Seems Like a Freeze Out: My Life & Bootlegs Part 5

Seems like a Freeze Out came into my life sometime in 1972. As you can see from the photo, it is an early Trade Mark of Quality product that featured good sound and nice packaging. The quality of bootlegs was definitely improving.

At the time, I was living at Floyd’s Hotel in downtown Somerville, MA. By then, I was buying bootleg albums through the mail from some kind of mimeograph list. I can’t exactly remember the particulars. Guess the 38-year-old memory bank has a hole in it. I do know that we was still listening to lot of Dylan and Band as well as lots of Big Joe Turner and rhythm and blues at the hotel during these years.

The album was a memorable event because it was my first listen to outtakes from Blonde on Blonde. Since this 1965-1966 period found Bob at the height of his powers as a songwriter, all real fans were hungry for anything unheard from this time. Although the important tracks on the record were labeled as coming from the “L.A Band sessions in 1965”, it is now known that this is not the case. A careful review of Bob schedule during that time has cast serious doubt on any recording being done in Los Angeles in that time frame.

It has since been determined that four of these tracks were actually recorded in New York between October of 1965 and January of 1966 with the future members of The Band: Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm. Bob’s effort to capture the Thin Wild Mercury Sound that would be heard on Blonde on Blonde began in the studio in New York City. Although the sessions did not produce any music that would ultimately end up on Blonde on Blonde (that would come later in the Nashville studio), these tracks do have historic value and they sound great as well.

The most important cut is the early version of Visions of Johanna called Seems like a Freeze Out. Visions of Johanna has always been one of Bob most popular and most analyzed songs. Of the 60’s songbook, it my be his best realized combination of lyrics and music. The poetry of the lines like: "The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face" had never been seen in a rock song at this time. If you compare this to even the Beatles’ efforts at the same time, you realize why even Lennon and McCartney had good reason to be in awe of Bob’s songwriting.

To hear this early working version of a legendary song made the album worth the price. Often referred to as the Nightingale’s Code version for its variation of the lyrics, the song seems even darker and more desperate than the one that ultimately got on Blonde on Blonde.

Have a listen: Seems Like a Freeze Out

Three other great tracks from the same sessions: She’s Your Lover Now, I Wanna Be Your Lover and Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window make their debut on this disk as well. She’s Your Lover Now is my favorite of these songs. With Dylan’s insistent piano and madcap lyrics combined with Robbie’s guitar, it may not be the Thin Wild Mercury, but it is damn good. It is unfortunate that a fully realized version of this song never was captured on vinyl.

On what became the single version of Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, Robbie and the boys, who had only met Bob three weeks before, put their distinctive stamp on this classic Dylan Tune. This successful combination of Bob and his future band mates is an early indication of the great music to come.

Listen to Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window here.

The record also contained the alternate version of From a Buick 6, which was on some copies of Highway 61 Revisited. BobCat Numero Uno had one of those copies and I can remember playing it often and loud while drinking teenage cocktails at Road’s End.

The other side of the album contains some acoustic songs from 1963. Interesting stuff, bit I don’t think it got much play at Floyd’s Hotel.

A copy of Seems Like a Freeze Out would probably be hard to find now, although I have seen a few on eBay. These versions of Visions of Johanna, She’s Your Lover Now and Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window can be found on several Dylan bootleg CDs, so you can get them into your iPod that way.

Paul Butterfield on To Tell The Truth

It is a trip to see the great Paul Butterfield interacting with these vintage television personalities on To Tell The Truth. Judging from the questions about Bob Dylan, this episode probably aired in late 1965 or 1966. Butterfield's debut album was released in 1965 and the band also backed Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 1965. That album and the appearance with Dylan created a buzz about Butterfield that went beyond the music world of Chicago.

You might have thought that they could find a stronger contestant than a wig salesman to be the third guest. Thanks to new friend and fan of the blog Mike C for sending me the link.

