Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
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Music Reviews of Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
Music Review: Even better than a new Dylan release
Rating: 5 Stars
For Dylan fans, the release of this album is a time to rejoice. I, for one, really enjoy Dylan's recent work. These albums contain, in many cases, versions that outshine those on the originally released albums. As others have said, Red River Shore is an absolute masterpiece of a song. But others are nearly its equal. The versions of Someday Baby is fantastic, the two version of Mississippi are priceless. These albums are on par with the original Bootleg Series 1-3, which are among my favorite albums. I do agree with others that the liner notes could be better, or at least contain more useful information. Especially the song-by-song descriptions are weak. But I don't care, the music alone makes this the best $15 you will ever spend. The liner notes could be written in crayon by a 5 year old, and this would still be a 5 star set easily.Music Review: Ring Them Bells
Rating: 5 Stars
A true American treasure is Bob Dylan. Thanks to him, I'm getting less speeding tickets, because I'm listening to Tell Tale Signs in my car and I'm driving slower...to hear more Bob! The 2 CDs are loaded with great stuff, notably live tracks Ring Them Bells and High Water. GREAT! Other reveiws published here describe T.T.S. excellently, so I'll just make a few off-the-wall ridiculous comments. It's interesting, grammatically, that this version of Everything Is Broken leaves out the "Is," so Dylan sings, "Everything Broken." I've no problem with 2 versions of Mississippi, but do we really need 2 versions of Dignity? And in my opinion, the version of Series of Dreams on an earlier Bootleg collection is superior to Series of Dreams here. The other bootleg version is more soul-stirring. Anyway, all in all, I LOVE Tell Tale Signs.Music Review: Raw Talent
Rating: 5 Stars
The thing about Bob Dylan that sets him apart from almost any other artist is the fact that he practically oozes talent. I contrast him to some other artists I admire like Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Paul Simon and U2. These artists hone their songs until they are finely prepared and finally ready for public consumption. Not so Dylan. They spring forth from him seemingly effortlessly and wonderful. He may change them a number of times both in the studio and live and these changes may even be better than the originals. It's an evolving process that is usually rewarding to watch. This 2 CD set filled with wonders from Bob's last 2 decades is a welcome addition to the Bootleg Series. I for one was very happy to see this edition slip free of the 60's. Bob's later work here is definitely worth hearing.Music Review: Great stuff, not always where you'd expect it
Rating: 4 Stars
So there's a lot of great stuff here, though what I really like so far is not what I expected to be good. The alternative take on "Most of the Time" I find just completely amazing, and light years better than the album version. "Red River Shore" is great. I've never been a huge fan of Dylan's live stuff (it seems to accent the nasal thing), but "Cocaine Blues" is excellent. What I find disappointing, actually, is the "new" song "Dreamin' of You," which turns out just to be a very muddled prototype (or protoplasm) of "Standing in the Doorway." The other new songs don't impress me much either, at least so far. But still, a lot of great material.
Biggest song from this period still MIA: the full band recording of "Blind Willie McTell." Also, a live recording of "Golden Vanity."
Music Review: 'Cross the Green Mountain
Rating: 5 Stars
Everything here is great--the alternate takes here all different enough from the album versions to be not only worth having, but worth listening to over and over, as I've been doing for the past few days. What really stuns me, though, and would make this collection worth the price even if the rest was Dylan belching, is the final, haunting final track, the eight minute Civil War meditation "'Cross the Green Mountain." To give a taste, I'll cite the same lines "Ratso" does in the liner notes:
"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."
Can any other songwriter of the rock n' roll era approach this stuff? I don't think so.