Recycling early years material so frequently gets to be impressive at some stage. Flagrantly ripping the same few songs and releasing them in compilation after compilation is a praiseworthy grift. But it should not happen. If these are auto-generated playlists, then they can just as easily be archived at the click of a button. Some of these playlists have been removed from the Bob Dylan YouTube page, but others, like First Rays, remain. It’s the usual run of problems from these releases. Muddying the waters of search engines and offering dedicated fans absolutely nothing of interest. For those who enjoy hearing the same few songs pieced together in a different order, then First Rays will be a treat. For those who want to hear deeper cuts, anything of interest, or simply want to listen to the debut album, steer clear of this. There are better ways of listening, bootlegging for a start. Not a luxury the channel can offer, but the scraps they release are simply no good.
Thirteen songs total, one thrown in with a different cover for good measure. That’s all it takes to make a Dylan compilation. A lucrative business by the looks of how many are on the channel. But there is little love within these bootlegs. This First Rays compilation is uniquely pathetic. Keen listeners who know the ins and outs of this folk period will realise it is, literally, the debut album. No shuffle of the order, no frail attempt at reinterpreting the songs with a deep cut, nothing. Just the first album with a new coat of paint. What purpose does First Rays serve? It’s a copy of the first album. You can hardly call that a compilation, let alone an addition to the material at hand. Re-releases and remasters, common as they are, often serve a listener first and the band second.
A financial security in remastering is present, just look at how many editions of The Dark Side of the Moon there are, but compilations do not offer much revenue. Again, then, what purpose does First Rays serve? First Rays is the most uniquely useless release to have Bob Dylan’s name on it. For those who want to listen to the debut album yet say they have not on a technicality, this one’s for you. Other than that, utterly useless. A massive problem with the generative content filling the internet is the suggestion of new material or a fresh experience. That much is not offered with First Rays. It’s perhaps the clearest example of hoodwinking an audience. Material which has been available for years is given not even a new coat of paint, just a different cover. Judge the books by their cover, as they say.
Quality control has been a problem for the longest time with the Dylan YouTube channel. That does not seem likely to change at this rate. A real disappointment for those who may be fooled by this being a playlist featuring new material. Even if it featured the usual backlog of radio performances or songs which never made the album cut, it would be borderline acceptable. But to redress the debut album and not offer a hint at this being the case from the outset proves its uselessness. A peculiar release. Usually, these compilations, generated as they may be by some strange company with rights to these songs, feature a couple of extra bits. This is just a straight rip of the debut album.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
