Bob Dylan: Fragments - Time Out Of Mind Sessions 1996-1997 - The Bootleg Series Vol. 17
Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind was considered by many to be a big "comeback" album, a "return to form" blah blah blah...Quotes referring to its genius were ubiquitous.
For me, though, Dylan never went away, he had just been diversifying into traditional Americana and acoustic ballads on the Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong albums. Here he managed to merge some of the aspects of those albums with a more robust sound and a lyrical emphasis on ageing and mortality. It became one of his darkest albums and here we have a subsequent box set of outtakes/alternative versions from the album's sessions and an excellent, deep, bassy remix of the original album. Personally, I haven't got a problem with remixes, not viewing them, like some, as heretical. If a remix can be seen to improve on a slightly flawed original recording, then I'm all for it. Listeners can then choose which version they prefer. Invariably I choose the remix.
The remix in question here has made up me re-listen to Time Out Of Mind through new ears, enjoying it much more, playing it over and over. I find this 2023 remix - as many such remixes have proved to be (witness The Beatles' Revolver. George Harrison's All Things Must Pass or David Bowie's Lodger) - a warm, punchy, weighty affair that lends far more oomph and accompanying gravitas to the songs. This improved sonic quality (punchier, bluesier, less murk) is a major contributor to my increased love for the album. Maybe it was a valedictory and before its time work of genius after all.
Also highly enjoyable are the non-album numbers such as The Water Is Wide, Dreamin' Of You, Marchin' To The City, Red River Shore and Mississippi. However, the latter three of these songs had already been included on the Tell Tale Signs box set. Indeed, all of Disc 5 previously appeared on Tell Tale Signs.
The live cuts are also strong, and see Dylan in convincing form, vocally, something that is not always the case. They have a bit of a raw, authentic live atmosphere to them, which I like. You can even hear people murmuring to each other at times, which almost makes you feel you're there at the gig. Quite what possessed someone to whoop at the top of their voice during Tryin' To Get To Heaven is beyond me, however! It was in the UK as well, you would expect that of Americans, but not here. We normally listen politely.
While this collection is not a cornucopia of previously unheard "new" songs, it is a fine collection of alternative versions that in every case throw new light on the song. Check out Not Dark Yet as an example. Just how good is the groovy Version 1 of Dirt Road Blues too? Give it a listen. Add 'Till I Fell In Love With You Version 2 to that as well along with the soulful Standing In The Doorway Version 1. The sound quality throughout the set is superb too. It just makes for a damn good listen - it has a real warmth to it that I love.
To back up my comments, a few brief opinions from professional reviewers are all positive too. I don't normally quote others, but they provide a helpful additional perspective here. Basically, don't just take my word for it.
In Der Spiegel, Max Dax gave a positive review of this album, writing that the new remix unleashes "the full musical power" of Dylan at this stage in his career. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noting that Daniel Lanois' original production on Time Out Of Mind had a "murkiness that nagged at Dylan" and that the recordings are a chronicle of Dylan attempting to find the right sound for these songs. Pitchfork reviewer Jayson Greene praised the structure and relevance of the release, noting that this entry in the Bootleg Series both "subverts received knowledge" and "magnifies legends" about Dylan's often-mythologized career and songwriting. Rolling Stone's David Browne said that the Time Out Of Mind sessions deserve the "under-the-microscope treatment".
For my review of the original album click here.
