The Basement Tapes (1975)

About this title: The official release of The Basement Tapes -- which were first heard on a 1968 bootleg called The Great White Wonder -- plays with history somewhat, as Robbie Robertson overemphasizes the Band's status in the sessions, making them out to be equally active to Dylan, adding in demos not cut at the sessions and overdubbing their recordings to flesh them out. As many bootlegs (most notably the complete five-disc series) reveal, this isn't entirely true and that the Band were nowhere near as active as Dylan, but that ultimately is a bit like nitpicking, since the music here (including the Band's) ... read more

Tracks:

1. Odds and Ends [Dylan]
2. Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast) [Manuel]
3. Million Dollar Bash [Dylan]
4. Yazoo Street Scandal [Robertson]
5. Goin' to Acapulco [Dylan]
6. Katie's Been Gone [Robertson/Manuel/Ro]
7. Lo and Behold [Dylan]
8. Bessie Smith [Danko/Robertson/Rob]
9. Clothes Line Saga [Dylan]
10. Apple Suckling Tree [Dylan]
11. Please, Mrs. Henry [Dylan]
12. Tears of Rage [Dylan/Manuel]
13. Too Much of Nothing [Dylan]
14. Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread [Dylan]
15. Ain't No More Cane [Traditional]
16. Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood) [Dylan]
17. Ruben Remus [Robertson]
18. Tiny Montgomery [Dylan]
19. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere [Dylan]
20. Don't Ya Tell Henry [Dylan]
21. Nothing Was Delivered [Dylan]
22. Open the Door, Homer [Dylan]
23. Long Distance Operator [Dylan]
24. This Wheel's on Fire [Dylan/Danko]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.