Bangla Desh Albums (Madison Square Garden August 1, 1971)

1. Master # 1: A. Contraband label version titled MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AUGUST 1, 1971:

USA: East Coast, ca. 1972, identical master to The Greatest Show On Earth (Share Records GH 6699), I do not know which version came first.

Variations shown:

• Stamped cover, no insert
• inserts in various colors
• back stamp track list found on one of the insert versions
• Carnaby Records, yellow CBM & blank white labels

Later reissued ca. 1974/5 with Instant Analysis labels and their bare bones slip sheet design:

Source: Evening performance at Madison Square Garden on 1 August 1971; Matrix  SAD 1/2 

Side 1: My Sweet Lord/ Beware of Darkness/ My Guitar Gently Weeps/ Here Comes The Sun/ Something/ Bangla Desh

Side 2: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall/ It Takes A Lot To Laugh/ Blowin’ In The Wind/ Mr. Tambourine Man/ Just Like A Woman

Quality Comments: “Satisfactory mono, a lot of crowd noise.”; “It is a mediocre audience recording.”

**

2. Master # 1: B. The Share Records version:

***

3. Master # 2: A. The FRT BRK 1001 Release

 

Copies with yellow labels exist as well:

 

bobsboots.com: “This ‘version two’ Bangla Desh concert LP was issued in 1971 by FRT Records. The plain white sleeve carried a black on white insert with small, unflattering cartoon drawings of the artists. Black vinyl. The labels are either blank blue (some were stamped “SIDE A”, “SIDE B” and/or “33 1/3 RPM”.) or are the generic GLC labels.
This is basically the same LP released by  BANG records [shown above], but was pressed from a different master plate. Matrix  BRK 1001 A1/B1 “

Hot Wacks claims that the FRT BRK 1001 album contains excerpts from the afternoon show. It also states that Bangla Desh (BANG Records 4022) contains the same material. That LP is then listed in Eight Arms To Hold You as the suggested source for three tracks from the evening concert.

**

4. Master # 2: B. The WCF copy titled BANGLA DESH

From bobsboots.com: “BANG Records [WCF] released this LP in 1971 [1973 is more likely when looking at the WCF 40XX series] shortly after the concert. It was pressed from its own unique master plates, but it’s basically the same LP that was released by FRT records at about the same time [see below]. It has a folder type wrap-around sleeve with a black and green, or green and white cartoon insert of Harrison [The folder type cover is a ca. 1974 reissue w. blank white labels and not the simple insert version shown here]. The labels are either plain eggshell white or are full printed silver and blue ‘BANG’ labels. Matrix  4022 A/B  “

I have since created a follow up post focusing on the WCF album. You can visit it by clicking on this text.

With Klaus Voormann, Jesse Ed Davies and Eric Clapton.

With Don Preston and Eric –  the mad axe-men of altruism.

Flat 8210: BOB DYLAN 1963 POEMS IN NAKED WONDER

Well, I really need to have a sit down with myself and complain, turns out I missed a few Flat releases.

Side 1: 
He was a friend of mine 
Man on the street (take 1-false start) 
Hard times in New York 
Man on the street (take 2)
Talkin’ Bear Mountain massacre picnic blues 
Standin’ on the highway 
Poor boy blues 
Ballad for a friend 
Ramblin’ gamblin’ Willie 

---

Side 2: 
Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid blues 
Long time gone 
Long ago, far away 
Let me die in my footsteps 
Bob Dylan’s blues 
Masters of war 
Bound to lose, bound to win 
Baby let me follow you down 
Farewell 

bobsboots wrote: “Here is a classic.  Anyone else would’ve taken two  LP’s for this much material.  In 1977, though,  FLAT Records knew how to give you your money’s worth.  Nice looking brown on yellow insert is the one and only image of Dylan by Linda McCartney [the one and only photo session, there were clearly more pictures taken]. She always regreted not taking more. labels are stamped ‘side one’ and ‘side two’.  Sources are missing!   Drats!   A near perfect score for this early effort. Ref. # FLAT 8210.
The sources are:
Side 1) Leeds demos 1962.
Side 2) Witmark demos 1962 / 63

8 stars ”

1962 – January

John Hammond arranges a deal with music publishing company Leeds Music. A number of Dylan’s new songs are recorded as for them. These are known as the “Leeds Music Demos”

Some of the Leeds demos and all of side 2 has now been officially released as The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964

Another photo from the session shot by Linda McCartney in 1970.

