from usatoday--
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news ... igns_N.htm

Bob Dylan reveals many facets on 'Tell Tale Signs'

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

The tunes, they are a-changin', and Bob Dylan fans will find the telltale signs on Tell Tale Signs, the long-rumored eighth installment of his Bootleg Series.

The two-CD, 27-song set, out Oct. 7, contains previously unreleased studio recordings, demos, alternate takes, live tracks and rarities spanning 1989 to 2006, a rich period that generated the lauded Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft, Modern Times and Oh Mercy. A third 12-track disc is part of a limited-edition deluxe set in a hardcover slipcase with a book with photos of all of Dylan's singles. The 27-song version also will be issued in a limited-edition four-LP set.

Listeners will discover a wealth of fresh material and multiple versions of songs with altered lyrics, moods and styles.

"When Most of the Time came out on Oh Mercy, I thought it was such an achingly beautiful love song," says Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of A&R at Columbia/Legacy. "Now it's here as a folk version and something that sounds like Dylan with Brian Eno and The Edge. To hear the way the songs and lyrics develop is fascinating. Dylan comes across as a folk singer, a blues musician and a jazz artist."

Dignity appears as a truncated piano demo and in twangy rockabilly form. Series of Dreams undergoes a rewrite. Twin renditions of the bluesy Marchin' to the City serve as blueprints for 'Til I Fell in Love With You.

The newly unveiled Dreamin' of You, a free download at the just-overhauled bobdylan.com, bears lyrics that later fed other songs.

Also new to Dylan's canon are Red River Shore and Can't Escape From You, written for a film but never used. Miss the Mississippi was rescued from a long-shelved album with David Bromberg, and 32-20 Blues marks Dylan's only release of a Robert Johnson cover.

Among the rarities are the live The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore, eight-minute 'Cross the Green Mountain, The Lonesome River duet with Ralph Stanley and Ring Them Bells from Dylan's storied 1993 stint at the Supper Club in Manhattan. Those performances were filmed but never released.

"The songs and performances are of such strength and diversity, they will appeal to new fans and longtime fans," Berkowitz says, predicting the two-CD set will satisfy most appetites. "For some fans, there's never enough."


Here's the full track listing for Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs, the eighth edition of his highly anticipated Bootleg Series.



2 CD set with 27 songs. Exclusive bonus CD with 12 extra tracks. 150 page, 8" x 8" hardcover book of Bob's singles artwork. 60 page booklet with rare photos, essay, credits. All packaged in a hardcover solid slipcase.

Disc 1

Mississippi (unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
Most of the Time (alternate version, Oh Mercy)
Dignity (piano demo, Oh Mercy)
Someday Baby (alternate version, Modern Times)
Red River Shore (unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
Tell Ol' Bill (alternate version, North Country soundtrack)
Born in Time (unreleased, Oh Mercy)
Can't Wait (alternate version, Time Out of Mind)
Everything Is Broken (alternate version, Oh Mercy)
Dreamin' of You (unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
Huck's Tune (from Lucky You soundtrack)
Marchin' to the City (unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
High Water (for Charley Patton) (live, Niagara, N.Y., 2003)

Disc 2

Mississippi (unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
32-20 Blues (unreleased, World Gone Wrong)
Series of Dreams (unreleased, Oh Mercy)
God Knows (unreleased, Oh Mercy)
Can't Escape From You (unreleased, December 2005)
Dignity (unreleased, Oh Mercy)
Ring Them Bells (live at the Supper Club, New York, 1993)
Cocaine Blues (live, Vienna, Va., 1997)
Ain't Talkin' (alternate version, Modern Times)
The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore (live, 1992)
Lonesome Day Blues (live, Sunrise, Fla., 2002)
Miss the Mississippi (unreleased, 1992)
The Lonesome River (with Ralph Stanley, from Clinch Mountain Country)
'Cross the Green Mountain (from Gods and Generals soundtrack)

Disc 3 (Bonus CD, Exclusive Deluxe Edition)

Duncan and Brady (unreleased, 1992)
Cold Irons Bound (live, Bonnaroo Festival, June 2004)
Mississippi (unreleased version #3, Time Out of Mind)
Most of the Time (alternate version #2, Oh Mercy)
Ring Them Bells (alternate version, Oh Mercy)
Things Have Changed (live, Portland, Ore., 2000)
Red River Shore (unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
Born in Time (unreleased version #2, Oh Mercy)
Tryin' to Get to Heaven (live, London, 2000)
Marchin' to the City (unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
Can't Wait (alternate version #2, Time Out of Mind)
Mary and the Soldier (unreleased, World Gone Wrong)

3-CD Deluxe Edition (as detailed above):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DFQFEG/?tag=imwan-20

2-CD Standard Edition (as detailed above):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D06SEI/?tag=imwan-20

4-LP Vinyl Set:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E8YGTS/?tag=imwan-20

.............................................................................................

