Bob Dylan – Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 (5-CD)
Review
Bob Dylan may be alone in owning a vault so stuffed with quality recordings he can release hours of outtakes that stand as songs themselves, not merely as interesting but one-listen-and-done snippets and not-yet-finished arrangements.
Of course, as his live performances make clear, Dylan's arrangements are never finished. And the works-in-progress on Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 demonstrate this is a fortuitous circumstance.
The generous compilation includes a tasteful remix of the original LP up front and relatively low-quality live recordings from 1998-2001 and previously released material from Vol. 8 on the back end.
And in the middle lies gold.
This is the restless Dylan of resetting the music, revising his lyrics and reimagining his voice as a nasal cry, a twangy drawl from the briar and a haggard, glass-gargling rasp. It's the kind of restlessness that ensures multiple appearances of the same title sound like different compositions. And it leaves one to wonder whether the original track list and selection of takes for Time Out of Mind was deliberate or merely the tossing of darts at potential recordings for inclusion.
So while "Not Dark Yet," "Mississippi," "Highlands" and others cuts are undeniable classics, Dylan proves with this Bootleg they could've been even more impactful upon release. And he ensures they are now.
Meanwhile, Version 2 of "Dirt Road Blues" reveals the template for "Duquesne Whistle," while Version 2 of "Can't Wait" recalls the sound – but not the message – of "Slow Train."
Comprising five discs, 60 tracks and more than six hours of music, Fragments makes the point that Dylan – in the course of making one late-career album – recorded more potential keepers, more masterpieces tossed away, than many artists do in a career. It also, like so many of the preceding Bootleg Series releases, gives insight to how much different Dylan's linear output might have been had he made different choices or if the hypothetical dart had landed elsewhere.
— Kristopher Weiss, jambands.com
Product Details
Time Out of Mind arrived in 1997 after a six-year gap between Dylan studio albums, winning the Grammy for Album of the Year and signaling one of the most celebrated late-career creative surges in rock history. Producer Daniel Lanois brought a murky, atmospheric sound to those Criteria Studios sessions that divided listeners at the time but has only grown in stature since. These 60 tracks pull back the curtain on how those songs were actually built, from the ground up.
The latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy's highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series takes a fresh look at Time Out of Mind, Dylan's mid-career masterpiece, celebrating the album and its enduring impact 25 years after its original release on September 30, 1997. Fragments - Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17 follows the evolution of songs written for the album, from intimate early incarnations in the previously unreleased 1996 Teatro sessions through incandescent live renditions showcasing Dylan and his touring ensemble channeling the songs on-stage from 1998-2001.
Disc one premieres 2022 mixes, by Michael H. Brauer, of the eleven original recordings on Time Out of Mind, sounding more like how the songs came across when the musicians originally played them in the room.
Discs two and three are comprised of rare outtakes and alternate versions of songs written for Time Out of Mind including four original Dylan compositions--"Dreamin' of You," "Red River Shore," "Mississippi" (later re-recorded for "Love & Theft" in 2001) and "Marchin' to the City"--not included on the canonical 1997 tracklist. A fifth unreleased performance, Dylan's interpretation of "The Water is Wide," a traditional folk song of Scottish origin (and spiritual precursor of "Highlands," Time Out of Mind's epic closer) opens Disc Two.
Disc four presents songs from Time Out of Mind in a series of spectacular live performances from 1998-2001. All tracks on disc four are previously unavailable with the exception of "Make You Feel My Love" (May 21, 1998, Los Angeles).
As a bonus for fans, disc five brings together studio recordings of the four Dylan songs omitted from the original Time Out of Mind track list as well as exemplary live performances of "Cold Irons Bound" and "Tryin' To Get To Heaven." The twelve tracks on disc five were previously available on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs.
Tracklist
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
Disc 5
UPC: 196587067229
Label: Sony Legacy
Release Date: 1.27.23
Format: CD