SODD 011: Bob Dylan Barbed Wire Blues

The cover depicts a “surreal birthday party for Anna” according to bobsboots.com. I am not sure which ‘Anna’ is referred to here.

Sides 1&2 is a repressing of “Ode For Barbara Allen” (TAKRL 1912) and sides 3&4 a reissue of “now your mouth cries wolf” (TAKRL 1963). The original pressing plates were used. 6/10 stars

Matrix:  2011 A/B
(Old matrices crossed out LP one: KF 1912  LP two: 1963 / 1805)

SODD 007: Bob Dylan The Hurricane Carter Benefit

NY, NY – Madison Square Garden on December 8, 1975

8 / 10 stars for this very good audience recording of a great performance

Side 1: 
When I paint my masterpiece 
It ain’t me, Babe 
Lonesome death of Hattie Carroll 
Tonight I’ll be staying here with you 
It takes a lot to laugh 

---

Side 2:  (duets with Joan Baez)
The Times 
Dark as a dungeon 
Mama you’ve been on my mind 
Never let me go 
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine 
I shall be released 

---

Side 3: 
Romance in Durango 
Oh sister 
Hurricane 
Isis 

---

Side 4: 
One more cup of coffee 
Sara 
Just like a woman 
Knockin’ on heaven’s door  (Providence, RI – November 4 ’75  2nd show’)
This Land is your Land (Bangor, ME – November 27 ’75 )

****

Second release ca. 1978 with a b&w cover on TAKRL 24910 – This seems to be rather rare.

 

Third release in 1980 on Phoenix:

wolfgangsvault has a full recording of what they call “set 1” plus more Rolling Thunder shows:

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/the-rolling-thunder-revue/concerts/madison-square-garden-december-08-1975-set-1.html

I tried to find out if any tracks on the official “Bootleg Series Vol. 5 – Rolling Thunder Review” release (now here’s a great name for a series of releases. If bootlegs are so bad, why use that description as a selling point?) came from this show but I was unable to.

That having been said, I wanted to include a positive review of the officially released package (as this blog is as much performance-based as it is bootleg-based). Obviously, those in ’76 didn’t have a chance to buy this official item but most would certainly have preferred it over the audience recording as their first choice:

“The Bootleg Series Vol.5, chronicling the early months of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour back in ’75, was probably the biggest surprise for me in terms of sheer quality; to put it bluntly, it is the best live Dylan record I have heard, and unless I am pleasantly surprised later on (unlikely, considering that I have Real Live and Dylan & The Dead to look forward to) I imagine it will stay that way. Whereas Dylan’s 1966 “Royal Albert Hall” concert – often cited as his best live document – captures Dylan at his angriest and most elusive, reinterpreting his older folk classics as brash electric rockers whether his audience liked it or not, The Rolling Thunder Revue is nothing but celebratory. The first six tracks here are, to me, some of the best music this guy’s ever created: “Tonight I’m Staying Here With You,” previously the sweet, unassuming final track on Nashville Skyline, is recast here as a driving anthem without losing a hint of its intimacy; “It Ain’t Me, Babe”, beyond all reason, works as a reggae-tinged country song; and “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” takes a previously dour protest song and intensifies it beyond all measure. Far and away my favorite track here, however, would be “A Hard Rain’s-A Gonna Fall,” which manages to take one of Dylan’s most prophetic standbys and turn it into a boogie-rock hoedown. Just this track alone – featuring one of Dylan’s fiercest vocal performances – may be proof that when it comes to reinterpreting Dylan, nobody does it better than the man himself.
The rest of Rolling Thunder isn’t nearly as exciting as those first six tracks, but what it lacks in intensity it more than makes up for in intimacy and open-heartedness. For one thing, it features Dylan’s first duets with Joan Baez in over a decade, with the two of them performing lovely versions of “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Mama You Been On My Mind” and “I Shall Be Released.” Dylan’s solo acoustic songs are practically as good, with effective takes on “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Love Minus Zero,” and then-recent Blood On The Tracks classics “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Simple Twist Of Fate”. And while I will admit that most of the live Desire tracks here don’t do much for me – they’re fine, but not remarkable – the Revue’s performance of “Isis” is so great that it almost makes the studio version redundant. The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 succeeds by combining the best of both worlds, leavening Dylan’s penchant for defying audience expectations with a sweet sense of nostalgia that never comes off as pandering. Even if it doesn’t replicate the exact feel of a Rolling Thunder show, it feels like a complete Dylan experience.”

