In a move that will no doubt excite Bob Dylan aficionados everywhere, on February 26, Legacy Recordings will release Bob Dylan: 1970 in a new, more widely available limited edition set with revised artwork and fresh liner notes by Michael Simmons. The collection includes all the songs from this year's quietly announced copyright extension release.
It's an interesting move on the part of Legacy and Dylan's team. Fans of the artist have come to expect micro-batches of 50 year old recordings to sneak out every December, pressed up for copyright protection reasons. But these have typically been released in hard-to-find formats, scattered across record shops in Europe, or - as was the case this year and last - announced to little fanfare with every copy sold out in a nano-second. (There have been exceptions to this practice, though, including the excellent Cutting Edge Bootleg Series box set in a variety of formats, the 1966 tour box set, and last year's Travelin' Thru Bootleg Series collection.)
Crucially, this means the long-sought-after session with George Harrison from May 1, 1970 will now be made available, alongside 45 other outtake tracks recorded between March and August of that year. This includes an alternate take of "Went To See the Gyspy," which has been released as an instant-grat single - listen to it below!
Badlands Record Store in the U.K. (the usual retailer of choice for the ultra-limited releases) had the scoop on this slightly wider-release edition of Bob Dylan: 1970 and the set is available to order there. You can also pre-order it at Your Local Record Shop, or use the Amazon links below, which will go live soon. It's due February 26, 2021!
Bob Dylan, 1970 (Legacy Recordings, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Badlands UK / Your Local Record Shop)
Disc 1:
March 3, 1970:
- I Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound
- Universal Soldier - Take 1
- Spanish Is the Loving Tongue - Take 1
- Went to See the Gypsy - Take 2
- Went to See the Gypsy - Take 3
- Woogie Boogie
March 4, 1970:
- Went to See the Gypsy - Take 4
- Thirsty Boots - Take 1
March 5, 1970:
- Little Moses - Take 1
- Alberta - Take 2
- Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies - Take 1
- Things About Comin' My Way - Takes 2 & 3
- Went to See the Gypsy - Take 6
- Untitled 1970 Instrumental #1
- Come a Little Bit Closer - Take 2
- Alberta - Take 5
May 1, 1970:
- Sign on the Window - Take 2
- Sign on the Window - Takes 3-5
- If Not for You - Take 1
- Time Passes Slowly - Rehearsal *
- If Not for You - Take 2
- If Not for You - Take 3
- Song to Woody - Take 1
- Mama, You Been on My Mind - Take 1 *
- Yesterday - Take 1
Disc 2:
- Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Take 1
- Medley: I Met Him on a Sunday (Ronde-Ronde)/Da Doo Ron Ron - Take 1 *
- One Too Many Mornings - Take 1 *
- Ghost Riders in the Sky - Take 1
- Cupid - Take 1
- All I Have to Do Is Dream - Take 1 *
- Gates of Eden - Take 1 *
- I Threw It All Away - Take 1
- I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) - Take 1
- Matchbox - Take 1 *
- Your True Love - Take 1 *
- Telephone Wire - Take 1
- Fishing Blues - Take 1
- Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance - Take 1
- Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Take 1
- It Ain't Me Babe *
- If Not for You
- Sign on the Window - Take 1
- Sign on the Window - Take 2
- Sign on the Window - Take 3
June 1, 1970:
- Alligator Man
- Alligator Man [rock version]
- Alligator Man [country version]
- Sarah Jane 1
- Sign on the Window
- Sarah Jane 2
Disc 3:
June 2, 1970:
- If Not for You - Take 1
- If Not for You - Take 2
June 3, 1970:
- Jamaica Farewell
- Can't Help Falling in Love
- Long Black Veil
- One More Weekend
June 4, 1970:
- Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie - Take 1
- Three Angels
- Tomorrow Is a Long Time - Take 1
- Tomorrow Is a Long Time - Take 2
- New Morning
- Untitled 1970 Instrumental #2
June 5, 1970:
- Went to See the Gypsy
- Sign on the Window - stereo mix
- Winterlude
- I Forgot to Remember to Forget 1
- I Forgot to Remember to Forget 2
- Lily of the West - Take 2
- Father of Night - rehearsal
- Lily of the West
August 12, 1970:
- If Not for You - Take 1
- If Not for You - Take 2
- Day of the Locusts - Take 2
Tom says
I'm weirdly more excited about the "Another Self Portrait Part 2" aspect of this release than the Harrison stuff, which I don't remember being all that great. Still, there will finally be justice for whichever of these takes of "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" has been circulation for years.
A standalone CD release of the DYLAN album from 1973 would really wrap up this whole period very nicely.
Tom says
Meant to add that it's interesting this isn't coming out under the Bootleg Series umbrella. Presumably that's a good way to lower people's expectations.
Phil Cohen says
The 1973 "Dylan" album was released separately by Sony Music in Japan.
Murray says
This is probably my favorite Dylan album but this tracklisting doesn't look that inspiring to me for some reason. Hopefully it will be available on streaming so I can hear it before I buy it.