Album Review

The latest entry in the most spectacular series of leftovers in rock and roll history arrived last week, and even Bob Dylan’s staunchest supporters had to be a little skeptical about the release of Tell Tale Signs, which covers unreleased material from the period of 1989-2006. After all, in the last ten years the master has released a trio of albums that stand up with his very best. What could possibly be left over from that?

One verse into “Red River Shore,” a pain-streaked ballad left on the cutting room floor during the Time Out Of Mind sessions in 1997, removes all doubts. The song is better than just about anything else I’ve heard this year, and Bob didn’t even deem it good enough for release at the time it was recorded. That’s just one indication that this two-CD, 27-song eighth volume of The Bootleg Series works beautifully as both a treasure trove for Dylanologists and a worthy starting point for newcomers.

Of course, by the time you get to that stunning song, you’ll have already listened to four Dylan late-period classics in drastically different form than the versions that were heard on the original albums. Much of Tell Tale Signs is devoted to such reinventions, which show Dylan at work in the studio tinkering with arrangements and lyrics, often with startling results.

Two different versions of “Mississippi” are heard here (three if you get the limited edition which includes a third CD), and the soft-spoken one that kicks off Tell Tale Signs is a revelation, highlighting the gratitude of the song’s narrator just as much as his regret. “Most Of The Time” fits well in Bob’s classic acoustic guitar-and-harmonica mode, “Dignity” is saved from its original generic rock work-up by gospel piano, and “Born In Time,” previously buried on 1990’s Under The Red Sky, the lone misfire from this period, finds dignity of its own through the tender reading here.

It’s also fascinating to see the creative process at work. “Dreamin Of You,” a mysterious and moody rocker found on Disc 1, eventually morphed into the languid Time Out Of Mind ballad “Standing In The Doorway.” An early version of “Can’t Wait” contains lyrics that would resurface four years later on “Sugar Baby.” And there are so many snippets of other songs in the blues/gospel hybrid “Marching To The City” it’s practically a Dylan trivia contest. But these versions are more than just pit stops on the way to the finished project and a glimpse at Dylan’s wheels turning; they stand up on their own as fully realized, vibrant songs and worthy additons to his staggering catalog.

Tell Tale Signs also collects some of Dylan’s soundtrack work from this time, and it’s safe to say that the songs were the best part of the films they represented. Check out “Huck’s Tune” from the poker flick Lucky You, which finds Bob wistfully folding on a relationship. “Tell Ol’ Bill” may not have much to do with the plot of North Country, but it’s a stunner on its own, with descriptions of the narrator’s surroundings that match “All Along The Watchtower” in their spooky, unsettling details. Best of this group is the gorgeous Civil War lament “Cross The Green Mountain” from Gods And Generals. You can tell Bob knows his subject matter inside and out on this one, allowing him to live inside of his character so that every emotion rings true.

If that’s not enough, there are some sizzling live cuts (“Ring Them Bells” and “High Water (For Charley Patton)” are particularly great) and a few traditionals thrown in as well. Dylan’s take on “Cocaine Blues” shows off his underrated interpretive ability. When the first volume of The Bootleg Series came out, many fans scratched their heads when they heard gems like “Blind Willie McTell” and “Foot Of Pride,” wondering how Bob could have left them off of his subpar 80’s albums. Here the only source of bewilderment may be how so much creativity can possibly emanate from one brain.

Back to the first verse of “Red River Shore”: It begins “Some of us turn off the lights and we live/In the moonilght shooting by/Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark/To be where the angels fly.” This stunning collection makes it clear that Bob Dylan is familiar with both of those extremes. In between he’s been loved, hated, electrified, wrecked, forgotten, deserted, misunderstood, saved, overrated, and restored. With clear eyes, a worried mind, and a light heart, he shares his journey on Tell Tale Signs, and yet he also makes it clear that the voyage continues. On “Mississippi,” he sings “I’ve got nothing but affection for them who sailed with me.” Right back at you, Bob.

Tomorrow JBev will give an overview of the albums Dylan released between 1989-2006, the period from which the tracks on Tell Tale Signs were taken.

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