The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series, Vol.12

The Cutting Edge is an impressive collection of unreleased songs, outtakes, rehearsals and alternate versions of songs from his first three electric albums "Bringing It All Back Home," "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde" - undoubtedly the most productive and creative period of his career. The sound is mostly super and many tracks are so complete that they could have earned release on one the official albums - here it must be added that none, however, surpasses the known versions; though a couple come close. It is interesting to note how different many of these until now unknown versions are compared to the known versions. In several cases the beat is very different; e.g. "Just Like a Woman" which is almost like a completely different song. Also "Visions of Johanna" changed quite a bit along the way before it became the stunning ballad known from "Blonde on Blonde" - here it is in an up-beat rocking version. Among the songs that never found way to an official release is especially "She's Your Lover Now" a gem. The version here is a little more subdued than the version released on "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991" in 1991. Both versions are great and both crashing towards the end - unfortunately. Especially sad that Dylan never completed thw song. "Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence" might have been a fine addition to "Highway 61 Revisited", but perhaps it was found a little too similar to some of the other songs; also the album had already quite a long playing time. A few songs were initially only known in other people's versions; including "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" by Manfred Mann and "Farewell, Angelina" with Joan Baez. Also interesting to get an insight in how Dylan continually adjusted his lyrics and how he constantly played with words and language

I saw this Deluxe Edition of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series Volume 12 here on Amazon at an unbelievably great price so it was an immediate purchase & upon arrival I was shocked at its size compared to your typical CD Box Set (see images) but it was worth every penny as look at the amount of tracks on my original 2 disc edition compared to the amount of tracks on this edition there’s so so many more & quality you get a hard backed 6 CD Liner Notes kings book & you get a hard backed photo album basically that both fit neatly into the solid outer case, there’s a lot of interesting alternatives & bits & bobs on here, Disk 3 alone is nothing but ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ from first take to alternative takes with added/ different lyrics then there this & that instrument added & so on it’s basically this is what goes into making a song, again it was brilliantly priced & it’s been thought provoking to listen to, excellent.

Nearly 50 years - that's right - after the last of the big 3, Blonde On Blonde was finished, this 2 CD version of his alternative and other takes has been released and it is wonderful. If you're not a Dylan fan, look away now. If you are, this fascinating collection concentrates only on the three best albums ever recorded (by miles) and reveals Dylan's processes in a startling new way. His Bob-hood created while recording - that much we knew. He tried versions of songs in the studio like he does on tour. He wrote in the studio if he felt like it. He didn't go in for a lot of re-recording technique (like the Beatles) preferring to keep things fresh. It was his vision, his band(s), his songs, his voice - and it was stunning. The 'Best of' is more than enough for me. I hated the 'Basement Tapes' released recently - this is another thing entirely. The collection is chronological -starting with Bringing It All Back Home (Tom Wilson) then Highway 61 and finally, Blonde On Blonde (Bob Johnson). The material is well recorded, the performances good, the results both surprising (check out the Visions of Johanna as a rock track) and beautiful. For those of us old enough to have heard these songs when they were first released, it is not like nostalgia. It's like revelation. His voice is great (not a brilliant voice, but a great singer), the musicians are sometimes very good, and the songs unmatched. To think these were recorded in 1965 (BIABH and Highway 61) and by the end of February1966 places Dylan ahead of all his contemporaries for quality. With the possible exception of Blood On The Tracks, he never came close to this, and never will. But Bob can relax - no one has come close to these albums. Whether you prefer Highway 61 or Blonde On Blonde (my favourite of all time), this, for once, is a real treat that Dylan fans should treasure.

There is nothing to be said about this gentleman that has not already been said. He's a living legend. This is a collection of alternate early takes of some of his mid sixties classics. They may not sound as polished as the finished products, which may upset the general listeners, but not me. To me, they sound just as good, sometimes more interesting, especially with the false starts and studio chatter surrounding some of the tracks. It is nice to get an insight as to how he worked these songs into a finished masterpiece in the studio. Many songs here appear in more than one take, although it seems a bit illogical that multiple takes of a few of the songs do not appear in numerical order of the take numbers. Obviously it does not include every early take of each song. The takes of the songs here that appeared on his previous Bootleg Series compilations of his are different to the takes there, or different stereo mixes of the same takes. But when I compared the alternate take 1 of Desolation Row here to the alternate take 1 of Desolation Row on his No Direction home (Bootleg Series) compilation, I realized they were actually different takes, and with slightly different time lengths. The take of this song on the other compilation does not appear here. Furthermore, Rainy Day Women is actually the previously released version with a previously unreleased rehearsal at the beginning. The stereo separation of that track here, is not as wide as on it's previously released album. But this concept is an absolute must-have. I only purchased it's much cheaper MP3 download, as the box set is rather heftily priced at around £100. I hope more great archive material of his comes out, as there is still plenty left. Keep up the good thinking, Bob.

