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October 7, 2015

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Is Dylan鈥檚 box set 鈥榯he craziest ever鈥?

Every note Bob Dylan recorded in a 14-month burst of creativity comes in an 18-CD 鈥渦ltra-deluxe鈥 box set 鈥 鈥淏ob Dylan: The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12鈥 鈥 out in November and yours for just US$599.99.

鈥淚s Bob Dylan鈥檚 latest album the craziest box set ever?鈥 the BBC asked on its arts website.

There are cheaper 2-CD and 6-CD sets for devotees. But owners of the full version will get 20 versions of 鈥淟ike A Rolling Stone,鈥 and 359 takes of other songs, including studio rejects and rehearsals.

The set starts with the first sketches of Dylan鈥檚 classic 鈥淏ringing It All Back Home鈥 album on January 13, 1965, speeds through 鈥淗ighway 61 Revisited,鈥 and ends in a Denver hotel room, with a song from the double LP 鈥淏londe on Blonde鈥 on March 12, 1966.

Gold dust for obsessives, but the cost is testing some of his most ardent admirers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just too rich for my blood. The seven plus hours and 110 tracks on the 6-CD set will suffice,鈥 said Derek Barker, editor of British-based Dylan journal ISIS. 鈥淚鈥檓 not alone in this. Some fans that up to this point have bought everything Dylan have recoiled at the price ... Do I really want 20 takes of 鈥極ne of Us Must Know鈥?鈥

Many of the tracks are already available in pirated versions. But the pirates may not be able to replicate the added extras 鈥 nine singles, a 180-page hardback book, a strip of film cells from an original print of the tour film 鈥淒on鈥檛 Look Back鈥 and ... 鈥渁 leopard-skin printed spindle.鈥

That last one a reference to 鈥淟eopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,鈥 Dylan鈥檚 ode to a ridiculous, over-priced accessory.

But many Dylanologists are salivating at the prospect of following every step of his studio experiments.

鈥淭here are versions of 鈥楲ike A Rolling Stone鈥 you can waltz to, or rock to in a rocking chair,鈥 wrote music magazine No Depression.

Other tracks include Dylan coughing, laughing with bandmates and complaining about the sound. 鈥淚f these discs include Dylan ordering coffee,鈥 wrote one commenter on No Depression鈥檚 website, 鈥渁ll the better.鈥


 

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