SODD 000: Bob Dylan All Hallow’s Eve 1964

Described by bobsboots.com as a “great 1976 release” that sounds a bit thin and runs too fast; 6/10 stars.

Side 1: 
The Times Are A-Changing
Spanish Harlem Incident 
John Birch Blues 
To Ramona 
Who Killed Davey Moore? 
Gates Of Eden 

---

Side 2: 
If You Gotta Go, Go Now 
It’s All Right Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) 
I Don’t Believe You 
Mr. Tambourine Man 

---

Side 3: 
Hard rain 
Talking WW III Blues 
Don’t Think Twice 
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll 

---

Side 4: 
Mama You’ve Been On My Mind 
With God On Our Side 
It Ain’t Me Babe 
All I Really Want To Do 

Officially released in 2004 as: The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall, which apparently includes one more song: “Silver Dagger” (Traditional) – 3:47

“The Halloween concert of 1964 had been previously bootlegged on vinyl and CD, but those releases were incomplete and taken from poor dubs of the soundboard tapes. The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 presented the entire concert for the first time from the original master tapes.”

Based on which critic you believe, this recording either presence sheer brilliance or a low point in Dylan’s early 1960’s performance history.

1963: bob dylan now your mouth cries wolf

A release born from the combination of the pressing plates of two 1971 TMQ1 releases with the goal of creating a single album of 1965 outtakes: Side 2 of “Seems Like A Freeze Out”

and Side 1 of “Stealin'”:

[“Stealin'” was itself copied from the famous Har-Kub release of the same name, one of the first (and best – according to bobsboots) rock bootlegs to emerge in 1969]

Side 1: 
I wanna be your lover 
Please crawl out your window (fast) 
From a Buick six * 
Visions of Johanna (Freeze Out)** 
She’s your lover now 

---

Side 2: 
Please crawl out your window (slow) 
It takes a lot to laugh 
Sitting on a barbed wire fence 
If you gotta go, go now 
She belongs to me 
Love minus 0 / no limit 

---

The original source tapes:
Side 1
Studio outtakes CBS, NY 10-20-65 except: 
 * CBS studio A, NY  June 16 1965 
**Sunset Studios LA Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1965 

Side 2 
First 3 tracks:  Studio A, NY  June 16 ’65 
Next 3 tracks: ‘Bringing it all back’ session CBS studio A, New York Jan. 14th & 15th 1965 

We will have a chance to re-visit this album as LP2 of the SODD release “Barbed Wire Blues”.

A rare variation exists as “and now your mouth cries whoops” on blank and Smoking Pig labels after side 2 of the “Stealin'” plate had been used by mistake on a small run and they decided to sell this ‘Frankenboot’ creation.

Side 1:  [I know this is reversed in the image but I’m assuming this is based on the matrix #s]
New Orleans rag* 
That’s all right Mama* 
Cocaine 
Stealin’ 
Hard times in New York  town 
Wade in the water 
It’s all over now, Baby Blue** 
Suze *** 

---

Side 2: 
I wanna be your lover 
Please crawl out your window (fast) 
From a Buick six * 
Visions of Johanna (Freeze Out)** 
She’s your lover now 

---

The sources for the new side 1 are:  Minnesota tapes 12-22-61 except for 
   * ‘Another Side’ outtakes 
  ** ‘Bringing it all back’ outtake 
*** ‘Times’ outtake 

As usual when it comes to Dylan, I am indebted to bobsboots.com for the in depth background info.

Re-pressing with smoking pig labels.

1962: bob dylan the band royal albert hall

This was made from the plates of the classic TMOQ release GWW “ROYAL ALBERT HALL” (1966), which was released in 1971 (identified by the stamper as TMQ/RAH-115; later re-issued in 1973 as TMOQ 71017) . 

bobsboots claims this came out in 1974 but I would say that it was later. This printed b&w cover version came out around 1978.

Source: Free Trade Hall, Manchester on May 17th 1966 & London, May 26th. Taken from a CBS acetate of a planned live album.

Side 1: 
Tell me Mama 
I don’t believe you 
Baby let me follow you down 
Just like Tom thumb’s blues 

---

Side 2: 
Leopard skin pill box hat 
One too many mornings 
Ballad of a thin man 
Like a rolling stone 

The Doctor shuffles off & # 1999: BOB DYLAN BRIDGETT’S ALBUM – A VINYL HEADSTONE ALMOST IN PLACE

TAKRL says: “This is The complete listing of all the official Amazing Kornyfone record label projects that appeared as a result of the collaborated creative effort of the original trio of Anytown Whizz kids: Dr.Terrence H.’Telly’Fone, Arthur ‘Art’Gnuvo and Deek Kibard. However other, more limited collaborations should be noted for accuracy’s sake: After the Doctor’s death, a fourth round of post-1984 TAKRL projects were briefly considered. However, sorrowfulness and lack of definite guidance brought on by the Doctor’s passing squashed this idea properly.