If you don't own the first album by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, you are missing one of the best blues albums of all time. See my post from August 23, 2008 for more about the band and the record. It is available on iTunes and from Amazon

Tell Me, Mama from Tour 66

Following up on my last post, here is a video clip from Eat The Document of Bob playing Tell Me, Mama. I am not sure which stop on the Tour 66 this is from, but it captures the volume and the intensity of the music from that tour.

If you have not seen Eat The Document in it's entirety, you are missing one of the great rock and roll movies of all time.

LOOKING BACK: Bootlegs & My Life Part 4

In the summer of 1971, I was acting out my own personal On The Road fantasy. After driving cross country with a college friend, I ended up in San Francisco. I stayed for a week in Haight-Ashbury where I met up with some old friends from Philadelphia. From there, we spent three weeks hitchhiking up the coast to Vancouver, around Canada and back down to Big Sur, where we camped for a few days on a beautiful beach.

Before hitching back across the country by myself (another great story), I stopped in Monterey to visit a college friend named Ducky Millard, whose family owned a house there. It felt good to sleep in a bed, eat a real meal and have some clean clothes on my back.

On the night before I was to resume my journey, we went into Monterey for dinner. At a local record store, I found my copy of Looking Back. For reasons that are better left untold, I had Ducky mail the record to my parent's house in Rhode Island instead of bringing it with me on the rest of the trip.

When I made it back to Rhode Island a week or so later, the record had just arrived at the house. At a small gathering to celebrate my safe return, I unwrapped the album and gave it a spin. When I heard the sound of the music from Tour 66, I couldn't believe my ears.

The double album contains music from three different live performances. Sides 1 and 2, which claim to be from Royal Albert Hall, are actually from the show at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester the week before. Sides 3 and 4, which are advertised as coming from a show at the Berkeley Community Theatre, contain material from two other shows. Side 3 features some of the great acoustic songs from the first half of each concert on the Tour 66. These particular tracks were recorded in Dublin on May 5th. Side 4 was recorded in April of 1963 at Town Hall in New York. All this bad information proves that truth in advertising was never the strong suit of the bootleggers. It has been written that the mislabeling was done to make the record more attractive to the West Coast buyers.

Except for a single cut of Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, I had not yet heard any of these songs from a very important period of Bob's career. The music from Tour 66 would the soundtrack of my life for most of the '70's. When you compare it to the new music that Bob was making at the time, there was a reason I played this record to death. Do you want to hear Self Portrait, New Morning or this?

When the first notes of Tell Me, Mama came out of the stereo, I was stunned. Beginning with Garth's circus organ and Micky Jones' whack-a-mole drumming, it was a sound unlike anything I had ever heard before. The raw power of the band mixed with Bob's tortured vocals to create music that left me spellbound. Listen for Robbie's solo before the last verse. It is breath taking.

Tell Me, Mama

The next thing on the record is Bob in his road weary voice introducing the next number: "This is called I Don't Believe You. It use to be like that and now it goes like this." A familiar cut from Another side of Bob Dylan is given the Tour 66 treatment and the addition of the band is excellent.

On all 8 songs on two sides of this record, Dylan and the band take the best songs from his early catalogue and turn them into magical pieces of music history. Over 40 years later, I wonder what it would have been like to see one of those great shows.

In addition to this, on side 4 of Looking Back, there is the first taste of the acoustic set that started each show on the tour. I wrote about this portion of the show in a post called Before Judas: Tour 66 Acoustic Set (June 10, 2009).

It might be hard to find a copy of Looking Back today, but you can hear the music from Tour 66 on The Bootleg Series Vol 4. It is available on iTunes and from Amazon. It should be on your playlist.

It's 53 miles to Laredo, but it's 153 miles back.

I have always said there are two types of hunting guests. Most are like Charlie Robison and they immediately grasp the concept of 53 miles to Laredo and 153 miles back, but some are like The Rooster and they never do. I guess it's one of those things that you either get or you don't.

Of all of the border towns in Texas, Laredo has been the most celebrated in music and literature. There is a good reason reason for this. For generations, trips across the border have been a right of passage into manhood for many young men in South Texas. Ranch hands, hunters, frat boys, even high flying bankers are part of countless stories that involve crossing the border in Laredo and enjoying the thrills found in Nuevo Laredo. Regardless of who you are, the fun begins when you cross that international bridge.

