Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks - NYC sessions

Finally tracked down a copy of Blood on the Tapes, a Dylan boot from a few years ago that presents the NYC recording sessions for Dylan’s famous Blood on the Tracks album in chronological order, although, in all fairness, it’s technically a “boot/pirate” hybrid since half of the tracks have been officially released. Of particular interest is the inclusion of great sounding recordings from the original BOTT test pressing of 5 songs that were later re-recorded in Minneapolis after Dylan reportedly got cold feet about them at the 11th hour. The original takes of 4 of these tracks have never been officially released before. But, "wait," you say, "I've got Biograph and The Bootleg Series. Don't they have the original 'New York' versions of some or all of the BOTT tracks that were re-recorded in Minneapolis?" In a word, no.

Here’s the skinny...

BOB DYLAN ~ Blood on the Tapes

1	If You See Her Say Hello		ALT		TBS
2	Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts	TP						NR
3	Call Letter Blues			OT	TBS
4	Idiot Wind	TP						NR
5	Tangled Up in Blue		ALT		TBS
6	You're a Big Girl Now	TP				BIO
7	Shelter From the Storm		ALT				JM
8	If You See Her Say Hello	TP						NR
9	Tangled Up in Blue	TP						NR
10	Up to Me			OT		BIO
11	Idiot Wind		ALT		TBS

All tracks recorded September 1974 – Columbia Studios – NYC

1-5: 9/16/74
6-7: 9/17/74
8-11: 9/19/74

2,4,6,8,9 = TP: from original BOTT test pressing (see note below)
1,5,7,11 = ALT: alternate version
3,10 = OT: outtake
1,3,5,11= TBS: appeared on The Bootleg Series
6,10 = BIO: appeared on Biograph
7 = JM: first officially appeared on Jerry McGuire soundtrack
2,4,8,9 = NR: not officially released yet

NOTE: "If You See Her Say Hello," "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," "You're a Big Girl Now," "Idiot Wind," and "Tangled Up in Blue" were re-recorded in Minneapolis in December 1974 for inclusion on the final version of BOTT after Dylan evidently became dissatisfied with some of the results from the original NYC sessions. The original NYC versions of these 5 songs did appear on test pressings of BOTT that started circulating in late 1974 and were quickly withdrawn. These test pressings are undoubtedly amongst the most valuable Dylan collectables in existence, worth even more than the withdrawn original versions of Freewheelin’ (fortunately, a copy of the BOTT test pressing was dubbed and subsequently booted almost immediately; these old boots are the source for the test pressing tracks on Blood on the Tapes). Although the officially released The Bootleg Series collection purportedly contains "original" versions from the September NYC sessions of 3 of the 5 re-recorded songs (“If You See Her, Say Hello,” “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Idiot Wind”), these are in fact alternate versions; the takes used were different than those appearing on the original test pressing (the differences are especially notable for "Idiot Wind" – compare the 2 quite different vocal deliveries on 4 & 11; a strong argument can be made that the take used for The Bootleg Series is inferior to the one found on the test pressing). An alternate version of "Lily" hasn't emerged yet, so the recording of "You're a Big Girl Now" that appears on Biograph remains the only official release of any of the actual takes that appeared on the original test pressing for these 5 songs, contrary to what's stated (or implied) by Dylan's official historians.

“Call Letter Blues” and “Up to Me” are outtakes from the NYC BOTT sessions.

“Shelter From the Storm” wasn’t re-recorded in Minneapolis (i.e. the version on BOTT is from the NYC sessions) but an alternate NYC version did belatedly appear in the soundtrack for the movie Jerry McGuire.


To recap the variations of the 5 songs that were later re-recorded in Minneapolis:

Blood on the Tracks (final released version): songs re-recorded in Minneapolis in late 1974: “If You See Her, Say Hello,” “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Idiot Wind," "You're a Big Girl Now," "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts." Original NYC versions -- and takes -- appeared on a circulated test pressing in 1974.

The Bootleg Series: alternate NYC versions - different takes from the original BOTT test pressing: “If You See Her, Say Hello,” “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Idiot Wind.” Original BOTT test pressing versions available on various boots, including Blood on the Tapes.

Biograph: original NYC version - same take as BOTT test pressing: “You’re a Big Girl Now”

Alternate NYC version still unreleased / uncirculated: “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.” Original NYC version available only on the original BOTT test pressing and subsequent boots.

(Thanks to Clinton Heylin and his invaluable book about Dylan's studio recordings, Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 1960-1994. Lord knows, Heylin has a "strong" voice; you will very likely disagree with some -- or many -- of his opinions. But this is still an essential work for even semi-serious Dylanologists.)