Fresh off a two-record stint with Asylum, Bob Dylan returned to Columbia Records in 1975 with one of the most acclaimed records of his career.  Blood on the Tracks found Dylan reinvigorating the "confessional" singer-songwriter genre, even as he repeatedly insisted that the album's songs had no relation to his own life and then-recent marital turmoil.  Whatever the truth, Blood on the Tracks was painfully raw, vulnerable, and altogether exquisite, boasting such all-time classic compositions as "Tangled Up in Blue," "Simple Twist of Fate," and "Shelter from the Storm."   The making of the album was anything but smooth, however - and now, the full story can be told on the fourteenth volume of Dylan's long-running Bootleg Series.  More Blood, More Tracks will be available on November 2 as a 6-CD box set or 2-LP/1-CD highlights editions, chronicling the album's original New York sessions and subsequent Minnesota rebirth via all of the extant session material including 75 previously unreleased tracks.

Dylan began recording at New York's A&R Studios with producer-engineer Phil Ramone on September 16, 1974. The first group of musicians including Eric Weissberg and his band, Deliverance, only lasted a couple of days before the artist brought in Paul Griffin on organ and Buddy Cage on steel guitar.  (Tony Brown was retained from Weissberg's group.)  After ten days and four sessions with this group, Dylan had assembled an entire 10-song album which Columbia took to the test pressing stage in November.  But the restless Dylan had second thoughts.  With a new set of musicians, he entered Minneapolis' Sound 80 studios in December.  In a couple of days, he re-recorded five of the ten songs, and the raw, stark, and powerful Blood on the Tracks as we know it was finished.

Over the years, session material has trickled out.  Only one of the five tracks from the test pressing, "You're a Big Girl Now," has ever been officially reissued.  It appeared on the Biograph box set along with a version of the outtake "Up to Me."  Subsequently, The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3 featured New York alternate takes of "Tangled Up in Blue," "Idiot Wind," and "If You See Her, Say Hello."  "Call Letter Blues," an embryonic version of "Meet Me in the Morning," was also included on that set.  An alternate of "Shelter from the Storm" was released on the Jerry Maguire soundtrack, and in 2012, an alternate "Meet Me in the Morning" appeared as the B-side of "Duquesne Whistle" on a Record Store Day single.  That left "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" as the only song from the New York sessions which had not been released in any take.

More Blood, More Tracks follows the format of The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 in presenting all of the available studio material in chronological order and so every song is heard in multiple versions.  (Alas, it seems much of the Minnesota session material no longer exists.)  The leadoff "single" is the first take of "If You See Her, Say Hello."The 6-CD box set boasts a lengthy hardcover book featuring new liner notes as well as high-quality reproductions of pages from Dylan's original notebooks used during the Blood on the Tracks sessions.  A 1-CD or 2-LP version will have one alternate version of each song plus one take of "Up to Me."

The Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks arrives from Columbia/Legacy on November 2.  You can peruse the full track listing and pre-order links below!

Bob Dylan, More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 (Columbia/Legacy, 2018)

6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

All tracks previously unreleased except where noted. Tracks marked * included on 1CD/2LP edition

CD 1: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/16/1974 (all solo tracks)

1. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1) *
2. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 2)
3. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 1)
4. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 2) *
5. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 1) *
6. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2)
7. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 3)
8. Up to Me (Rehearsal)
9. Up to Me (Take 1)
10. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 1)
11. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 2) *

Track 2 previously released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3: Rare and Unreleased (Columbia C3K 47382, 1991)
Track 11 included on Blood On The Tracks test pressing (Columbia PC 33235, 1974)

CD 2: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/16/1974 (tracks with band (1-6, 12-14, 16-20) and bass (7-11, 15))

1. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 1A)
2. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2A)
3. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 3A)
4. Call Letter Blues (Take 1)
5. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1)
6. Call Letter Blues (Take 2)
7. Idiot Wind (Take 1)
8. Idiot Wind (Take 1, Remake)
9. Idiot Wind (Take 3 with Insert)
10. Idiot Wind (Take 5)
11. Idiot Wind (Take 6)
12. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Rehearsal and Take 1)
13. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 2)
14. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 3)
15. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 4)
16. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 5)
17. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 6)
18. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 6, Remake)
19. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 7)
20. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 8)

Edited version of Track 5 included on Blood On The Tracks test pressing and final album (same cat. # as above, 1975)
Track 6 previously released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3: Rare and Unreleased

