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Set I
Mystery Train - Outtake, 1981
Heart Of Mine - Outtake, 1981
Caribbean Wind - Outtake, 1980
Wind Blowing On The Water - Outtake, 1981
Shot Of Love - Outtake, 1981
Watered-Down Love - Rough Mix, 1981
Hallelujah - Outtake, 1981
Let It Be Me - Outtake, 1981
Is It Worth It? - Outtake, 1981
Let's Keep It Between Us - Outtake, 1980
Magic - Outtake, 1981
Dead Man, Dead Man - Rough Mix, 1981
Ah Ah Ah Ah (High Away) - Outtake, 1981
In The Summertime - Rough Mix, 1981
Borrowed Time - Outtake, 1981
Heart Of Mine - Outtake, 1981
Caribbean Wind - Outtake, 1980
Wind Blowing On The Water - Outtake, 1981
Shot Of Love - Outtake, 1981
Watered-Down Love - Rough Mix, 1981
Hallelujah - Outtake, 1981
Let It Be Me - Outtake, 1981
Is It Worth It? - Outtake, 1981
Let's Keep It Between Us - Outtake, 1980
Magic - Outtake, 1981
Dead Man, Dead Man - Rough Mix, 1981
Ah Ah Ah Ah (High Away) - Outtake, 1981
In The Summertime - Rough Mix, 1981
Borrowed Time - Outtake, 1981
Set II
Set III
Comment
Welcome to a lovely and oft-overlooked corner of Bob Dylan's recording career - the sessions
that led to 1981's Shot of Love . Shot of Love is a remarkably good record, whatever else you've
heard, and was Dylan's last to sound like a bunch of people playing in the same room until Love
& Theft in 2001. There was no sleek shine to this production, and consequently it breathed with
the passion found in much of the man's best work. Unfortunately, many of the finest recordings
from these sessions were not released on that album. In particular, "Yonder Comes Sin" and
"Caribbean Wind" are absolutely essential, and "Heart of Mine" was recorded in a much better
rendition than the one that appears on the official release.
Outside of these classics, more minor gems were recorded. No collection of Dylan outtakes
would be complete without these covers of "Mystery Train" and "Let It Be Me." The
fragmentary songs, including "Hallelujah" (not the Leonard Cohen song) and "Borrowed Time"
make one wonder what could have been; "Is It Worth It" and "Ah Ah Ah Ah (High Away)" point
to the reggae-influenced road ahead to Infidels , and contribute to the overall Caribbean sound of
this era.
The other studio cuts are intriguing as well. "Let's Keep It Between Us" is a fairly recently
unearthed prototype for a song that would become transcendent on the road in Fall, 1980; you
can find a live recording of the song on Rise Again: Live, Fall 1980 . “Caribbean Wind” is one of
Bob Dylan’s greatest compositions, and this studio performance remains the only one not
officially released (among the ones that have circulated). Until 2017, only the overproduced
rendition on Biograph was available to paying customers; this was happily rectified with Trouble
No More , where a soft piano rehearsal and the mind-blowing live performance from 1980 were
finally officially released. This version of the song is somewhere between the rehearsal and live
version, as it features the “rattlesnake” lyrics of the rehearsal that appears on Trouble No More
but includes a more propulsive rhythm section.
The rough mixes of "Dead Man, Dead Man," "Watered-Down Love," and "In The Summertime"
are all interesting, but "Watered-Down Love" stands above the others, retaining an extra verse
not present on the official release but conspicuous in live performances from 1981. It's likely
that, like the longer version of "Dead Man, Dead Man" that appears on 2017's Trouble No More ,
this extra verse was cut for time constraints on the 1981 Shot of Love LP. "In The Summertime,"
too, stands out for the inclusion of a mournful harmonica that extends the song by a full minute
beyond its officially released version. “Dead Man, Dead Man” is reasonably similar to the
version that appeared on the final album, but drum and guitar overdubs would eventually be
overlaid upon this raw in-studio rendition.
