Bob Dylan – Side Tracks Review

Best-of compilations of unreleased material, this is the weight of a Bob Dylan release in action. His fans are rabid for anything they can get their hands on, a series of new chances and occasions to catch Dylan off guard and in the process of invention. This is what the seasoned veteran of any band or artist wishes for. Release after release of outtakes, studio chatter and shocking cuts which add a layer of sense to the nonsensical. All this and more can be found on Side Tracks, a two-hour taster session of The Bootleg Series. But it goes deeper than this. Side Tracks includes anything it can from Biograph, the greatest hits albums, the essential additions and has one of its exclusives. The best of a best of compilation collection. It sounds like barrel-scraping, but in the case of Dylan, it is a collection of rare and essential efforts. 

It begins with those usual tones – the identifiable acoustic guitar fury and country-twanged vocal style which Dylan would use for so long in his early career. Pieces like Baby, I’m In the Mood for You and Mixed-Up Confusion are the definition of deep cut essentials. Songs slightly similar to what was already released but different enough, lyrically in particular, to find an audience in later years. Hunger is the driving force of Side Tracks, a desire to satiate the oddballs and completionists who need to hear these pieces. And rightly so. These are exceptional songs and compiled with care. A lot of true deep cuts in this one, some short outtakes while others are fully-fledged, almost released bits of work sounds fundamentally different to what was released. Live recordings are also included, with Visions of Johanna and a neat outtake of Quinn the Eskimo heard.  

The effect of this is not to dump the recordings out for a new listening experience but to consider the range of the time and what was left to make room for those released works. Side Tracks can have all the praise heaped on it for gathering these golden age recordings all they want, the inclusion of live recordings of Romance in Durango and Isis is the highlight for those after deeper, live cuts. While serving all factions of the Dylan fanbase, it is a compilation album that never diverts from its inclusive collection of strong songs. Tearjerkers like Percy’s Song come early and are among the few tracks to linger on well after Side Tracks concludes. Covers provide the same joys as the originals too, with a jumped-up version of I Wanna Be Your Lover proving quite the treat with its instrumental flurry and Highway 61 Revisited period vocal range for Dylan. 

Recognisable bits and pieces but ultimately a new experience from Dylan and the almost endless supply of deep cuts stored in his archives. Side Tracks is a wonderful trip through different periods of his highs, and all of them prove a welcome example of his work at the time. This serves as a solid entry into the deeper cuts and joys of the Dylan backlog – with the bluesy Watching the River Flow to more commercially controversial options like When I Paint My Masterpiece. All of it comes together with a solidity expected of Dylan, but how rare it is to hear the slices of his career come together so well. A crushing, brilliant listening experience pushing right up to the turn of the century.