 'acoustic' song for the otherwise heavily produced "Empire Burlesque" LP. Dylan came back the next day and offered up "Dark Eyes" which is again another stunner - like it was already there - having existed for decades.
There is a tendency to give all 'unreleased' Bob Dylan a Godlike sheen - but CD1 of this release proves that wrong in my books, but my God the goodies in-between and that CD2...
So four-stars instead of five for 1980 to 1985. But if this reissue tells me anything, it's never underestimate the Zim - even his throwaway attempts are often blow you away magic...
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