Interesting insight into the creative studio process behind the mid 60s Dylan trilogy of Very Important Albums. Some nice, pleasant alternative takes, and some stuff that might only be familiar to serious Bobcats who have devoured the bootlegs of varying quality over the years. However, what this really shows me, I think, is how important a good producer is to help shape the work. Bob, working at a rather frenetic pace, clearly wants to experiment with different styles, tempos, and feels. But he seems to lack the killer taste required to know when he's nailed it, and the producer clearly helps here. Dylan needs someone who isn't in awe of him and will challenge him (we hear Tom Wilson doing this here, and Daniel Lanois did this much later with Oh Mercy). There's nothing here that's any better than the finished record, but that's not really the point. It's worth saying that there are some superlative musical moments here too - Bloomfield's wild, cutting guitar is always genius. The bass on "Desolation Row" is rather lovely - almost baroque. And Bobby Gregg's drumming on "Visions of Johanna" and the sublime "One of Must Know" is superb. I almost sprung for the limited edition thousand dollar 24 Cd thing, or whatever it is, which has EVERY take of EVERYTHING...but really, who needs to hear that? This is a fine document of an interesting period in Dylan's history, and another excellent addition to the Bootleg series. Good booklet, with interesting essays, and the now rather hoary old chesnut Al Kooper organ story, which he's made a career out of dining out on. Surely, Blood on the Tracks next?

Being relatively new to Dylan's music I can only concur with the other, more knowledgeable reviewers here - I'm in the early stages of falling in love with it, even though I'm in my fifties. So I thought I would restrict my comments about this LP box set version as a product. While box sets are not new in the Classical and Jazz worlds (my wife has a 19 LP box set of Wagner's Ring Cycle dating from the 1950s), they are a relatively recent phenomenon in rock. This has coincided with the reawakening of interest in vinyl, with many so-called 'legacy artists' getting the vinyl box-set treatment. Having bought the excellent Beatles Mono Vinyl set along with Dylan's Original Mono Vinyl Recordings, it seems that record companies are finally getting their acts together and producing something of value - for both the audience and the artists. Such is the case with the vinyl version of Dylan's "The Best of the Cutting Edge 1965-1966". When I received it, I got that buzz of excitement. Here was a beautifully produced box-set - the outer thick-card slipcase felt sturdy, well constructed and beautifully designed. The 12"x12" soft back book included in the package is gorgeous, with possibly the coolest photograph I've ever seen of Dylan on the front. The print quality is excellent. The 3 LPs are presented inside old-style die-cut 78 rpm-style sleeves, each with differing designs and adorned with matching labels. If this wasn't enough, the LPs themselves are beautiful - heavy, flat, gleaming vinyl that sound incredible. Two CDs containing the same tracks are thrown in for good measure, housed in light card slipcases adapted from early Dylan EP covers. You're not only getting brilliantly curated alternative studio takes from this period in stunning clarity, but you get the added value of this set being a beautiful thing to own - an artefact, in fact. If you love Dylan and own a record player, get this and his vinyl Mono Box set - they complement each other perfectly, covering some of the same period. On the basis of these releases, I'm seriously tempted to get the "Another Self Portrait Official Bootleg No. 10" vinyl box set. Damn, this is getting expensive...but what a time we're living in when all these lost gems are available to be enjoyed and savoured in such winning style.

Some fantastic works-in-progress on this set. And it is wonderful to hear them in such clarity. For those who seem to think that something uniquely 'magical' happened here, they are right. But to suggest, as many people seem to need to, that the magic could only have happened at this time is just plain misguided. Dylan's Neverending Tour (still going strong) gives us the chance to hear him working on arrangements and creating new lines, twists and turns, night by night. Only the other day at the Albert Hall he sang new verses for Tangled Up In Blue, for example. This is where he continues to show us his gifts. As well as on recordings like the Basement Tapes, the later albums (and no doubt the Street Legal piano demos, eventually!) This 60s stuff is rightly worshipped. But the truth is that for Dylan it was just regular work (albeit at a standard nobody else could approach). And his work continues . . . Listening to this is just great, though. You need to have this set of course. But then you need all of his work. Genius is not simply about a time or place. These here fragments are astonishing. And Dylan is astonishing today. He is still relevant today.

