The Bootleg Series Volume 15
Travelin' Thru 1967-1969 (2019)


Sampler
 

  1. I Pity the Poor Immigrant
  2. I am a Lonesome Hobo
  3. To Be Alone with You
  4. Lay Lady Lay
  5. Tell Me That it isn't True
  6. Country Pie
  7. I Still Miss Someone (w/Johnny Cash)
  8. Matchbox (w/Johnny Cash)
  9. Big River (w/Johnny Cash)
  10.Girl from the North Country (w/Johnny Cash)
  11.Guess Things Happen That Way (w/Johnny Cash)
  12.Wanted Man (w/Johnny Cash)
  13.Ring of Fire
  14.East Virginia Blues

 

It gets a bit tiring reviewing all of the Bob Dylan "official" bootleg releases. This is now number 15, and one has to wonder if the end will ever be in sight. I honestly believe, say, 25-30 years ago that "buying a bootleg" was a much better reward for a fan. Nowadays with the internet and YouTube being so prevelant, it's much easier to slag off most of these unofficial recordings since technology as made the novelty wear rather thin.

Regardless, I guess those in charge of Dylan's catalog will keep going until they have exhaused everything. For this time period, 1967 - 1969, we mainly focus on Dylan's late sixties' "country" phase. He had two records that are mainly highlighted here, and both were quite good. Even though they're both regarded as "country", they were, in fact, quite different

John Wesley Harding had much more rustic, modern western feel, whereas Nashville Skyline was a much more poppier, slick effort. Dylan even croons in a unique way with his voice sounding radically different. Like many of the other Dylan "bootlegs", I only listened to the one disc sampler as opposed to the (I think) 3 disc complete version. I sound repetitive, but my feeling for this one is the same as most of the others. It's good, or at least interesting, but doesn't warrant spending more money on something that I'll probably never listen to more than once.

In fact, probably the biggest highlight here is the rehearsals with Johnny Cash. The two ended up only releasing one song together on Dylan's Nashville Skyline

, yet apparently they rehearsed a lot more. Their back and forth playful banter is amusing, but doesn't really add anything to the "finished" product here. Again, it may be fun to listne to your heroes goof off in a recording series, but once is probably enough. So like all of his other official "bootlegs", this one does what it's probably supposed to, but I don't really see the value in owning something that won't get even minimal repeated listnes.

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