The Basement Tapes - Dylan, Bob (CD 1988)

Boring And Self-Conscious Introduction:

At times, it seemed almost a fait accompli; the urge to post on Bob Dylan took on a most urgent tone. Tap tapping away on the computer spewing my half-as*ed opinion about some here-today gone-tomorrow indie rocker, I think to myself, "What am I doing? Fry the big fish. You can do it." He's IT for me, one of the few performers deserving of the big G "Genius" without a smirk, my list is a short one - I assure you. I've heard of people who don't like Bob Dylan, some might even be decent, honest and intelligent listeners. Most likely in that order with a severe drop towards the end. My understanding, or lack, of his life's work has always been a guiding impetus in my "fanboy" music obsessing and collecting (If one owns something, they've got it, right?). So sure, I've got all the records. I've read all the biographies, Behind the Shades by Clinton Heylin seems to me the most worthwhile, and although they all provide a very sketchy skeleton with which to provide any would-be song interpreters with hours of trainspotting fun (Gee, I wonder if Echo really is the girl from the north country?) it's really the mystery of Dylan that keeps the kids coming back. Let me tell you, it doesn"t get much weirder than The Basement Tapes; so here I am, like a moth to flame.

Boring Objective Introduction:

These recordings were never meant to be released and only came out due to the appearance of several bootlegs, thus it seems a marketing move to prevent the illegal trading of these sessions. Compiled by Robbie Robertson in 1975, the record is as much a Band (6 demos, backing band on the rest) record as Dylan (19 compositions) solo record. The body of songs, some of the best written by Dylan and The Band, amazingly only saw the light of day 7 years after their recording. Many have speculated on the reasons: Poor sound quality, Dylan's rapid songwriting progression and persona changes, Dylan's proposed label change to MGM. It remains an astonishing fact that this music may have only seen the light of day if not for some illicit and industrious bootleggers. Furthermore, and most certainly a bootleg coup, the sessions are best heard by way of the 5 CD set called the Genuine Basement Tapes and No, I have no idea how to get these for you - just find them.

A Brief History:

In 1966 Bob Dylan and the Hawks had just wrapped up a tour of legendary proportions.

(People have described the tour as an epoch altering event on par with the birth of Christ, I'll say the second half of that tours' shows was a pretty white-hot band playing the best damned mathematical rock yet heard. The first acoustic set is Dylan being a contemptuous folkie, sneering at an unappreciative audience, and no doubt greatly anticipating an already unsettled audience to the second set's rock blowout. Is this another example of bootleggers dictating the legit marketplace? Fun, but hardly the paradigm shift on par with Presley?s Sun Sessions that some of the even less effusive critics have called it.)

He then decided to settle down for a while in Woodstock New York, some much deserved rest and relaxation after 3 years of unparalleled non-stop production. While out enjoying a spin on his motorcycle, he crashed and nearly broke his neck. He was laid up for a few months with no chance for touring, recording or personal appearances. He called up his buddies the Hawks (The Band) and with a four-track recorder they proceeded to lay down some of the most endearing work in either artist/band's cannon.


The Music:

Greil Marcus, in his book Invisible Republic, has described these sessions with metaphysical importance: by placing them within a continuum that includes the history of American primitive folk music and an extension of, by which Dylan and The Band are voicing a previously unspoken shared American history. Marcus makes explicit the fact that The Anthology Of American Folk Music, as another symbol of that continuum, was a most important influence. The importance he places here may be overstated, in fact Dylan himself is quoted as saying in response to the Anthology's influence on these sessions, "It wasn't like someone discovered this pot of gold somewhere." And again, "He intellectualizes it too much." I get the feeling that Dylan now wants to be viewed as an able entertainer; he certainly is, but without any significant, high-art importance placed on him as a Whitmanesque poet tapped into a secret American dialogue. Although Dylan may be playing down to the crowd, in fact Marcus makes some interesting connections between these sessions and the grand American vernacular that I think deserve a closer look.

The extended bootleg version of these sessions, The Genuine Basement Tapes, probably illustrate Marcus' point better then The Basement Tapes LP itself, with a host of covers included some of which may have been learned from the Anthology itself. They sound like a group of musicians at a hootenanny trading licks, solely for the benefit of themselves, unselfconsciously passing along a tradition in song. What I believe Marcus was getting at when he singles out these sessions is how here is the almost subliminal diving rod that the tradition of American folklore manifests itself - strange places, strange people.

The music is goin, goin to see Bessie Smith, to Acapulco, to Yazoo Street - imagined or telegraphed in by a long distance operator - Dylan leads his family (the Band) like Tom Joad across a real/imagined landscape. They encounter great musicians, lovers, tramps and thieves - their journey across the great divide is as palpable as Steinbeck's and no less important.

The album released to the public is cleaned up, I've heard they did some overdubs in the studio and this seems most evident on the Band tracks, which have a polish that some of the Dylan tracks lack. Compare "Ain't No Cane" with "Tiny Montgomery" and you'll see my point, although this is just an observation and not a critique (the record does not lack flow) and may have more to do with Robbie Robertson's (the compiler) perfectionism than anything else.

Along with the Band's Music From The Big Pink, The Basement Tapes is a brilliant snapshot with evocative imagery and a story to tell that belongs in the pantheon. Stellar.