Dylan: Bootleg Series, The Cutting Edge
 

Hi guys,

I'm considering getting this new catalogue of Dylan's material from his 1965-6 honeymoon period but I'm very sceptical. Has anybody listened to this? Obviously there is no overstating what kind of an artist he was during this part of his career, so in that sense this release holds value as a historical document, although I really don't see how any of the 7 alternate versions of Like a Rolling Stone could be better than the one that ended up on Highway 61 or even add much in terms of perspective. Still, I'm very curious about this stuff.

One version is like 7 discs and the collector's is 18 discs.

What's next? A year's worth of Dylan snoring?

They should just make it all available for free since he's like a world treasure or whatever but I don't see how anyone could justify the cost or the lost time listening to all that. Spotify has an hour long sampler from it. That's all I want.

I think you can also buy a 2-cd edited-highlights version, which is more than enough for most people I imagine.
I don't think Cutting Edge has any significantly new songs or lyrics; there're no previously unreleased gems like Blind Willie McTell on it, so it doesn't appeal to me much. Unless you were actively involved in the music making process at the time, I fail to see the interest in listening to multiple versions of the same song, with only minor variations. As I understand it, that's what's on offer here - an opportunity to hear so much Dylan that the impact of the original albums gives way to a sense of surfeit instead.

yeah, you guys are right, in any case it's definately overkill.
The version I was looking at has 6 discs with 2 previously unreleased songs.
i could see myself listening to it maybe once, just out of perverse curiosity,
but there's better ways to spend that money.