At Long Last! "Blood On The Tracks" Is The Focus Of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series: Volume 14

In September 2012, Bob Dylan released an alternate take of "Meet Me In The Morning" (from Blood On The Tracks) as the B-side to "Duquesne Whistle". At that time, it was reported that "Meet Me In The Morning" was a track from the soon-to-be-released Volume 12 of Dylan's Bootleg Series.

However, that did not happen. Volume 12 ended up being devoted to The Basement Tapes. Volume 13 was an overview of Dylan's "Christian Period" (1979-81).

It was announced last week that the Blood On the Tracks set - which must have been mostly completed and ready to go six years ago - will be released on November 2 as Volume 14! More Blood, More Tracks will include six discs comprising "every surviving take" from the New York sessions, including false starts and "studio banter".

For fans of what many people (including myself) regard as Dylan's greatest album, this confirmation is still stunning news - because it was never clear what would be released. Would it be everything, as was done with The Cutting Edge, an 18-disc set of everything recorded for Dylan's mid-60s masterpieces Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde On Blonde? Or would it be a sampling, as was done with the gospel sessions for Trouble No More? And would there be anything included that was previously unknown?

More Blood, More Tracks will feature over 70 previously unreleased recordings, though they are all songs, either from the official album or the two outtakes released in more recent years. But there is no possible way this set will not be riveting because it is impossible for Dylan to sing a song the same way twice. Even in successive takes, he will emphasize different words, perhaps also changing the lyrics slightly. The personal nature of these songs only heightens that aspect of his performance. Also the recordings for this album were done solo, with a full band, and with a partial band.

The music will no doubt be a revelation, but then there is this: the accompanying book will include "a complete reproduction of one of Dylan's legendary handwritten 57 page notebooks", in which he wrote and revised the album's 10 songs. (There are also at least seven songs written at the same time but not recorded.*) There are stories about the infamous "red notebook", but there were actually two or three notebooks. This is Holy Grail stuff! The original notebooks are currently held in a museum in New York City and are not available to researchers until after Dylan's death.

I see "Idiot Wind" scrawled at the top of the second page and the song spills over to the third and fourth pages. I also read "Blame it on a simple twist of fate" near the bottom of the first page. In March 2016, The New York Times published an article about Dylan's archives is Tulsa, Oklahoma, and included close-ups of three other notebook pages:

While Dylan's shopping lists ("hot dogs") or to-do lists ("hook phone back up") are interesting, I hope there are not too many of them in MBMT.

*: The unrecorded songs, according to Clinton Heylin's The Recording Sessions 1960-1994: "Bell Tower Blues", "There Ain't Gonna Be Any Next Time", "Where Do You Turn (Turning Point)", "It's Breakin' Me Up", "Don't Want No Married Woman", "Ain't It Funny", and "Little Bit Of Rain".

The recording history of Blood On The Tracks is slightly irregular. A test pressing was compiled from the New York sessions and sent to a few journalists in late 1974. As the legend goes, Dylan played this test pressing for his brother David around Christmas and, based (perhaps) on his brother's feedback, decided to re-record five of the songs, making the final album a mix of the two sessions. It wasn't long before bootleg copies of the test pressing began circulating and Dylanologists have been arguing which version of the album is "better" ever since.

Unfortunately, the multi-track masters of the five re-recordings are all that survive from the two Minneapolis sessions. Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard, in A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks, offer a fuller accounting of what was played. This information most likely comes from interviews with the various musicians. (Odegard was one of the Minnesota musicians.)

December 27, 1974, Sound 80 Studio, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1. Idiot Wind (Rehearsal)
2. Idiot Wind
3. Idiot Wind
4. Idiot Wind
5. Idiot Wind (Released on Blood On The Tracks)
6. You're A Big Girl Now
7. You're A Big Girl Now (Released on Blood On The Tracks)

December 30, 1974, Sound 80 Studio, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1. Tangled Up In Blue (G version)
2. Tangled Up In Blue (partial A version, rehearsal)
3. Tangled Up In Blue (Released on Blood On The Tracks)
4. Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (rehearsal)
5. Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (Released on Blood On The Tracks)
6. If You See Her, Say Hello (rehearsal)
7. If You See Her, Say Hello (Released on Blood On The Tracks)

Bob Dylan / More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Volume 14

[The information in italicized brackets comes from Michael Krossgaard previously-published research. While he had access to recording logs and files in the archives of Columbia/Sony Records, the information may not be entirely accurate. Also, the information included in MBMT may not be completely correct, as noted below.]

DISC 1

A&R Studios, New York, September 16, 1974
1. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1) – solo
2. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 2) – solo – previously released on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3
3. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 1) – solo
4. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 2) – solo
5. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 1) – solo [incomplete]
6. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2) – solo
7. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 3) – solo
8. Up to Me (Rehearsal) – solo [not included by Krossgaard]
9. Up to Me (Take 1) – solo
10. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 1) – solo [not included by Krossgaard]
11. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 2) – solo – included on test pressing [listed as Take 1 by Krossgaard]

