Bob Dylan to Release ‘The Basement Tapes Complete’ Box Set
The 11th volume of Bob Dylan's 'Bootleg Series' will be released on Nov. 4 and, for Dylanologists, it doesn't get much better than this. It's a six-CD box set comprised of his legendary 'Basement Tapes.'
According to No Depression, 'The Basement Tapes Complete' contains "every salvageable recording" -- 138 tracks in all -- that was made with the Band in Woodstock during Dylan's recuperation from a motorcycle accident. This includes both the famous sessions at "Big Pink," the Band's house, and newly discovered songs recorded in the "Red Room" of Dylan's house in early 1967. Band keyboardist Garth Hudson and archivist Jan Haust digitally restored the music. Amazon's listing notes that the music will be presented in chronological order plus a 120-page book with extensive liner notes and photos.
Long shrouded in mystery, the Basement Tapes were first officially released in 1975 as a two-LP set, six years after some of the songs surfaced on 'The Great White Wonder,' which is often considered to be the start of the bootleg industry. Some of the songs written during this period -- like 'I Shall Be Released,' 'The Mighy Quinn' and 'You Ain't Going Nowhere' -- were made famous by other musicians long before fans heard Dylan's versions.
On Nov. 11 -- a week after this set weighs down shelves everywhere -- Dylan will release 'Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes.' The T Bone Burnett-produced compilation finds artists like Elvis Costello, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes writing and recording new music for previously unreleased Dylan lyrics.