Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol.8/Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 (Audio CD)

"You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way" This is effectively a follow up to Bootleg series vol 1 - 3 (1961 - 91) How anyone thought they could find 2 let alone 3 discs worth of recent material to compare with those glory years is beyond me. Dylan has had several peaks over the decades, but each has hit a lesser height. Dylan's released work of the last ten years, while good, does not match the mid seventies era (Planet Waves / Blood on the Tracks / Desire), let alone the mid sixties classics. These outtakes reflect that drop in quality. There is nothing here to match "Blind Willie McTell" or "Last thoughts on Woody Guthrie" that appeared on the vol 1-3 set. Anyway, the bad stuff first: There is far too much filler here. The two (two!) versions of "Mississippi" are mediocre demos add nothing to my appreciation of the released version. "Series of Dreams" apppeared as a finished outtake on vol 1-3, why do we need an inferior demo on this editon? Some of the live tracks reflect Bob's inconsistency as a performer. "High Water" may have a sentimental resonance for the people of New Orleans, but it is a rotten performance. Good stuff: Two versions of Dignity - in two different arrangements with different lyrics (but one would have been enough!). "Red River Shore" / "Greenbriar Shore" a Dylan original and the folk song it is based on. "Ring Them Bells" live - a superb live performance - but why is it the only track from the four nights he recorded at the Supper Club? The remaining tracks vary from ok to good. The finished movie songs being the better ones.

The best yet The standard of the bootleg series has been consistently high - this collection demonstrates that Bob's output since Oh Mercy is as strong as anything he's done in his career. Some suprise acoustic versions of songs (Most of the Time, originally off Oh Mercy and Mississipi from Time out of Mind), the opportunity to get Tell Old Bill and Cross the Green Mountain in a Dylan rather than a movie soundtrack collection and excellent live tracks plus Red River Shore as a completeley unrealeased song, make this a great collection. I know people moan about the rip off 3 disk version, get the third disc elswhere and enjoy this two disc collection! Brilliant stuff.

Every track tells a tale This 8th in the series of Dylan Bootleg Series was well worth the wait. There is some dedate over which version to buy, both the single and double CDs are good value, both coming with the excellent 64 page booklet, which for hardcore Dylan fans is worth the price alone. For me, it's the cooking Live tracks from 2002/2003 which make this a must-buy, plus the superb unreleased tracks from "Oh Mercy" and "Time out of mind". Both these albums were heralded as returns to form and the best Dylan product of their respective decades, the 80s and 90s. Side 1 ends with "High Water" which is such a delight, you just want to be in the crowd giving it large. Similarly, "Lonesome Day Blues" on side 2 is as smoking a live track as you'll hear this year. People who raved over the discovery of Blind Willy McTell on the 1st set of the Bootleg Series will not be disappointed by the gems unearthed on this superb album.

Review the reviews! Most of the very negative reviews pertain to the ridiculously overpriced three CD version of this album--buyers of that version (me among them) are rightly outraged at the low value for money. Please note that there's nothing wrong with the two CD version, which is in fact the one that should be reviewed at this place (there's also a one CD version--the "Single" version--but that's best left on the shelves). Whatever version you consider, the album in itself contains a more than decent collection of tracks; as many reviewers found, however, there might have been a little more new or unknown material.

Some wonderful things here This is fabulous, of course. But the price of the 3Cd version is outrageous, and the record company should be ashamed of trying to milk the fans so blatantly. Anyone paying 100 quid for three CDs has more money than sense. There's enough Bob on the 2 CD edition, but frankly the price of the 3 CD one has put me off buying even that. 5 stars for the content, 1 star for the arse-over-face marketing experiment.