A moment which felt like Bob Dylan had overcome his problems in the 1980s turned out to be a flash in the pan. It would take reconnecting with a prominent image of himself and unpacking it on an MTV stage to get him back into finer form. But Oh Mercy is, even now, a remarkable piece of work. It comes off the back of some of Dylan’s worst works. That is not the reason it succeeds, though. Either his interest in music returned or there was a sudden clarity in his writing. Whatever it was, you can hear it across the Oh Mercy Outtakes, a brilliant collection from the studio. For those wanting early versions of what would be the best songs of Oh Mercy, these outtakes are a gold mine. It opens with Shooting Star, a version which feels like a reintroduction to Dylan as one of the best artists in music history.
He ditches his image as a man chasing synth, pop, and collaborative gimmicks, and adapts to what he does best. A man who could stand on the quality of his writing and, when it struck, simple yet inspired instrumentals. A double bill of God Knows has Dylan getting to grips with a song which would feature on Under the Red Sky. It’s an interesting moment of contemplation which, placed before the staggering, stripped-back What Good Am I, adds context to the recording. These are moments where Dylan is questioning whether to continue as an artist. Oh Mercy would not solve those doubts. What Good Am I here is worth ripping from this outtakes collection, a song as strong as Dylan’s greatest tracks. Songs of survival and of sticking to the course in the face of some dire odds are what can be heard here. Most of the Time is decades ahead of those softer, stern, singer-songwriter offerings. Oh Mercy Outtakes is a collection of outstanding alternatives to the equally strong Oh Mercy.
Their strengths are from different emotions. Everything is Broken and Political World sounds vaguely hopeless of the world changing for the better. These are truthful versions. Harsh, too. Dylan’s greatest strength, be it his folk music or the straight-shooting pointers of Godly goodwill, is his subtlety. Disease of Conceit would have him hit through with a rare clarity, and those moments are great also. There is a sense of awe at the horror, a moment of terror shared with the politically downtrodden. Those “under the microscope” as he calls them on Political World, are his target here. Dylan at his best is a politically acute and sincere writer. His image as a man of the counterculture through the ‘60s is revived somewhat on these Oh Mercy renditions.
Commentaries on the world around him would offer a direct jab at the powerful and prestigious, rather than a stream of consciousness that stands the test of time. Part of the charm for these outtakes and the albums they would later feature on is how clear it is that Dylan is moved by the modern world. There is a rawness to this unofficial bootleg which would not be scrubbed out of Oh Mercy, but made to sound sharper. There is a polish which erodes the furious core, though the style of recording is fascinating. An album recorded at night, because that is when the mind and body are willing to pursue mellower tones, longing and insightful songs come through because of that rule from Dylan. You can hear some exceptional early efforts on the Oh Mercy Outtakes, which will either remind listeners of the strength of Oh Mercy, or leave them wishing it sounded closer to these versions.
