What to do when copyright expiry comes up? Accept the loss of material? Not a chance. Release it all in a compilation now sought after by fans. Bob Dylan does just that, or his label, rather, with the 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970. It has happened before and if we are lucky, will happen again. We have already heard the spoils of live shows where material needed a release, fifty years on. The Complete 1974 Recordings were a delight, as is the turn-of-the-century experience heard on this staggering compilation. Dig out that three-CD package, dust off those early takes and engage with a long procession of songs which highlight what could have been. Some of these 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970 pieces are shorter than a minute, and yet they hold a tremendous, open tone.
Opener I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound is a mood-setting slice of studio brevity. A song to ease listeners into the often fragmented but steady joys of this compilation. The first proper track Spanish is The Loving Tongue sinks into the joys of stripped-back instrumentals. Dylan and a piano are all they need. We would hear that pairing more in modern times and here, this Dylan early version sounds tremendous. Those enraged encounters with Self Portrait and Dylan have softened in recent years, meaning a collection of materials from around that period is far easier to take. Consistency is what the 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970 offers. Went to See the Gypsy is given a few playthroughs and are acoustically sound efforts, borderline identical but charming subtleties in the tambourine and backing instruments give it la ovely difference. That first disc is jamming sessions galore, like Woogie Boogie, which surprisingly Jools Holland has yet to riff on.
Nab that Song to Woody version towards the end, a delightful tribute to the late folk hero, and move on to the second disc. Classics from the previous decade are given a new showing. There is nothing quite revolutionary about them, but it is often a treat to hear Dylan meddle with his previous works. Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues and later versions of It Ain’t Me Babe and Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 are punctuated by fresh, flashy materials like Day of the Locusts and I Threw it All Away. The latter track from Nashville Skyline is a rugged, percussion-heavy version of one of Dylan’s most underrated songs. What 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970 highlights are the subtle instrumental improvements between these early takes and the released version. That second disc is the only sign of those best-of works, and the third disc is for the deep-cut fans.
A collection of unreleased tracks, early takes that sound like wholly different experiences than the final song, 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970 saves the best and boldest for last. A cover of Jamaica Farewell is magnificent, and it showcases Dylan as an artist wishing to break not from the folk image but the electric style which was still in fashion at the time, but seemingly no longer interested him. Those almost-finished sounds on New Morning and compilation closer If Not For You are a sign of blurring the past and present. A collection of songs where Dylan can be heard fixating on a new instrumental strength, on moving on from the folk genre he had suddenly returned to with Nashville Skyline. This spiral set in place by Self Portrait and Dylan was only just beginning – though you might not be able to tell from the 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970 release. Two separate releases, the limited release and this one. Give the latter a go, it is the easier of the two to access.