One project did appear though. As a personal favor to Ted McCue, Art and Deek packaged some Dylan tapes into unofficial but existent TAKRL 1999 Bob Dylan Bridgett’s Album. But if you read the cover you realize the foreboding that existed at that time. After this well meaning but misguided attempt, we never ever called on the Doctor’s ghost again.”

And the writing on the cover said:

“If only the doctor were alive to see me now/ Years ago on Fairfax it began with the blank one with smerey tops/ it progressed, even disguised it seems, to various plateaus in various states of dark reality around the hemisphere – years later it seemed that other pressing (no fun) matters persisted – once it was scruples, now it becomes throats – none deep enough but all hollow inside/ Our special thanks to everyone who listened for they were for you TAKRL 1999 (The End).”   [Whatever a “smerey top” is, Heylin left that part out in his book.]

 

From bobsboots.com: Interestingly enough, this 1977 [1976] TAKRL ‘Farewell’ LP used the same title as the 1974 TMQ ‘Farewell’ LP.
And, as with TMQ, TAKRL still went on after the ‘last’ LP… only under different names. The Fort Collins show is the “Hard Rain” broadcast. These are the songs that were not included on the  CBS LP.

Read all about – and view clips from the broadcast – here.

Sources:
Side 1: Colorado State University 
(Hughes stadium, Fort Collins May 23rd 1976) 
Side 2: Woody Guthrie Memorial – 
(Carnegie Hall, NY January 20th 1968) Except:
*CBS Live LP-  RAH  London May ’66 

Side one:
Hard rain
Blowin’ in the wind
Railroad boy
Deportees
Mozambique

Side two:
I ain’t got no home
Dear Mrs Rooseveldt
Grand Coulee dam
Ballad of a thin man*
Like a rolling stone* 

8 stars

“In 1977, Art and Deek packaged a version of Mick Jigger’s Cocksucker Blues and the Rolling Stones Fucking Andrew Oldham as a ten-inch record under the name ‘Nanker Phlege’ [sic] doing Schoolboy Blues/Andrew’s Blues on Earthful Records [see below for the correct name] manufactured and distributed by another label. It was a pure labor of love. You bet.

And observant eyes will note Art’s contribution to many albums over the years usually in the best of taste, often though not. Naughty Art explains his misbehavior as a response to hunger and sometimes, yes, sometimes, just greed. He promises to never, if given the chance, do it again (“Honest” says`Art).
The Amazing Kornyfone record label ceased to function July 4, 1976 with Dr. Terrence H.’Telly’fone`s bizarre crossbow death. All final projects were issued shortly thereafter and the entire Anytown complex was then auctioned off and all the master tapes and artwork put in a well-deserved storage, where they remain to this day. The good Doctor was laid to rest in the southeast hillside of the Anytown Community Memorial Electrical Commemorative Park in Anytown, U.S.A.
A few month later, the Doctor’s current wife, Princess, went over to the other side one night in her sleep. She’ll be buried next to the Doctor in the adjoining Anytown perpetual honey-moon crypt once we recover her body.

 

* Art Gnuvo, our graphics controller and calligrapher, currently resides in a European country where he personally numbered every limited-edition colored-vinyl record issued by major non-anglo label. He has lost almost all of his hair in the process.

* Deek Kibard continues to reside in the United States of America. He was last reported in Northern California with a comely Southern California beach amazon in tow mumbling about the need to continue an interesting but interrupted series of interpersonal genetic experimentations. He seemed determined to delve .She seemed bound to please.

* The Magic Patchbay is now a state senator in the Midwest United States.

* Roy N. Oak designs titles and end graphics for a San Francisco pornography firm.

* W.Z. Ardo operates the world’s only vinyl library in Racine, Wisconsin or he butchers hogs in Los Angeles, California. The rumors aren’t clear.

* Hugh Jordan trains dolphins in an American East Coast aquatic park with his second wife.