BOB DYLAN TELL TALE SIGNS
THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 8 RARE AND UNRELEASED 1989 - 2006
AVAILABLE OCT 7TH IN 3 UNIQUE EDITIONS



2 CD Edition $18.99
• 2 CDs featuring 27 songs
• 60 page booklet with stunning rare photos and in-depth notes by author Larry "Ratso" Sloman




BobDylan.com Exclusive Deluxe Edition $129.99
• 2 CDs featuring 27 songs
• Bonus CD with additional 13 live songs
• 150 page deluxe photo book of Bob Dylan "singles" from around the world
• 60 page booklet with stunning rare photos and in-depth notes
• 7" vinyl single of "Dreaming of You" and "Ring Them Bells"
(Bob Dylan Pre-Order Store Exclusive)


Limited Edition Vinyl Package $89.99
• Four 180 gram vinyl LPs featuring 27 songs
• Gatefold package and 60 page booklet with stunning rare photos and in-depth notes

http://bobdylan.skyroo.com/se/view/music/index.html

That's a *huge* price jump for the limited edition... it's a shame too, as there's definitely interesting material on the third CD. It would be one thing if the third disc were simply live versions, but since it contains several outtakes most Dylan collectors will probably have to bite the bullet.

I can't justify springing for the deluxe when I've only got a few CD's by this guy. I mean to get more, and the regular edition of this official Bootleg series definitely looks tempting.

I extra CD & 7" single (w/ extra books) is costing $111.00 more. What a rip-off.

Ouch...I was excited right up until I saw that pricetag for the deluxe edition. A record company is finally going to actually compile some unreleased music rather than slap together a Walmart-friendly, eco-friendly greatest hits comp? Still, I'm sure the bonus music will become *clears throat* available to anybody who wants to hear it. In the meantime, the revamped official Dylan website looks fairly engrossing...

While i was hoping for something from his "late 70's/early 80's born again period" I could not be more looking forward to this when I read the track list, that is, until the cost of the deluxe set appeared. Just when I was holding this bootleg series out to be the prototype for all classic artists to follow when it comes to releasing vintage live performances, unreleased material, etc the record compnay goes and does this.

I realize there is no limit to the greed and utter ignorance of record companies, or what's left of them these days, but an extra $110 so I can get the extra CD. I am buying the bootleg series for the music! If I wanted a book, I would buy one. This crap of throwing in DVD, books, posters, concert tickets has got to stop. Funny, the one solid customer base these companies have left are the die-hard fans who want the music and do not want just a download. Yet they continue to alienate us, rip us off, and figure new ways to sell music that we were going to buy anyway.

Are their really fans of Dylan that would only be interested in the 2 cd edition and had no interest in the 3rd cd unless they see it has a book, a vinyl record, etc

These companies get what they deserve!

"I can't justify springing for the deluxe when I've only got a few CD's by this guy"

I can't justify springing for the deluxe when I've got dozens of CDs by this guy. $129.00!! Yikes.

I'd pay that much for the complete basement tapes in a heartbeat, but not '89-'96 material.

This was interesting - until I saw the price tag. They better be some pretty stunning photo's in that book - like Marilyn Monroe stunning and the formula to turn salt water into gas to run your car. This isn't F Zappa vault material or even Dylan at his prime.

Guess I go with the 2 disc set.

That Dylan/Bromberg release would have maybe got me to go for the big package.

There's a sneak preview of the book on the official Dylan website--apparently it's simply an album of various picture sleeves and CD singles from around the world. Of course, Dylan probably released fewer singles from 1989-2006 than at any other time in his career--but there I go proving why I don't work for Sony Marketing. (Also--you can look at a far more extensive collection of Dylan single releases from around the world for free at http://www.searchingforagem.com/Interna ... Header.htm )

Also--does anybody with half a brain EVER order anything from an artist or label's official website? I haven't, unless you count something like Rhino Handmade. The prices always seem to be $10-15 more plus shipping. However, instead of whining, I'm going to remain optimistic that Target or Best Buy or Walmart or somebody will somehow finagle a deal with Dylan's people to sell a deluxe edition that's a lot more reasonably priced.

