CD Review: Bob Dylan’s The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs - Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006

As most any Bob Dylan fan will tell you, one of the most interesting aspects of his songwriting involves the process in which he writes.

Dylan songs are almost never completely finished, but rather have a tendency to continuously evolve – sometimes so much so, that when played in concert, they can be unrecognizable, at least until he breaks into a familiar sounding chorus.

Dylan songs are almost always an ongoing work in progress in that respect.

One of the great joys since Dylan began digging into his archives for the Bootleg Series of rare and unreleased material from those same vaults, has been the way these releases will occasionally offer glimpses into that process, or reveal previously unknown facts or clues about those songs.

Tell Tale Signs, the eighth and most recent installment of The Bootleg Series focuses on the period from 1989's Oh Mercy right on up through Dylan's much more recent creative renaissance on the albums Time Out Of Mind, Love & Theft, and 2006's brilliant Modern Times.

But if you think you’ve heard these songs before, think again. What makes this set such an essential purchase is that while many of the songs here, like "Mississippi," "Everything Is Broken," and "Someday Baby" will be familiar to Dylan fans, the alternate versions offered up here are often so radically different from those released on the original albums as to constitute a new Dylan album altogether.

"Mississippi" for example is barely recognizable in an early, stripped down version (one of three offered here if you buy the three disc version), until Dylan sings the chorus. "Most Of The Time," awash in Daniel Lanois atmospherics on the Oh, Mercy album is likewise stripped down to the sort of a bare core of Dylan on guitar and harmonica that wouldn't be at all out of place on his earlier, more folk influenced albums.

The songs included here from Modern Times are likewise considerably reworked. “Aint’ Talkin’” maintains the doomy feel of dark apocalypse of the original for the most part, but the additional guitar flourishes add a bit of a lonesome country twang. “Someday Baby,” on the other hand is given a lighter arrangement than the faster, bluesier take on Modern Times, and Dylan’s vocal here in particular is a lot sharper.

There are also live tracks (“Ring Them Bells,” “High Water (for Charley Patton)”), and a number of great never before heard songs, including the bluesy Time Out Of Mind outtake, "Marchin' To The City."

The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs - Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 is available in both one and two disc versions, as well as a deluxe three disc package, and comes with the usual booklet featuring liner notes and track by track analysis.

If you're anything like me, you'll need everything and should opt for the deluxe three disc set..