Contact!

If you have information, or a rare recording, email me at:

skippingreels@collector.org

Thursday 28 October 2010

Request for information!

If anyone can help with any information regarding the Robert Shelton tapes that were auctioned in 1993, please drop me an email.

Likewise, if anyone has any information about recordings particularly from the 1960s or 1970s, please let me know!

skippingreels@collector.org

Wednesday 27 October 2010

Berkeley 1965 soundboard

Following on from the recent discovery of the Fantasy Records Acetate, which was made by cheif engineer David Turner (Job Number 77182 (stereo)), there was mention at the time (2004) that Fantasy Records also held a (reel to reel?) live recording of a Bob Dylan performance from Berkeley Community Theatre, 4th December 1965, but no further information was available.

It's believed that this passed to the Concord Music Group -

http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/

following the merger with Fantasy Records in 2004.

This is not currently circulating, nor is there any furhter information to authenticate this.

EDIT: Thanks to R_C on the Watchtower board for pointing out that in fact we have had the electric part of Berkeley for some time, either as an nth generation board or stage recording of some sort. The assumption is that this version that we don't have is first or 2nd generation and complete with both acoustic/electric halves of the show.

Further information about that 'Tombstone Blues'

It's from the afternoon workshop at Newport 24/7/1965.

My research suggests it was performed immediately BEFORE 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now'. So we had three songs performed in this order:

1. Tombstone Blues
2. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
3. Love Minus Zero / No Limit

Murray Lerner footage in 'The Other Side Of The Mirror' starts with 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now'

How do I know this was performed first and not later or much earlier? Simple bit of detective work.

Look at these two shots - the first is from 'The Other Side Of The Mirror', right as Dylan is starting 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now'.



Notice the man with the destinctive white beard and hat standing up to the left of Bob Dylan. He has his jacket in his hand. You can see in later frames that he appears to place the jacket over the chair behind him and sits back down.

Now look at this frame, from the 'Tombstone Blues' WDR footage -



The same individual can be seem to Bob's left, but he appears to have his jacket on.

;-)

Also, if this isn't Murray Lerner's footage, then both cameras/cameramen were at least in very close proximity and recording from the same angle.

Thursday 21 October 2010

Acoustic 'Tombstone Blues' - Newport 1965

There is an incomplete film of an acoustic performance of 'Tombstone Blues' from the Newport Folk Festival 1965.
This was broadcast in Germany on Saturday 9th August 2003 as part of a special night of programming called 'Ruge Nacht'. The actual show that featured the Dylan clip was called "Ruges Amerika 1964-1966" and was produced by the ARD-station WDR. Before that, it was totally unknown footage and it was also not known that Bob Dylan played this.

I would assume this is from the footage shot by Murray Learner for Festival! although I have no idea how WDR came to be in possession of it.

Screenshot / more info to follow...

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Brandeis available for purchase singly in January

Good news:

"Jeff Rosen, a New York City-based representative of the iconic poet-musician, said that the bonus deal was set up to promote sales of the latest in the Bootleg series, and that the Brandeis performance would be available for purchase singly in January."

http://www.brandeis.edu/now/2010/october/dylan.html

I'm hoping though that we might see some more similar releases in the near future.

Ahem....Royal Festival Hall 1964...ahem :-D

Tuesday 19 October 2010

The new Brandeis bonus cd 'Columbia Performance Series'

Really pleased with this release, which came as a bonus disc with initial copies of the new 'Mono' box set.
Not a 'heavy' earth-shattering release with money spent on promos, T.V. Adverts, magazines, a 30 page booklet, a deluxe velvet lined box, a number in the bootleg series, super-remastering or a free bumper sticker.

Just a nice little thing to have.

More of this kind of thing please Sony, with future releases.

These 'In Concert' discs are kind of line a mini-bootleg series for fans.

Hopefully after this Brenedis 1963 and Carnegie Hall from 1963 the next one will be the Royal Festival Hall 1964.

I think the principal of these 'little' releases as bonus discs is a good idea, and gives an oppotunity for more than one 'Live 1963' recording to be officially released for the more dedicated fan. Wouldn't it be commercially bad news for the average consumer (and Sony) to go into their record shop and have 3 different 'Bob Dylan: Live 1963' releases (with many tracks repeated) starting at them from the shelves?


