Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs (Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006)

The holy grail of the bootleg series. Fantastic songs, both outtakes and other versions. This is a brilliant release and I can’t wait intil vol.2 comes.

As someone who has heard this album before it was released, all I can do is stand in awe, wondering what part of the galaxy this guy is really from, and how old he actually is. These are a grouping of songs from one of the most unique artists of all time, presented in an unfettered manner, lacking embellishment, as illusive as pure thought, and some never heard before.

Dylan has always had a perspective on life, able to synthesize all that es before him, yet he never holds onto any of it, he just lets it slide through his hands like so many gains of sand. It’s had to tell what holds value for Bob Dylan, I’m not even sure that he holds his own thoughts as precious ... yet there is a side of him that knows how to make a buck, fold it neatly, and slide it into his shirt pocket. Bob has always been a free thinker, there is no one to stand toe to toe with him, not Jack Kerouac, not Hunter Thompson, not Allen Ginsberg, not even William Burroughs and his life fueled with heroin dreams.

People like Bob Dylan this way once every five hundred years or so ... revel in the fact that you are living during this time, when Bob Dylan laid it all out, a time when the sun rose and set with splendid colours all around him, when after years he finally took off those dark shades, shades that not only hid his eyes, but filtered his perceptions. Dylan’s shades rest on the table now, and finally we get a chance to look as deeply into those eyes as we wish, and I for one am happy with every new verse, every new phrase, and each note, unexpected or not, that I can get

This is not ‘60’s Bob Dylan,’ but it is certainly reflects the spark that set the world on fire.

Well, early in the mornin'
'Til late at night,
I got a poison headache,
But I feel all right.
I'm pledging my time to you,
Hopin' you'll come through, too.

Well, the hobo jumped up,
He came down natur'lly.
After he stole my baby,
Then he wanted to steal me.
But I'm pledging my time to you,
Hopin' you'll come through, too.

Won't you come with me, baby?
I'll take you where you wanna go.
And if it don't work out,
You'll be the first to know.
I'm pledging my time to you,
Hopin' you'll come through, too.

Well, the room is so stuffy,
I can hardly breathe.
Ev'rybody's gone but me and you
And I can't be the last to leave.
I'm pledging my time to you,
Hopin' you'll come through, too.

Well, they sent for the ambulance
And one was sent.
Somebody got lucky
But it was an accident.
Now I'm pledging my time to you,
Hopin' you'll come through, too.

*** After thinking on this for a couple of days, I felt it necessary to add the following ... with apologies to Mr. Jones:

Hunter Thompson once said, “ ... it’s not that we needed all of these drugs for the trip, it’s just that once you get locked into a serious collection, the tendency is to push it as far as it will go.”

Salvador Dali realized that he didn’t even have to do the artwork, he could have it done by others in his style ... all he had to do was sign it. Later he realized that he could just sell his signature, without creating anything.

After Andy Warhol’s show in Philadelphia was so over attended, and so down right crowed, requiring that the artwork be taken off the walls to prevent it from being crushed ... he had the notion of presenting a show in an empty gallery ... a party so to speak, where he in attendance. would actually be the art.

I never thought I would say this, but enough Dylan already [and by that I mean these Bootlegs]. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the new Bootlegged Series No. 8, and while I enjoyed it, rated it highly, and am glad to have it in my collection ... unless you have a serious Dylan collection, and want to push it as far as it will go, there is NO reason to have this so called Bootleg.

First of all, it’s been given the title of “Bootleg” to add some street credits to it, making it seem all the more special than it actually is. There is nothing special here, just the private inter workings of the man, with material that was deemed bad enough to remain on the cutting room floor. Well someone gathered it up, and is now making quite a bit of money off of it ... having it released in more then a half dozen formats, ranging in price from $15.00 or so, to many hundreds of dollars. Both Dylan and his emissaries realize that there is huge money to be made with any material, even words scratched on a wall are held as holy.

This is not a Bob Dylan album ... I will continue to purchase albums by the man, but no longer will I be spoon feed the table droppings. There is a reason these songs were not released, and that was because Dylan was not happy with them, they didn't say what he wanted to say, in the manner he wanted it said. As good as this music is, these songs are only sketches, works in progress, and should never be held up or even compared to the final releases. Bob has even taken to selling harps, which he claims he’s used, but that could simply mean that he blew through it once, for $5000, with a complete set for $25,000 ... and they’re selling. And why? The answer seems simple enough to me [it's not blowing in the wind], people are now viewing Dylan as the art [just as they did for Andy Warhol], and not what he creates. Bob Dylan has taken it one step farther than Hunter, Andy, or Sal, and is selling the DNA left on the harps. Now , for those of you who’ve bought these puppies, or are considering one for a holiday gift ... you can’t play it, you need to hermetically seal it to ensure Dylan’s DNA for future cloning. You can’t touch them either, otherwise you’ll remove the precious Dylan finger and lip prints. And please don't go looking at me like I'm running around screaming that the sky is falling. Dylan himself, in his song "Trust Yourself," said,

"Don't trust me to show you the truth,
When the truth may only be ashes and dust ...

But then, as Mr. Thompson so eloquently put it, in Fear and Loathing ... " once you start a serious collection, the tendency is to push it all as far as it will go.”

Review by Jenell Kesler