“Rare” and “unreleased”. Two words which will serve Bob Dylan fans a sugar rush of hope. A bungee jump experience for music lovers. A hit we can take as Mark Renton did in Trainspotting. There is a notable revisionism, not least from Dylan himself, to make the most of a quiet period. A time when religious proclivities dominated his work. They still do, but the man who brought the world Street-Legal and a flurry of Born Again-influenced material has understood the subtext better now. Rare and Unreleased, a part of The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More, is an example of this post-release acceptance. These are not the strongest works Dylan would provide. They are likely weaker than the earliest notions of his songwriting abilities, and yet, we want them. Less is not more when it comes to the writings of Dylan.
And so, we listen in to these discarded materials. Sixteen outtakes or rehearsal tapes which, if another artist presented as a release, would be discarded off-hand as uninteresting. But the influence Dylan has on music, the juice which flowed from the studio and can still be heard in brief, bright flashes to this day, is found within this release. Disc three. A treasure trove of stiff guitar and dominating vocal presentations. Flutters of saxophone and the slow burn of Slow Train Coming is a perfect example of this period. Where the high bar was set, how Dylan failed to vault it and the decade-long salvage operation put to the stage. These were times of great fury. Dylan had tried his hand at a moving, personally affected collection of tracks and the best versions of them are the discarded remnants of what was not, at the time, released.
There is no way of knowing how these songs would have fared if switched out for the originals but there is still plenty to love in these additional works. Enough to warrant listening to even if the originals did not light the fire. Unreleased songs like Help Me Understand are not too different to the rest of Slow Train Coming and follow-up Saved. Another decent track to throw onto the pile of borderline gospel mixtures. Dylan becomes a preacher without a mount. There is a slick funk groove found in Gotta Serve Somebody which feels punchier than the original. Surely these are the stronger versions? Compared to the final studio versions, the difference could not be clearer.
Ultimately it comes down to lyrical subject. Dylan wants the focus to be on the Book of Revelation and the apocalyptic, doomed decision not to change sinful ways. These are the songs of an everyman, the great equaliser Dylan and the band believed in is put to song. Detracting from that is, in a way, to lose the point of the song – and agreeing with it or not – Dylan was right to return the attention to those verses. Employing Jerry Wexler and Mark Knopfler feels like a double-edged sword. Soulful focus with a guitarist capable of detracting from the focus of the album. Knopfler fits into the likes of these outtakes but it is Wexler who is relied upon most.
When He Returns gets to the root of these songs and their purpose. Dylan sounds stronger here than he has in years. Vocally intense and paired with the heavy, echoed notes of a piano, the sound provided by Trouble No More in this instance is not just appropriate but an intense realisation of perfection. It is a heartbreaking shame the albums of the time did not feel this energy. Perhaps the revisionism holds water. These are good works. Trouble in Mind has a swagger to it which cannot be found in its final version. A stalking, gloomy piano bursts to life and finds life which was sapped out of the Slow Train Coming sound. Slick works follow through. Disc Four is a continuation of the sharp sound that could have been. Trouble No More: Rare and Unreleased is the last gasp of greatness. What a change these now-released recordings make.