A handful of songs have been cut from this updated publication of an earlier Thousand Highways
compilation. Of these, "The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar" was abandoned for its similarity
to the officially released studio performance; the only difference was an extended conclusion in
which the band eventually stops playing. Live recordings have also been omitted to improve the
sense of cohesion. An extended two-disc collection representing the 1981 tours will cover this
material.
I hope you enjoy this newest compilation, and include it in your collections alongside the
inimitable Shot of Love and extraordinary Trouble No More . It was a blast to put together. Until
next time, keep yourself healthy and listen to some good tunes.
-CS
that led to 1981's Shot of Love . Shot of Love is a remarkably good record, whatever else you've
heard, and was Dylan's last to sound like a bunch of people playing in the same room until Love
& Theft in 2001. There was no sleek shine to this production, and consequently it breathed with
the passion found in much of the man's best work. Unfortunately, many of the finest recordings
from these sessions were not released on that album. In particular, "Yonder Comes Sin" and
"Caribbean Wind" are absolutely essential, and "Heart of Mine" was recorded in a much better
rendition than the one that appears on the official release.
Outside of these classics, more minor gems were recorded. No collection of Dylan outtakes
would be complete without these covers of "Mystery Train" and "Let It Be Me." The
fragmentary songs, including "Hallelujah" (not the Leonard Cohen song) and "Borrowed Time"
make one wonder what could have been; "Is It Worth It" and "Ah Ah Ah Ah (High Away)" point
to the reggae-influenced road ahead to Infidels , and contribute to the overall Caribbean sound of
this era.
The other studio cuts are intriguing as well. "Let's Keep It Between Us" is a fairly recently
unearthed prototype for a song that would become transcendent on the road in Fall, 1980; you
can find a live recording of the song on Rise Again: Live, Fall 1980 . “Caribbean Wind” is one of
Bob Dylan’s greatest compositions, and this studio performance remains the only one not
officially released (among the ones that have circulated). Until 2017, only the overproduced
rendition on Biograph was available to paying customers; this was happily rectified with Trouble
No More , where a soft piano rehearsal and the mind-blowing live performance from 1980 were
finally officially released. This version of the song is somewhere between the rehearsal and live
version, as it features the “rattlesnake” lyrics of the rehearsal that appears on Trouble No More
but includes a more propulsive rhythm section.
The rough mixes of "Dead Man, Dead Man," "Watered-Down Love," and "In The Summertime"
are all interesting, but "Watered-Down Love" stands above the others, retaining an extra verse
not present on the official release but conspicuous in live performances from 1981. It's likely
that, like the longer version of "Dead Man, Dead Man" that appears on 2017's Trouble No More ,
this extra verse was cut for time constraints on the 1981 Shot of Love LP. "In The Summertime,"
too, stands out for the inclusion of a mournful harmonica that extends the song by a full minute
beyond its officially released version. “Dead Man, Dead Man” is reasonably similar to the
version that appeared on the final album, but drum and guitar overdubs would eventually be
overlaid upon this raw in-studio rendition.
A handful of songs have been cut from this updated publication of an earlier Thousand Highways
compilation. Of these, "The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar" was abandoned for its similarity
to the officially released studio performance; the only difference was an extended conclusion in
which the band eventually stops playing. Live recordings have also been omitted to improve the
sense of cohesion. An extended two-disc collection representing the 1981 tours will cover this
material.
I hope you enjoy this newest compilation, and include it in your collections alongside the
inimitable Shot of Love and extraordinary Trouble No More . It was a blast to put together. Until
next time, keep yourself healthy and listen to some good tunes.
-CS
Last Changed By
Shawnee
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Collectors With This Show
| User (active/rating) | Media / # | Show | Sound | Details | DB Source | User Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Warner (5/5) | FLAC / 0 | View | Studio>?>FLAC | |||
| Shawnee (2/5) | FLAC / 1 | View | Studio | |||
| thegreatdivide6 (1/0) | flac / 0 | View | ||||
| Notes: | sbd | |||||
| Dan Anderson (1/4.9) | CD-R / 1 | View | STUDIO | |||