* Ted McCue, our initial guiding light, presently guides wine-making processes on his estate in Western France. The Amazing Kornyfone Record label was divided into two distinct branches: The Creative Staff and the Marketing Staff. The Creative was outlined above. Ted McCue headed the marketing lads and it was his energy and dedication that brought our small efforts to your attention. We put up with the artistic assholes. Ted and his friends contended with the business assholes. We wish Ted and, well just everybody, a most sincere thanks you for all the support and encouragement over the years.

Thanks.”

Celebrating post # 100: Bootlegs Signed By The Artists

Undeniably, it takes balls to stick a bootleg and a pen under the nose of the artist whose performance was basically stolen in order to put money into someone else’s pockets. Unless you know them well they are likely to start yelling and break the record over your head… you certainly don’t want to try it with Dylan or Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason.

[No claims made regarding the authenticity of these signatures.]

If you have any further examples, please leave a comment.

****

bobsboots.com claims this is the word’s only signed copy of “Great White Wonder”, however, my search turned up another one:

It sold for 340 GBP in 2005 on eBay.

Another one from the early years:

One of the first SMiLE bootlegs signed by Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine (many thanks to Glen, who contributed this one as well as the Moody Blues & Firesign Theatre images)

Moody Blues’ keyboard player Mike Pinder had a healthy sense of humor about it (high-res scan, click to inflate):

Deep Purple:

Comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre:

 

And the holy grails:

From the description: “This comes from the collection of John Morgan, who has collected in-person signatures for more than forty years. It has been signed by all four Beatles on the front cover, all at different times in New York. John Lennon signed this in blue ballpoint or biro pen at the Hit Factory in 1980. Paul McCartney signed in blue Sharpie pen at the Plaza Athenee Hotel in 1989. George Harrison signed in black ballpoint or biro at the Pierre Hotel in the late ’80s. Ringo signed in blue Sharpie at the Carlyle Hotel in 1992. “

A Billy Preston signed Get Back boot:

1972: BOB DYLAN JOAQUIN ANTIQUE

TAKRL says: “Cover by Roy N. Oak.”

From bobsboots.com:

source: studio outtakes

---

Side one: 
I threw it all away 
Living the blues (The Johnny Cash Show, Nashville, May 1 ’69)
Lilly, Rosemary and the jack of hearts 
I’ll keep it with mine 
Idiot wind 

---

Side two: 
Nobody ‘cept you (live, Chicago Stadium January 4 ’74)
Tangled up in blue 
She belongs to me 
If you see her say hello 
Love – 0/no limit 
You’re a big girl now 
It’s all over now, Baby Blue

Nice package. A good quality 1975 release [ actually, it was 1976 ] from TAKRL. A yellow insert printed in blue or brown. It’s a very rare LP due to the fact that TAKRL didn’t distribute many copies because of a bad pressing on the song ‘Idiot Wind’. 
Side one
‘Bringing it all back home’ sessions Jan 14 & 15  ’65,  except as noted
Side two
 CBS A&R studios NY, 9-17-74 
These are the 5 studio outtakes [ I’m counting 6 ] from the ‘Blood on the tracks’ sessions recorded in NY and subsequently replaced with those recorded in Minneapolis. 
6-8 stars

From a review of the book “A Simple Twist Of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks” on salon.com:  “The official version of “Blood on the Tracks” had been in the stores barely a month when copies of the original version, taken from one of the many acetate copies floating around, became available as a vinyl bootleg called “Joaquin Antique.” The CD incarnation is widely available as “Blood on the Tracks — NY Sessions.” The revamped songs may be superior — though “You’re a Big Girl Now” loses some of its raw hurt — but that doesn’t mean the original versions were bad songs. A listening session with the two versions side by side is a rewarding experience for any Dylan fan. It will certainly put anyone closer to the beating heart of Dylan’s artistry than “A Simple Twist of Fate.”

From the recollections of a bootleg buyer: “There also did I purchase my second boot, a fairly classy looking item called Joaquin Antique (walking antique, get it?) that contained, along with an assortment of oddments, the original versions of five key songs from the original version of Blood on the Tracks. All of a sudden I was a music scholar, critically listening through clicks and pops to discover new — that is to say, old — incarnations of songs on their way to immortality. […] Joaquin Antique resurfaced as Blood on the Tracks: New York Sessions, which set the original versions of the five songs in with the original release. I don’t doubt for a second that a double-disc Bootleg Series release is in the cards, either before or after Dylan shuffles off this mortal coil, and I’ll buy it the second it comes out. Right now, I’m just happy to have study material for exploring one of the landmarks of American popular music.”