Early Roman Kings - Bob Dylan

Early Roman Kings - Bob Dylan

5:14

Tempest, 2012

Written by Bob Dylan

Melodically, this is one of the most stripped-down songs Dylan ever recorded. The band locks into a simple, repetitive blues groove and barely budges. Dylan's vocal is even more extreme: rather than singing a conventional melody, he mostly declaims the lyrics like a street preacher. As is nearly always the case in his later material, Dylan's lyrics meander, contain non sequiturs, quote snippets of this and that, toss out lines both surreal and profane, evoke a dark world of gangsters, power brokers, and conflict: "I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell / They killed them all off and they sent them to hell / Ding Dong Daddy, you’re coming up short / Gonna put you on trial in a Sicilian court." Whether Dylan is talking about ancient Rome, modern street gangs, or power itself hardly matters. The song is about people who believe their authority is permanent, who assume the world will always work in their favor. The relentless groove reinforces the idea that this is how things are, this is how they've always been, and this is how they'll always be. However, the lyric tells us that empires do crumble and fall.

Lo And Behold! [take 1] - Bob Dylan & the Band

Lo And Behold! [take 1] - Bob Dylan & the Band

2:53

The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, 2014 (recorded 1967)

Written by Bob Dylan

This take is fairly similar to the second, the one that ended up on the 1975 Basement Tapes, except for a few very minor alterations in the lyric, some (presumably stoned) laughing by Dylan, and fancier organ trills by Garth Hudson.  What makes these takes fascinating is not radical reinvention but the glimpse they offer into Dylan's process.  It's raw music, songs discovering themselves, a blend of old-timey Americana, parody, and folk archeology.   Even the laughter (as on the false start on "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream") becomes part of the music’s charm.

Slow Train [live] - Bob Dylan

Slow Train [live] - Bob Dylan
4:51
The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981, 2017 (recorded 1981)
Written by Bob Dylan

There are no less than six versions of "Slow Train" on this Bootleg set; the one featured here was recorded live at Earls Court, London, June 27, 1981.  This rendition, while riveting, with some excellent backing vocals, is not quite as blistering and fiery as I might like it, but as the song is one of Dylan's best tracks from his so-called gospel albums, I'll take it anyway.  And to be fair, there is a great guitar solo before the last verse.

Johnny Todd - Bob Dylan & the Band

Johnny Todd - Bob Dylan & the Band

2:05

The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, 2014 (recorded 1967)

traditional

This is a 19th century morality tale about a sailor who goes off to sea only to find that his love has married another fast-talking sailor who promises her "golden blankets" and a wedding ring.  "All you men who go a-sailing / For to fight the foreign foe / Don't leave your love like Johnny / Marry her before you go."  Over a drunken carnival piano line, Dylan sings it with a wink, playing the story straight but not exactly with reverence. 

Full Moon And Empty Arms - Bob Dylan

Full Moon And Empty Arms - Bob Dylan

3:22

Shadows In the Night, 2015

Written by Buddy Kaye, Ted Mossman, Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1945

So first off, why does Rachmaninoff, who dies in 1943, gets a composer credit here?  Because Kaye and based on Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, according to a contemporary article in Time magazine.  Apparently, he based the song "Ever and Forever" from the Rachmaninoff's movement, and "Full Moon and Empty Arms" from the third. In the song, the narrator years for his absent love, and declares he'll wish on the moon.  "And next full moon / If my one wish comes true / My empty arms will be filled with you."  Dylan sings it with a restrained yet highly emotionally charged raspy croon, against a sparse backing of pedal steel. 

Things We Said Today - Bob Dylan

Things We Said Today - Bob Dylan

3:01

The Art Of McCartney, 2014

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, 1964

Dylan gives this Beatles song the Time Out Of Mind-era Dylan treatment, growling through the verses with apparent gusto.  What to make of it?  Classic modern Dylan, all ominous echoey blues riffs and smoky atmosphere, but with Dylan sounding like he cares instead of being detached.  McCartney's songwriting will do that to even a giant of the industry.

