From: howells@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (John Howells)
Subject: Highway 61 Revisited Again
Organization: NASA Ames Res. Ctr. Mtn Vw CA 94035
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 92 20:55:27 GMT

Highway 61 Revisited Again - CD
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Crawl Out Your Window
Barbed Wire Fence
Like a Rolling Stone
Ballad of a Thin Man
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Highway 61 Revisited
Positively 4th Street
Takes a Lot To Laugh
Tombstone Blues
Crawl Out Your Window
Desolation Row
Queen Jane Approximately
From a Buick 6

I just got a tape of this and I haven't seen it discussed yet, so...

This is a great improvement over the vinyl version of this bootleg,
because not only does it contain every song on the official album, it
also contains two new items of great rarity. The first "Crawl Out Your
Window" is none other than a stereo mix of the official Dylan/Hawks
single! Where did this come from? Any ideas? Vinyl crackling is
evident, so I'm assuming this was an acetate. There is one extra bar
towards the end, indicating that this is the original unedited take
used for the single. The stereo mix is typical of late '60s stereo
releases: drums to one side, bass to the other, and so forth. What I
can't figure out is why didn't Columbia use this mix when they
assembled _Biograph_ instead of using the standard mono mix? Even
though it wasn't recorded for the Highway 61 album, and doesn't really
belong here, it's a welcome surprise nonetheless.

I was surprised to find that the version of "Barbed Wire Fence"
included here is the rare alternate take that, to my knowledge, has
never been bootlegged before (although it's been available to tape
collectors for years). This take is in stereo, but unfortunately
features an off-balanced mix with too much piano and very little else.
You can just faintly make out the drums and bass and a little more
clearly the guitar. Dylan's voice and harmonica are right upfront.  The
more familiar _Bootleg Series_ take is much stronger, but this is
certainly a welcome addition to the CD.

"Like a Rolling Stone" is the album version, in mono, minus the
fadeout.  In fact, I believe the final segment here is different from
the fadeout on the single and album. I've always suspected that there
was a splice at the end during Dylan's final harmonica break, but it's
still hard to say for sure after listening to this unedited take.

"Ballad of a Thin Man" is new to this version of the bootleg. Again, in
mono - but something weird happens at the end of the last verse: the
bass stumbles a bit in one very significant spot, and I now wonder if
there wasn't a little bit of splicing going on to fix this for the
official album. Either that or there was some very creative mixing or
minor overdubbing to fix the mistake. In 1965, overdubs were almost a
taboo with Dylan. It's nice to hear this take continue well after the
familiar fadeout.

"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is also new here. The same take, but the
mix is subtly different. Not too much to say about this one.

"Highway 61 Revisited"  - same version as on the album - also goes on a
little longer than usual. Slightly different mix.

"Positively 4th Street" is the single version, in mono, and it goes on
longer at the end. This appeared on the original bootleg too.

"It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry" is surprisingly the
album version rather than the faster _Bootleg Series_ version. Slightly
different mono mix that goes on longer at the end, but not by much.
Appeared on the original bootleg.

"Tombstone Blues", another repeat from the original boot, is the
standard version. Again, in mono and a slight bit longer in the fade.

"Crawl Out Your Window" - the looser take from the album sessions. I
first heard this one on _Ten of Swords_ (another classic bootleg). Not
as strong as either the official version which starts out this disc or
the mistakenly released 2nd take which was briefly called "Positively
4th Street", but still welcome nevertheless.

"Desolation Row" is an alternate take, and what a great version it is!
As much as I love the album version, this one is far better. Slower and
more brooding, this one creates a mood of brittle tension unlike the
bright folky sound of the standard rendition. Chiefly responsible for
creating this mood is the electric guitar (Bloomfield?) and electric
bass (Harvey Brooks?) punching throughout the verses, while Dylan
strums the acoustic guitar and sings with great cynicism. Someone
described this track to me as what the song might sound like if
performed by the Velvet Underground (thanks for the analogy, Steve!).
This is the best thing on the entire CD.

"Queen Jane Approximately" - not on the original boot, this version has
subtle differences in the mix, but not that much different from the
original.

"From a Buick 6" - I'm not sure why this appears here, because I was
expecting the alternate take with the beginning harmonica riff
instead.  This version, which is the familar take, is certainly welcome
here anyway. I don't remember this one being on the original vinyl
bootleg lp.

--
                                        John Howells
                                        howells@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov 
                                        howells@earth.arc.nasa.gov