Six hours of stop-and-start takes may sound like borderline torture, but for the Bob Dylan faithful this Bootleg Series entry will delight to no end. The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 drags out the wastebin of ideas which flecked from Bringing it All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde. Immediately from Love Minus Zero / No Limit – Take 1, Breakdown, the latter word comes true. A frustrated Dylan hellbent on getting it right on the first try. Do not dive into six hours of takes, alternates and false starts with any other intention than learning. Dylan delights with the deep cuts of his Bootleg Series but The Cutting Edge is focused more on the exasperation when on the cusp of greatness. You do not need to hear Like a Rolling Stone fragmented and twenty times in a row.
But if you do want to, The Cutting Edge offers it. Stick it on in the background and enjoy the endurance test. Little flickers of greatness in a bulky package. Plenty to pick out, though. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue – Take 1, is not far off the finished song. These materials are nice background fodder though it is tricky to get all too excited about four pieces of On the Road Again. Beyond the slight interjections of studio chatter, there is little else. An annoyed Dylan here, a comment on the length of It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) before a false start on Mr. Tambourine Man is a double bill of interest. The latter track has an actual tambourine loud and clear, a stretch different to the removal of it on release.
A lot of these releases are for the benefit of learning. Studio work from these respective albums sounds wildly different and better on release. But Like a Rolling Stone – Take 4, Rehearsal hears a spluttering, coughing Dylan power through. The Cutting Edge is an album dependent on its spots of studio chatter and works because of how notorious the songs are. This could not work for the forgettable touches of his later career works. Hearing the start of Like a Rolling Stone twenty times in a row may drive you insane. It will change the way you hear this song for months to come. Further highlights come from Visions of Johanna – Take 5 and a few spots of wonder on Lunatic Princess.
This Bootleg Series release is only for the absolute completionists. Those whose dream is to crawl through every second of recorded material from Dylan. Fair enough. People have tried to listen to worse albums in their time shuffling around the planet, dedicating yourself to the pickings of The Cutting Edge is not the worst decision. It does have an edge to it, a snarling Dylan at times knowing he is on the cusp of this great boom. The Cutting Edge does little to feed the electric guitar boom, a bit of a shock given the time to do so, but the Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands closer does more than enough to prove a patchy listen is still an enjoyable one. Your brain will melt away under the throb of constant repetition, but enjoy the moves of some great work in bitesize chunks and it becomes quite the treat.
