Early essentials from the veteran songwriter Bob Dylan can be found on Talkin’ New York. What more can be expected from the inevitable, unauthorised compilations? But is this an unofficial piece? The line walked by the YouTube playlists, this never-ending compilation of materials, which are officially released but not of interest to anyone but the hardcore contingent of Dylan historians, is blurred. There is a sense of copyright materials slipping out here for the sake of renewed license, though that does not answer the question of why Talkin’ New York compiles early essentials which often serve as filler for other releases and playlists from the Dylan camp. Another strange experience from the early years, those New York days put to tape once more, and they remain a welcome listen. But context is everything, and those who want to know where these performances are from are out of luck. Who knows, is the answer.
Well, it is the answer given by the Dylan team, anyway, as they try their luck at adapting the mysterious characteristics of the songwriter they are set to compile long after his death. The trouble with the little shrug of the shoulders as to sourcing these songs is it, like many of the compilations on the official YouTube account, it may tarnish what knowledge is already out there, burying it with barebones contemporary releases. But do not mistake Talkin’ New York, the barebones playlist, with the bootleg of the same name, which features more depth and inevitable pieces like Black Cross. It is absent from this compilation, which is more a rehash of early years. The debut album plus Corrina, Corrina, a completely mindless piecing together of acoustic folk material with a new lick of paint on the cover to convince there may be new pieces within. There are not. Mixed-Up Confusion is taped to the end and is the reason to listen in, but you can skip right to the end for that track.
Fifteen timeless tracks, allegedly. Stick an asterisk next to “timeless” and add “which rights were acquired to” and you have a more fitting comment on this compilation. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down is also given a new cover, but is the same version as the debut. These are early bits of work, that much is true. There is a falseness to this compilation though, a laziness which serves as evidence of relying on bootleggers, those who do this out of passion. Talkin’ New York has the potential for bootleggers in title alone, the moments Dylan has paid his dues to the city which made him. No such luck here, a barebones adaptation of his earliest years with all the expected moments.
But it is what to expect from the future of the bootleg pieces, the unreleased extra bits which have fallen back into the hands of official sources. There is a sense of worry over which pieces to release, maintaining the quality of those pieces, that is more important than what we can learn from it, for example, The First Rolling Thunder Revue, which remains a crucial piece of history, if a tad unlistenable. Documenting these pieces is important, for the historic additions, is necessary. But doing so with a compilation which cobbles the songs together and little else is no way to preserve the history at hand here. Solid performances, of course, but those who listened to the debut album will already know that.
