Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 – More Blood, More Tracks Review

Another investment of time into the deep and buried backlogs of Bob Dylan, another offering from the Bootleg Tapes. Fishing out alternate and otherworldly versions of Blood on the Tracks was and still is somewhat of a surprise. His fixations and post-1960s heyday were starting to drag and an artist must always reinvent themselves. Dylan did so with the macabre and rather subtle punches found on said record. More Blood, More Tracks dedicates itself to the finer cuts and other takes. This is the hotspot for Dylan. Fragments, the release from the Time Out of Mind sessions, proves this. More Blood, More Tracks, is one of many grand examples from this series – an exceptional, ten-track collection of otherworldly tales from the master musician.  

Pace changes, stripped-back instrumentals, and all the unusual turns of the time for Dylan are worked over. They are in their earliest form. Some tracks throughout More Blood, More Tracks may as well be completely different to the final pieces which featured on the 1975 classic. Very useful differences which bring about completely new meanings to the final works. Tangled Up in Blue, the third take and third remake, is a delightful little acoustic ballad which works here but it is clear to see why Dylan added keyboards and percussion to it. A familiarity with the likes of Up to Me and If You See Her, Say Hello certainly helps here – presenting with it the fine line between Dylan’s folk experience and the new rush which led to those initially mixed reviews of Blood on the Tracks. With the benefit of hindsight and a working brain, it is clear to hear these changes and how monumental they are – the flickers of the final Blood on the Tracks versions can be found in these early takes.  

Around Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts this familiarity becomes an experience brought by the listener, not Dylan. A nine-minute titan where the penny drops. Dylan is an extreme comfort for listeners yet manages to make his artistic flourish and flair, from the studio records to the bonus tracks and bootlegs decades later, accessible and sincere. Album closer Idiot Wind strikes through as another perfect number – this bootleg tape has a far greater stretch of quality than the others, possibly because the sampler package to precede the full release is so tightly wound. Lengthy pieces like Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts are exceptional, so closely tied to the sound Dylan had provided long before he changed pace at the turn of the 70s. Such gorgeous, moving changes of pace to these songs – completely removed from how they would sound on their initial release.  

More Blood, More Tracks may be the best of the Bootleg bunch for how it shows the distance Dylan put between his folk highs and the future of his career. These changes were intentional, but the blueprint was much the same. Context matters and so too do the slight flickers of change. They make all the difference on this release, the early years of his work were a far stretch different to what Blood on the Tracks would soon become. This is a style throughout where fans will no doubt feel comfort in the instrumentals, the pace and familiarity. Dylan ditched it and never looked back. More power to him for doing so, but he was blasted at the time for it – for what is now perceived as a peak. What could have been for More Blood, More Tracks, if it were the original and not the precursor to change as it is here.