DISC 2

A&R Studios, New York, September 16, 1974
1. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 1A) – with band
2. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2A) – with band [incomplete]
3. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 3A) – with band
4. Call Letter Blues (Take 1) – with band
5. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1) – with band – edited version included on test pressing and Blood on the Tracks
6. Call Letter Blues (Take 2) – with band – previously released on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3
7. Idiot Wind (Take 1) – with bass
8. Idiot Wind (Take 1, Remake) – with bass [incomplete]
9. Idiot Wind (Take 3 with insert) – with bass [listed as Take 4 by Krossgaard]
10. Idiot Wind (Take 5) – with bass [incomplete]
11. Idiot Wind (Take 6) – with bass
12. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Rehearsal and Take 1) – with band [incomplete]
13. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 2) – with band [incomplete]
14. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 3) – with band [incomplete]
15. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 4) – with band
16. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 5) – with band
17. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 6) – with band
18. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 6, Remake) – with band [incomplete]
19. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 7) – with band [incomplete]
20. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 8) – with band

DISC 3

A&R Studios, New York, September 16, 1974
1. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 1) – with bass [incomplete]

A&R Studios, New York, September 17, 1974
2. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 1, Remake) – with bass and organ
3. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 2, Remake) – with bass, organ, and steel guitar – included on test pressing and previously released on Biograph
4. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal) – with bass and organ [not included by Krossgaard]
5. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 2, Remake) – with bass and organ [listed as Take 1 by Krossgaard]
6. Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (Take 1) – with bass and piano [listed as "?" by Krossgaard]
7. Call Letter Blues (Rehearsal) – with bass and piano [listed as "Blues (incomplete)" by Krossgaard]
8. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 1, Remake) – with bass and piano
9. Shelter from the Storm (Take 1) – with bass and piano – previously released on the Jerry McGuire original soundtrack
10. Buckets of Rain (Take 1) – with bass
11. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake) – with bass
12. Buckets of Rain (Take 2) – with bass
13. Shelter from the Storm (Take 2) – with bass [listed as "slow" by Krossgaard]
14. Shelter from the Storm (Take 3) – with bass [incomplete; listed as "fast" by Krossgaard]
15. Shelter from the Storm (Take 4) – with bass – previously released on Blood on the Tracks

DISC 4

A&R Studios, New York, September 17, 1974
1. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass [listed as "slow" by Krossgaard]
2. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 2, Remake 2) – with bass [listed as "fast" by Krossgaard]
3. Buckets of Rain (Take 1, Remake) – previously released on Blood on the Tracks [not listed by Krossgaard]

A&R Studios, New York, September 18, 1974
4. Buckets of Rain (Take 2, Remake) – solo [incomplete; listed as Take 1 by Krossgaard]
5. Buckets of Rain (Take 3, Remake) – solo [listed as Take 2 by Krossgaard]
6. Buckets of Rain (Take 4, Remake) – solo [not listed by Krossgaard]

A&R Studios, New York, September 19, 1974
7. Up to Me (Take 1, Remake) – with bass [incomplete]
8. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake) – with bass
9. Buckets of Rain (Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass
10. Buckets of Rain (Take 2, Remake 2) – with bass [incomplete]
11. Buckets of Rain (Take 3, Remake 2) – with bass [incomplete]
12. Buckets of Rain (Take 4, Remake 2) – with bass – previously released on Blood on the Tracks
13. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1, Remake) – with bass – previously included on test pressing
14. Up to Me (Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass [incomplete]
15. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake 2) – with bass
16. Up to Me (Take 3, Remake 2) – with bass
17. Buckets of Rain (Rehearsal) – with bass
18. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1, Remake) – with bass – previously released on "Duquesne Whistle" 7-inch single
19. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 2, Remake) – with bass
20. Buckets of Rain (Take 5, Remake 2) – with bass

DISC 5

A&R Studios, New York, September 19, 1974
1. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal and Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass [incomplete]
2. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 2, Remake 2) – with bass [incomplete]
3. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake 2) – with bass – included on test pressing and previously released on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3
4. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2, Remake) – with bass [false start]
5. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 3, Remake) – with bass – previously released on Blood on the Tracks [Krossgaard lists 3 takes for this date]
6. Up to Me (Rehearsal and Take 1, Remake 3) – with bass [incomplete]
7. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake 3) – with bass – previously released on Biograph
8. Idiot Wind (Rehearsal and Takes 1-3, Remake) – with bass [incomplete]
9. Idiot Wind (Take 4, Remake) – with bass
10. Idiot Wind (Take 4, Remake with organ overdub) included on test pressing and previously released on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 [Krossgaard says overdub recorded on October 8]
11. You’re a Big Girl Now (Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass
12. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1, Remake 2) – with bass
13. Meet Me in the Morning (Takes 2-3, Remake 2) – with bass [Krossgaard lists 6 takes: 3 incomplete and 3 false starts]

DISC 6

A&R Studios, New York, September 19, 1974
1. You’re a Big Girl Now (Takes 3-6, Remake 2) – with bass [not mentioned by Krossgaard]
2. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal and Takes 1-2, Remake 3) – with bass [incomplete]
3. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake 3) – with bass

Sound 80 Studio, Minneapolis, MN, December 27, 1974
4. Idiot Wind – with band – previously released on Blood on the Tracks
5. You’re a Big Girl Now – with band – previously released on Blood on the Tracks

Sound 80 Studio, Minneapolis, MN, December 30, 1974
6. Tangled up in Blue – with band – previously released on Blood on the Tracks
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts – with band – previously released on Blood on the Tracks
8. If You See Her, Say Hello – with band – previously released on Blood on the Tracks

Notes on Disc 5:

The notes state that "Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake 2)" from September 19 was included on the test pressing and released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3. However, the booklet included with The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 states the song was recorded on September 16. (But that cannot be correct if there was only one incomplete take done that day.) Also, "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Idiot Wind" on the test pressing are not the same takes that appeared on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3.

More - though certainly not all - will be revealed on November 2.