If not...well...maybe I'm getting old...once upon a time I was willing to shell out big bucks for bootleg CD's and such, but last year the Who issued the sort of live anthology that I'd been dreaming about for years and I just haven't been able to work up enough interest to order, solely because of the price tag.

I agree with the sentiment here - the three disc edition is a rip-off.

They could have at least put the outtakes on disc two and stuck all the live stuff on disc three. I mean, an Oh Mercy or Time Out Of Mind outtake is much more interesting than live cover versions of Cocaine Blues and Girl On The Greenbriar Shore or even stuff from those Supper Club shows that have been widely available and relatively easily attainable on bootlegs for years.

The idea that the three disc version is aimed at the hardcore fan is crap. 9 out any 10 Dylan fans are going to want studio outtakes over live material any day of the week.

The 3xCD edition is a rip-off at the posted price, but I'm willing to bet it will be reduced prior to the release date.

129 bucks is outrageous! I'll tell ya this, I'm not buying more than one at that price!

When I first started buying CDs in the 80s I said to myself that I would buy carefully and not try to get everything by any particular artist. That idea fell by the wayside as time went on, but now I've come full circle. Exclusive bonus tracks, import-only b-sides and overpriced sets like this one have convinced me that I don't have to (or can afford to) have it all.

The first single Dreamin" Of You sounds pretty bland!

I was thinking along the same lines. Maybe they'll get enough negative feedback from the initial price listing and drop it some. I'm hoping they do the same for the vinyl. I haven't sprung for vinyl for a while, but I was thinking of doing so for this set.

For me, it's going to come down to figuring out if Amazon or CDU is going to sell the 3-CD Edition for less and at something approaching reasonable. I really don't need the vinyl. So, we're going to have to wait and see if things will change somewhat as the time draws near. Also, we've got all of us here to keep our eyes peeled for anything where we can save some money. Columbia/Legacy is going to have to figure out a way to cut prices to retailers so that more people will be apt to pick up copies of the 3-CD edition. Like others of you, the record companies are beginning to stoop to morally low places in order to get us to fork over money to make up for their stupidity over the years. I just read an article today in Rolling Stone where even Sony/Columbia has gotten into the sell photo images game for big bucks. They're a bunch of damned jerks.

Even the obligatory "Jimbo's buying this" remark doesn't soften the $111.00 blow. Maybe if this were released in 1996, but in modern times...

I'll just get the 2 CD version and get the bonus disc illegally (Torrent)

Record companies are digging their own graves.

Maybe there'll be a third version, like the recent DYLAN collection. We can go with a more reasonably priced three CD set without the fancy extras. Just let us have the Music, Bob!

I'll tell you what. Since I'm back home after only being able to be online for a half an hour (after having to go out and have my car serviced), I've had more time to think about this.
I'm going to wait until the time draws nearer for this thing to be released. Hopefully Columbia/Legacy is going to come to their senses on the 3rd disc that is hassle-free for us fans. Dylan, it can be argued if one chooses to do so, is the most important artist of the latter half of the 20th Century as well as into this very early part of the 21st (we'll leave the 23rd to Duck Dodgers, ok.?) Century. So, this is how Columbia/Legacy is handling this latest release of a legend? I am going to give them some time to back off of the slimeball approach and do this correctly.
If, when the time comes that I make my decision that it's time to pre-order and Columbia/Legacy still doesn't back off of the outrageous price for the 3-disc edition, I promise you that I am going to come back here at IMWAN and I'm going to post a thread here where I am going to really go off and let Columbia/Legacy and Warner Brothers have it. My anger over this is really building up. My post, if and when it comes, is going to likely need a content warning because I'm going to totally rake them over the coals. There are smaller labels doing much better work and with much more entirely lacking in pretense jobs of giving us the material we want than the majors.
So Legacy, the ball's in your court now. You're getting us angry and you're also misrepresenting Dylan by pulling this stunt on people. And if Bob has given his approval to this, then shame on him as well. You just don't hold people ransom over extra tracks. We are willing to pay extra if it becomes a standard 3-CD set. Don't gouge us with pretense and crappola.

Looks like the 3rd CD is mostly alternate versions and live tracks, so I'd only want the 2-CD version anyway. But for that price Dylan better come to each purchaser's house and perform a set.
This price will come down, but it will still be outrageous but probably enough for diehards to waste their money, say somewhere around $59.99 or so.