Bob Dylan – Stealin’ Review

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These are the classic bootlegs. This, Great White Wonder, and the volumes to follow that classic record print are the originals. It is Stealin’ and its like that has informed the modern-day bootlegging community, to at least some extent. Going back to listen to those now at a time when there are flac and MP3 files of just about every show Bob Dylan has played, feels like a bit of a novelty. But there is still reason to experience those old bootlegs. One of the first bootlegs to appear on store shelves and the Stealin’ feels a little on the nose. This isn’t theft, though, it’s a generous act of sharing tapes which are of interest to dedicated fans. To those who want to listen to Stealin’, a vinyl copy remains an eye-watering option. Alternatively, you can hunt it down on the internet and experience some excellent quality Dylan bootlegging. It is this release, along with Great White Wonder, that sets a standard for today.  

What modern-day bootleggers have found is the hits played verbatim is not what the listener wants. Dylan figured that out, too. It is what they think they want, and to that end Stealin’ becomes a collection of deep cuts and rarities which are no doubt featured on countless other compilations now. Songs like Can I Crawl Out Your Window and Love Minus Zero / No Limit feature here. The latter is a softer version, a slight variant which has circulated the bootlegging community for decades. For those who are not well-versed in bootlegs, Stealin’ is no longer an ideal place to start. It does still stand as a magical offering for what you can get out of the deeper cuts and fan edits. That Love Minus Zero / No Limit edition is a wonderfully delicate rendition of a great song. That’s what Stealin’ offers, and it is the fundamental of any bootleg. Offer an alternative to what is already available.  

Piecing the whole project together is tricky business but a few uploads to YouTube and an audio file from some distant corner of the internet are, for many, going to be good enough for listening. These are not majorly different versions of the songs but they are unique enough to warrant experiencing. Some of those all-time greats like She Belongs to Me and It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, sounded different every time Dylan performed them. Stealin’ opened the floodgates for bootlegging. Not as much as Great White Wonder, it simply doesn’t have the same reputation, but it is a crucial document to be aware of when hunting down further material. This is a blueprint of what all the great bootlegs still offer today.  

You cannot put officially released material onto a bootleg. It breaks a few laws but also makes no sense. These are the songs you cannot get anywhere else. At least, on paper, that is the purpose. There are plenty of easily accessible bootlegs, better than Stealin’ thanks to the passage of time. It still remains an important document, much like the old McKenzie tapes or early years recordings from Dylan. The tape quality may be horrendous on those works but they serve as an important footnote in how we hear those songs. Don’t forget the quality of Stealin’, though, which has some solid offerings including the so-called Cough Song and Wade in the Water. Songs and experiences which are more for the dedicated fan than a listener who couldn’t care for the delicacies of a deep cut, but they’re there all the same on Stealin’, and compiled well at that.