EDIT: Anyone else notice that this is being reffered to as 'Columbia Performance Series' on the sleeve?
The only other item I can find that's been reffered to as such is the "Other Side Of The Mirror" Newport DVD.
Thanks to Jeff Gold for finding this recording! If you haven't read him Blog, do so - fascinating stuff. There's a link to the right ->


Sunday 17 October 2010

Joel Bernstein interview, The Telegraph 35 - Spring 1990

Here's some extracts of an interview with photographer & archivinst Joel Bernstein, conducted by the late John Bauldie for The Telegraph magazine, published in 1990.
Some of the interview touches on rare tapes, and Joel gives the following information:

In reference to the Salt Lake City 1976 show, of which there is no known recording:

John B: Salt Lake City's a very elusive tape

"I might even have a tape of Salt Lake City. I have a collection of some of those shows and some of the rehearsals"

-----

Joel then comments on 'Blood On The Tracks':

"...Ellen Bernstein was the subject of a couple of songs on Blood On The Tracks...she also had this cassette from A&R mastering that had two versions of the acoustic Idiot Wind and two versions of the acoustic Up To Me. I don't know any other place that they appeared anywhere, but I will say that the ones that have come out are the superior versions of the two, but it's still interesting to hear them."

-----
NOTES (by me, October 2010): Remember, this was prior to the release of 'The Bootleg Series' in 1991, so presumably one of the versions of 'Idiot Wind' may have been either the Bootleg Series take or the one fro the 'Blood On The Tracks' acetate. (don't believe what it says in 'The Recording Sessions', the organ isn't an overdub, but a completely different take, I had this conformed to me by one of the musicians at the sessions)

It's unclear whether Joel means that Ellen Bernstein had a tape that contained an ADDITIONAL TWO versions of 'Up To Me' that were different to the version releaed in 1985 on 'Biograph', but there's at least one other complete take from September 16th 1974 - as well as five takes from 19th September 1974, the last of which is the released version. None of the other takes have ever come into general circulation.

------

Joel goes on to say:

"...I have an alternate take of 'Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar'

------

NOTE: (By me, Oct 2010) : This isn't currently circulating, but I would assume it's one of the takes from 27th March 1981, Rundown Studios, which produced 11 takes...or Clover, 23rd April 1981.
The released take comes from Clover, sometime in May 1981.

Orignal cover for 'Live 1964'

Here's the proposed cover for 'Live 1964' from 2004. This photo was included in a advance promotional cd for the SACD releases in late 2003.

Tape from 'Under The Red Sky' sessions




This photocopy turned up via Michael Krogsgaard in 'The Bridge' several years ago. Seems to be a cassette of an 'Under The Red Sky' session listing a song called 'Night Of The Living Dread', of which there is no known record - audio or written.

Thursday 7 October 2010

Some tape boxes etc...

Here's some photos of tape boxes. The Town Hall tape box photo came out a few years ago, before the actual recordings emerged.



I originally wrote at the time:

"Here's some details of a source recording which is known to exist. It is a 71/2 ips Mono recording, from a 'line' source, and is complete. The tape has been described to me as being brittle due to their age and in need of work before it could be transferred."

The other photos here are from the 'Rick Kangas' tape that was offered for auction some time ago.

Ric Kangas has attempted to sell his 1959 recording of Bob Dylan via eBay, for an ambitious US $1,500,000.00 starting price! Ric names two unknown early Dylan compositions, the third of course turned up on the 'No Direction Home' soundtrack. I believe originally Kangas stated that there were twelve tracks on the recording?

Here is the information which he included:

In May 1959 Dylan (then Bob Zimmerman) called me and asked if I would record some songs for him on my reel-to-reel tape recorder. The following are the recordings I made that day:

A. "When I Got Troubles" By Bob Dylan 1:25 min. Briefly used in the current Martin Scorsese NO DIRECTION HOME: BOB DYLAN documentary. This song is also the first song on disk one of the 2 cd soundtrack of NO DIRECTION HOME.

B. "I WISH I KNEW" by Ric Kangas, backup by Bob Dylan 2:05 min.

C. "TEEN LOVE SERANADE" aka "I GOT A NEW GIRL" by Bob Dylan. 2:05 min. Also briefly used in the NO DIRECTION HOME documentary.

D. "THE FROG SONG" by Bob Dylan 1:10 min. Never released in any format. Bob is singing like Clarence "Frogman" Henry.





Speed 1 7/8 ips Recorded in May 1959

This was recorded on my tape where I'd put my original songs. When Bob came over, I recorded these 4 songs and then continued to record my songs on the rest of side one. Side 2 has various popular songs recorded from radio stations in Hibbing and Duluth MN. plus more of my original songs.

Total length of tape: apx 45 min. each side (aprox. 90 min total both sides). Some of the other songs are recorded at different speeds.