I have read the other reviews here and agree that you wouldn't change what's on the three albums in question for anything here. I paid £100 for this collection. Is it worth it? Can you stand a whole CD's worth of "Like a Rolling Stone" failed attempts, alternate takes and the like? You probably aren't going to play these CDs exceptionally often. As has already pointed out, what is fascinating is the process by which these classic Bob Dylan albums emerged. Taking the example of "Rolling Stone" it is so much part of history and inside our heads that it's hard to imagine that Bob didn't even have a tune or a time signature in his head when he entered the studio to begin recording it . It all gradually emerges over the sessions and with the crucial input from producer and fabulous musicians. In some of the other alternate takes it fascinating that the lyrics are not yet nailed on even quite far into the process but all the changes he makes he improve the songs. You can see why in years gone by that Bob resisted the idea of bootlegging such material because of the unfinished and unpolished nature of many (or most) of these recordings. However, they are truly fascinating and give a wonderful insight how hard a creative genius has to work to be a creative genius. The answer to the question "is it worth it? " is emphatically "yes" for me at least.

Bob Dylan ganó el Nobel y de inmediato conseguir esta colección se volvió más difícil. Básicamente consiste en casi todo lo que grabó Bob entre 1965 y 1966. Hay una pequeñas joyas inéditas aquí o por fin limpiadas, como ese demo al piano de Desolation Row. Desquita cada centavo.

Excelente produto.

ディランを聴き初めてから38年、当時の新作から旧作、またこの手のブートレグ・シリーズが発売されるたびに買い続け（少し中断もあったが）、一応編集盤以外は聴いて集めているが、やっぱりオリジナル・アルバムとして1番カッコいいのは60年代の作品だろう。 その中でも「Bringing It All Back Home」「Highway 61 Revisited」「Blonde on Blonde」の3作は特別だ。 マイナーなフォークのスターからロックのスターへ。 フォークファンから非難、軽蔑されるも好きな音楽への転身を見事に成し遂げた時期だ。 楽曲、演奏、ただただ素晴らしいだけでなく、勢いだとか、人を引き付ける魔力がこの時期の音楽には存在しているように思う。 ディラン僅か24～25歳、ほとばしる想像力とエネルギー、こういったものが充満している。 今回の作品はその時期のアウトテイク、リハーサル・トラック、別ヴァージョンなどが収録されている。 まあ良いに決まっているわけだ。 音も最新リマスターで見違えるような向上、だから演奏の隅々までよく分かり、ディランとそのメンバー達がとても乗りのある上手い演奏をしていたのもよくわかる。 特には「Highway 61 Revisited」でのマイク・ブルームフィールドのブルース・フィーリング溢れるギターとアル・クーパーのメロディアスで印象的なキーボードがとても重要だったってことが再確認できる。 興奮、感動しました。

excellent music,some songs not recorded anywhere else, at least I don't believe so. Al Kooper is an asset as is Mike Bloomfield.

Muy recomendable este lanzamiento de temas inéditos, tomas falsas y alternativas de Dylan grabados durante las grabaciones de sus clásicos Bringing it all back home, Highway 61 (mi preferido de su época eléctrica) y Blonde on Blonde. Esta edición en triple vinilo es idéntica en temas al doble cd del mismo nombre. Viene en caja dura con los tres lp's, cada uno en su carátula vintage de Columbia (fantástico) y cada uno con su propio diseño de galleta. El librito es precioso (me gusta casi más que el del box mono) con unas fotos sensacionales. El contenido musical, a parte de imprescindible para fans de esta época revolucionaria del artista, no es sólo interesante desde un punto de vista histórico, sino también de entretenimiento, ya que las canciones están muy bien recopiladas y a diferencia de las ediciones en 8 cd's o el megabox colector de 16 cd's no se hace nada repetitivo. Yo me lo pongo constantemente, cosa que no puedo decir de todos los recopilatorios de temas inéditos como este. Claro que también ayuda que el sonido es fenomenal. Mejor que los discos originales reeditados (se nota que los masters están frescos y que no han sido utilizados una y otra vez como los discos originales. Suenan genial. Se ha hecho un gran trabajo en este lanzamiento! Añadir por último que en la edición de vinilo vienen también dos cd's con el mismo material en versión digital. Así que si dudáis si coger la versión en cd o vinilo yo no lo dudaría más e iría a por esta caja, que con su tamaño de 12" es preciosa. Sin duda Dylan era the cutting edge (vanguardia) en esta época!!