What'll I Do - Bob Dylan

What'll I Do - Bob Dylan

3:16

Shadows In the Night, 2015

Written by Irving Berlin

I haven't put in a great deal of time listening to Dylan's four albums of Sinatra covers, which is a shame, because he made some great versions of classic songs from the greatest songwriters of the era.  In this song, the narrator laments that his love is gone, and he has only a photograph and dreams that won't come true.  The pedal steel guitar really shines on this track, giving it a hollow, noir feeling.

Too Late (band version) - Bob Dylan

Too Late (band version) - Bob Dylan

6:17

Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16 (1980-1985), 2021 (recorded 1983)

Written by Bob Dylan

This meandering, measured Infidels outtake is basically an early draft of what would become "Foot Of Pride," but contains several original lines, and musically, it's a wholly different piece.  It's a relaxed recording — you can practically hear Dylan composing it on the fly, rewriting mentally as he goes along — stream of consciousness in the best Dylan way.  I love the offhand nature of the lyrics that would later be sharpened and hissed out with venom: "How to enter the gates of paradise? / Nah, not really, more like how to go crazy from carrying a burden that's never meant to be yours."  As a worshiper in the church of the Unblemished Bob, I adore this living rough draft.  

Price Of Love - Bob Dylan

Price Of Love - Bob Dylan

4:15

The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: Springtime in New York 1980–1985, 2021 (written 1980)

Written by Bob Dylan

An outtake from Shot Of Love, this song is a Bo Diddley shuffle overlaid with rocking guitar and wailing sax.  The price of love is going up, the bard reflects.  And if you don't pay, there's always another sucker  who will.  As is often the case, the lyrics are rather recondite.  "Come down, baby, I'm bark to wood / Found a snake in the neighborhood."  And if that weren't enough: "Leave the valley, and across the ridge / Write up a note that I need your head."  Perhaps these were just nonce lyrics, like "Scrambled Eggs" for "Yesterday."

Pretty Saro - Bob Dylan

Pretty Saro - Bob Dylan

2:16

The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013 (recorded 1970)

traditional

The narrator pines for his love, Saro, but since he has no land or money, he can't very well ask for her to stick around.  He's not even a dab hand with words: "If I was a poet / And could write a fine hand / I'd write my love a letter / That she'd understand."  But since he can't, he must bid her adieu and see her only in his dreams.  Dylan's using his crooner voice here, a subdued, haunting vocal that emphasizes the narrator's helplessness in the face of harsh reality.

When the Ship Comes In [live] - Bob Dylan

When the Ship Comes In [live] - Bob Dylan
3:05
The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack, 2005 (recorded 1963)

Written by Bob Dylan

One of my favorite early Dylan songs.  I love the insistent guitar that propels the song along, the melody and pitch rising and falling like waves.  It's like a gospel march wrapped in a folk protest song.  This version was recorded at Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963.  It doesn't differ a great deal from the studio version (which runs at 3:14) — that live show prerequisite would come with later, grumpier Dylan — but it's such a terrific song, I'll hear it again only slightly tweaked, I don't mind.

Railroad Bill - Bob Dylan

Railroad Bill - Bob Dylan

2:44

The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013 (recorded 1970)

traditional

Dylan's ability to inhabit an old tune and make it his own is on display here, with a spare acoustic backing and a world-weary voice.  A younger Dylan might have taken this tale of an outlaw rambler and made it uptempo and sung it brightly like he did on "Rambling, Gambling Willie," but here he sounds like he really has been put upon by Bill, and wishes Bill would leave him and his wife alone.

Marchin' To the City - Bob Dylan

Marchin' To the City - Bob Dylan

4:33

The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996–1997), 2023 (recorded 1996)

Written by Bob Dylan

An outtake from Time Out Of Mind, something like an early version of "Til I Fell in Love With You," a few lyrics that made it into the final cut popping up here and there.  Note that this is a different cut from the the two versions of this song that appear on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006.  Those songs clock in at 6:32 and 3:40.  This one, from Fragments, is closer in tone and tempo to the shorter version 2.  It was probably recorded in 1996.  Looking back with the knowledge of what would come, this is pretty clearly unfinished, but I don't think you would say that if you'd never heard the final result.