Bob Dylan
Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8, Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006
BY Jordan Timm
October 08, 2008 11:10
He’s always had a knack for choosing and drilling musicians, but it wasn’t until 1997 that Bob Dylan began recording with the crack units that have accompanied him on The Never Ending Tour (twenty years and counting). The many stand-outs in this collection of less-heavily produced alternate or live takes show off those players’ facility with every form of traditional American music. Meanwhile, Dylan is confirmed as a brilliant blues singer and, improbably, the unreleased songs are often on par with those that made the cut on his excellent post-‘90 albums. The casual listener gets a double-disc set that’s a peer to those collections, the Dylanologist thrills to discover how parts of the discards were stripped and repurposed, and Tell Tale Signs is essential for both. The unlikely winning streak in the autumn of Dylan’s career continues. As per the Time Out of Mind outtake “Dreamin’ of You,” “Some things just last longer than you thought they would / And they’re never ever explained.”
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