Bob Dylan to Release ‘Blood on the Tracks’ Box Set
The 14th installment of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series has been announced, and it's an official release of one of his most heavily sought-after collections of outtakes. More Blood, More Tracks, which presents the entire New York sessions for 1975's Blood on the Tracks, will arrive on Nov. 2.
According to the album's mythology, Dylan began recording in New York in September 1974, with the intention of having an album out by Christmas. But after playing a test-pressing for his brother, he changed his mind and re-cut five songs in Minneapolis with local musicians chosen by his brother.
Several of the New York recordings -- including alternate takes on "Tangled Up in Blue," "Idiot Wind" and "If You See Her Say Hello" -- were unearthed on 1991's initial Bootleg Series release; "You're a Big Girl Now" and the stellar outtake "Up to Me" came out on the 1985 Biograph box set.
This new limited edition six-CD set contains every surviving take from Blood on the Tracks, including the complete New York sessions, according to the press release. "The album's producers have worked from best sources available, in most cases utilizing the original multi-track session tapes. The only recordings remaining from the Minneapolis sessions are the multi-track masters of the five performances included on the finished Blood on the Tracks album. Each of these has been remixed and remastered for the deluxe edition."
"Dylan cut each of these amazing performances – some of the best he ever committed to tape – one after the other, live in the studio, without headphones, and without the types of overdubs that most performers rely on to make their records sound finished," Jeff Slate writes in the set's liner notes. "Instead, on these tracks, we find Dylan – just a singer with a guitar and a harmonica and a batch of great songs – delivering performances that thrill you when they’re supposed to and break your heart when they need to. .... The performances are also in the purest state we’ve ever experienced them. During the production of Blood on the Tracks, Dylan asked [producer Phil] Ramone to speed up many of the masters by two to three percent, a common practice in the 1960s and ’70s, especially for records sent to AM radio. It was thought that doing so would give the songs a little extra bounce to better engage listeners. Most of the songs from the New York sessions that previously circulated, officially and unofficially, are the sped-up versions that Dylan requested. On More Blood, More Tracks, for the first time, we’re hearing the songs exactly as Dylan recorded them."
In addition to the six discs, the box contains a reproduction of one of Dylan's notebooks of lyrics, as well as a book with photographs and Slate's notes. A one-CD or two-LP set that consists of the album recreated using alternate takes, plus "Up to Me," will also be available.
Bob Dylan, 'More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14' Track Listing
Disc 1
1. If You See Her, Say Hello
2. If You See Her, Say Hello
3. You're a Big Girl Now
4. You're a Big Girl Now
5. Simple Twist of Fate
6. Simple Twist of Fate
7. You're a Big Girl Now
8. Up to Me
9. Up to Me
10. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
11. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
Disc 2
1. Simple Twist of Fate
2. Simple Twist of Fate
3. Simple Twist of Fate
4. Call Letter Blues
5. Meet Me in the Morning
6. Call Letter Blues
7. Idiot Wind
8. Idiot Wind
9. Idiot Wind
10. Idiot Wind
11. Idiot Wind
12. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
13. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
14. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
15. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
16. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
17. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
18. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
19. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
20. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Disc 3
1. Tangled Up in Blue
2. You're a Big Girl Now
3. You're a Big Girl Now
4. Tangled Up in Blue
5. Tangled Up in Blue
6. Spanish Is the Loving Tongue
7. Call Letter Blues
8. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
9. Shelter from the Storm
10. Buckets of Rain
11. Tangled Up in Blue
12. Buckets of Rain
13. Shelter from the Storm
14. Shelter from the Storm
15. Shelter from the Storm
Disc 4
1. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
2. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
3. Buckets of Rain
4. Buckets of Rain
5. Buckets of Rain
6. Buckets of Rain
7. Up to Me
8. Up to Me
9. Buckets of Rain
10. Buckets of Rain
11. Buckets of Rain
12. Buckets of Rain
13. If You See Her, Say Hello
14. Up to Me
15. Up to Me
16. Up to Me
17. Buckets of Rain
18. Meet Me in the Morning
19. Meet Me in the Morning
20. Buckets of Rain
Disc 5
1. Tangled Up in Blue
2. Tangled Up in Blue
3. Tangled Up in Blue
4. Simple Twist of Fate
5. Simple Twist of Fate
6. Up to Me
7. Up to Me
8. Idiot Wind
9. Idiot Wind
10. Idiot Wind
11. You're a Big Girl Now
12. Meet Me in the Morning
13. Meet Me in the Morning
Disc 6
1. You're a Big Girl Now
2. Tangled Up in Blue
3. Tangled Up in Blue
4. Idiot Wind
5. You're a Big Girl Now
6. Tangled up in Blue
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
8. If You See Her, Say Hello