Travelin' Thru. The Bootleg Series vol. 15 1967 - 1969. Bob Dylan featuring Johnny Cash

Another release in the bootleg series that is becoming as endless as the never ending tour (although Covid-19 put an effective hold on that). I do not have them all, but do own most and I have to say that they are great additions to the original albums and sometimes even better.

In volume 15 we are allowed to listen in to the two albums' recording sessions Dylan released in 1967 and 1969, 'John Wesley Harding' and 'Nashville Skyline'. The first a tremendous surprise/shock to his fans, as he did away with everything he did in 1965/66 and sort of returned to his folk days in a band setting. The 1969 album embraces Nashville in a Dylan way. It is for decades one of my favourite Dylan albums. They both pre-date all things Dylan for me. Either 'Watching The River Flow' or 'George Jackson' was my conscious initiation. The latter my first Dylan single/record.

'Nashville Skyline' opens with a duet, 'Girl From The North Country', between Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. One in which there are some obvious mistakes that were allowed to remain in there, showing the informality of the sessions Dylan held with Cash. Now there's a whole cd and a half worth of songs they tried in studio together, sometimes a weird experiment, singing two vocal melodies of two different songs over one song, Cash ending recordings with the question "can someone please write the lyrics out for me"?  In all we can hear Dylan searching for and often finding a harmony vocal, where Cash sings his part in his dark brown voice.

I can perfectly understand why the material was not released at the time. It wasn't ready for release, just two famous artist, supported by Cash's band including Rock and Roll star Carl Perkins, having fun together in the studio for a day. The idea to record a record together just never materialised. Dylan did perform in 'The Johnny Cash Show' on tv before flying home to his up state home in New York where he lived his family life at the time.

The third cd also contains the tv show recordings and a session with Earl Scruggs and sons for a televised show around Scruggs.

Again the cd set is an useful and great addition to Dylan's official output. The alternate takes of the songs we already know are welcome and a few are real surprises compared to how they came out officially. From a new intro to a totally different arrangement. This is amazing knowing how short Dylan recording sessions often were. It also made me re-evaluate 'John Wesley Harding' which I always thought a bit harsh album. I changed my mind here because of Volume 15.

The other recordings are just so much fun to hear. Like a fly on the wall I get to hear two famous musicians enjoy themselves and work themselves through songs they know and admire. Whether they know them or only half, they just go. Everyone writes about Cash and Dylan, but what to think of the men in the background. They had to provide most the music to all these songs.You just have to admire their skills and knowledge.

The final session with Earl Scruggs is nice for history but sounds a bit forced to me. The men do not relax like Johnny Cash and Dylan were together. Still, also good to hear as this session is a part of musical history as well and now available.

Somehow I thought I did not need this volume and skipped it until early summer of this year. Was I wrong. I can thank Spotify for the spontaneous introduction here.

Wo.


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