Band for CD 2: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; Eric Weissberg, Charles Brown III, Barry Kornfeld: guitars; Thomas McFaul: keyboards; Tony Brown: bass; Richard Crooks: drums; Buddy Cage: steel guitar (5-6)

CD 3: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/16/1974 (1) and 9/17/1974 (2-15)

1. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 1) - with bass
2. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 1, Remake) - with bass and organ
3. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 2, Remake) - with bass, organ and steel guitar
4. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal) - with bass and organ
5. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 2, Remake) - with bass and organ
6. Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (Take 1) - with bass and piano
7. Call Letter Blues (Rehearsal) - with bass and piano
8. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 1, Remake) - with bass and piano *
9. Shelter from the Storm (Take 1) - with bass and piano
10. Buckets of Rain (Take 1) - with bass
11. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake) - with bass
12. Buckets of Rain (Take 2) - with bass
13. Shelter from the Storm (Take 2) - with bass *
14. Shelter from the Storm (Take 3) - with bass
15. Shelter from the Storm (Take 4) - with bass

Track 2 included on test pressing and previously released on Biograph (Columbia C5X/C3K 38830, 1985)
Track 9 previously released on Jerry Maguire: Music From The Motion Picture (Epic Soundtrax EK 67910, 1996)

Band for CD 3: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; Tony Brown: bass; Paul Griffin: keyboards (2-9); Buddy Cage: steel guitar (3)

CD 4: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/17/1974 (1-2), 9/18/1974 (3-6) and 9/19/1974 (7-20) (tracks with bass (1-2, 7-20) and solo (3-6))

1. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 1, Remake 2)
2. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 2, Remake 2)
3. Buckets of Rain (Take 1, Remake)
4. Buckets of Rain (Take 2, Remake) *
5. Buckets of Rain (Take 3, Remake)
6. Buckets of Rain (Take 4, Remake)
7. Up to Me (Take 1, Remake)
8. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake) *
9. Buckets of Rain (Take 1, Remake 2)
10. Buckets of Rain (Take 2, Remake 2)
11. Buckets of Rain (Take 3, Remake 2)
12. Buckets of Rain (Take 4, Remake 2)
13. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1, Remake)
14. Up to Me (Take 1, Remake 2)
15. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake 2)
16. Up to Me (Take 3, Remake 2)
17. Buckets of Rain (Rehearsal)
18. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1, Remake) *
19. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 2, Remake)
20. Buckets of Rain (Take 5, Remake 2)

Tracks 2 and 12 previously released on original album
Track 13 included on test pressing
Track 18 previously released on "Duquesne Whistle" single - Columbia 88765 40533-7, 2012

Band for CD 4: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; Tony Brown: bass (1-2, 7-20)

CD 5: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/19/1974 (tracks with bass)

1. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal and Take 1, Remake 2)
2. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 2, Remake 2)
3. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake 2)
4. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 2, Remake)
5. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 3, Remake)
6. Up to Me (Rehearsal and Take 1, Remake 3)
7. Up to Me (Take 2, Remake 3)
8. Idiot Wind (Rehearsal and Takes 1-3, Remake)
9. Idiot Wind (Take 4, Remake) *
10. Idiot Wind (Take 4, Remake with Organ Overdub)
11. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 1, Remake 2)
12. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 1, Remake 2)
13. Meet Me in the Morning (Takes 2-3, Remake 2)

Tracks 3 and 10 included on test pressing and previously released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3: Rare and Unreleased
Track 5 previously released on original album
Track 7 previously released on Biograph

Band for CD 5: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; Tony Brown: bass

CD 6: A&R Studios, New York City - 9/19/1974 (1-3, tracks with bass) and Sound 80 Studio, Minneapolis - 12/27/1974 (4-5) and 12/30/1974 (6-8) (tracks with band)

1. You're a Big Girl Now (Takes 3-6, Remake 2)
2. Tangled Up in Blue (Rehearsal and Takes 1-2, Remake 3)
3. Tangled Up in Blue (Take 3, Remake 3) *
4. Idiot Wind
5. You're a Big Girl Now
6. Tangled up in Blue
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
8. If You See Her, Say Hello

Tracks 4-8 previously released on original album

Band for CD 6, Tracks 4-8: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica, organ (4-5), mandolin (8); Tony Brown: bass (1-3); Chris Weber: guitar (4-6, 8); Kevin Odegard: guitar (6); Peter Ostroushko: mandolin (8); Gregg Inhofer: keyboards (4-8); Billy Peterson: bass (4, 6-7); Bill Berg: drums (4-8)