Bob Dylan – Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions Review

What listeners must prepare themselves for before listening to the Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions is a sudden drop-off in vocal quality. Bob Dylan, between the release of Love and Theft and Modern Times, would do very little to harm his voice. Yet he sounds like a completely different artist on this bootleg. It is not of terrible quality, just an extreme contrast, and this rapid change is a curveball. An hour with this bootleg, though, may have you drifting towards insanity. Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions are exactly as the title would suggest. An hour of Dylan performing Tell Ol’ Bill while receiving feedback in the studio. It features a lineup not too dissimilar to the stage shows around this time. Long-serving bassist Tony Garnier is in the studio, as are Donnie Herron and Stu Kimball. Familiarity with these names does little for the vocal change.  

Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions do hold real value. It is one for the dedicated listener, those who want to pick up on every little detail before diving into the albums. This song did not feature on an official release. Where some would consider it an hour wasted on a track destined for The Bootleg Series, others will find much to love in the spirit of how Dylan works. He begins to root around for a new path to the core of the song. Any great creative process can maintain interest, no matter how long it takes to hear those changes. Get Back did this for The Beatles, and there are countless documentaries on Dylan which manage much the same about moments across his career. This is just one song, though. A hyper fixation is what you need to get through this one, but also a keen interest in hearing how a song can evolve from version to version.  

Pay attention, and you can hear a crucial difference from song to song. The second rendition of Tell Ol’ Bill is far better vocally. A difference like this is what comes through the rest of the songs, too. Dylan uses each version as a moment to connect with this moment or that instrumental. It’s not a series of frustrations but the process of creativity. If The Beatles can offer nine hours on two albums, then Dylan can do one hour on one song. There are levels to this game. Hearing Dylan and the band make a series of suggestions which eventually bring us to the finished result without the polish. It’s an outstanding experience. It’s a route taken by The Bootleg Series, too. The Blonde on Blonde package particularly, The Cutting Edge, takes a similar form to Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions.  

Early versions of songs inform the finished track, obviously. But it’s the subtler details which form the end result which are of interest. Hearing the play-by-play of Tell Ol’ Bill is a thoroughly interesting listen. What is gained and lost across the versions, the small changes to vocal inflexions or instrumental importance, are highlighted here. The creative process in the right hands is as important a time as the release. Listeners can gauge just that with Tell Ol’ Bill Sessions, a creative pursuit of a song which never released on Modern Times. What it showcases is just how ruthless Dylan can be in the studio, just how quick he can be to throw away a staggered vocal or an emphasis on one lyric. There is a beauty to that which may be lost on those who listen passively.