Unfortunately, the trouble caused by the narco-terrorists in Mexico has spilled over into Nuevo Laredo and spoiled this fun for everyone. Most of the bars and shops in Nuevo Laredo have closed. I have not been across the border in over 6 years. Until I hear that my friends in Laredo are going again, you will not find me over there.

In the old days, a road trip from the hunting camp to the Cadillac Bar was part of the South Texas hunting experience. Once at the Cadillac, it was a quick run over to Boy's Town, which has been called the adult equivalent of Disneyland. I will refrain from further discussion of Boy's Town, since this is a family blog.

Laredo has been mentioned in many songs. Cowboy's Lament (Streets of Laredo) has been covered by many artists including Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Chet Adkins and Marty Robbins. This is the Marty Robbins version which is my favorite:

Streets of Laredo

Willie Nelson’s great song Me and Paul has a verse about Laredo. Here is a live version from a Kris Kristofferson show:

Me and Paul

Doug Sahm recorded a song with the Texas Tornadoes called Laredo Rose which was a big hit. A few friends of Doug invested in the session that produced the song. When Laredo Rose became a big hit, we thought that we would be entitled to some of the profits. Later we heard that the hit wasn't the version of the song that we had invested in. Welcome to the music business.

Here is Laredo Rose

A song by Charlie Robison on his album Good Times mentions Nuevo Laredo and one of the most famous tourist attractions of Boy's Town. It is a very unique little club called Dallas Cowboys. I have told Charlie several time that I never thought I would hear a song that mentions that club on a major label release. Thanks to Charlie to keep this South Texas tradition alive. Have a listen to

New Year's Day.

It was an incident on the International Bridge in Laredo that led to a jail term for Timothy Leary. In December of 1965, Leary attempted to cross into Mexico from Laredo. After being refused entry into Mexico, he returned on the bridge to the United States. At the check point, marijuana was found in his car and Leary was arrested. In 1966, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

TRUTH by JEFF BECK

On Sunday night, I watched the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert on HBO. The four hour show featured performances from the two shows at Madison Square Garden. There was a lot of very good music that gave me an number of ideas for the blog.

Jeff Beck, who was a substitute for Eric Clapton, was excellent. Eric had an medical emergency and was unable to play at the last minute. Watching Jeff Beck play made me think about this classic album.

Truth was released in August of 1968. That fall I was a prisoner at the Pottstown School for Wayward Boys. I can remember listening to Truth with Neil Ayer in his room in Upper School. We were listening to a lot of guitar based blues and hard rock at that time. Jimi Hendrix, Cream and later Blind Faith were big on our playlists. This album from Jeff Beck fit nicely with that group.

The players on this album included Jeff Beck (guitar), Rod Stewart (vocals) Micky Waller (drums), and Ronnie Wood (Bass). There were also contributions from Nicky Hopkins, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

The album features Beck's excellent guitar and Stewart's vocals, which were never better. The track list is an eclectic mix of original songs and some nice covers including Willie Dixon's You Shook Me and I Ain't Superstitious. Here are two of my favorite cuts from the album:

Morning Dew

Beck's Bolero

Truth is available on iTunes and from Amazon.

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues from Tour 66

The next song from my archives is Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues from Dylan's World Tour 66. Recorded in Liverpool on May 14, 1966, it was the b-side of the single release of I Want You.

For most Dylan fans, this song was the first hint of the power and the magic of the music from the 66 Tour. Released long before any bootleg, it is a recording filled with the sound of Bob and the band that shocked the audiences across the world in 1966. From all accounts, these shows were so loud that many in the audience were freaked out.

Well before I knew anything about this tour, I was blown away by the sound of Bob playing this song live. Once I got this 45, I played it to death. Listen to the desperation in Bob's voice and the playing of the band as he barks out the famous line in the last verse: I started out on Burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuffffffffff:

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Always one of my favorites from Highway 61 Revisited, this song features Dylan's surreal lyrics at their best. The story of Dylan's characters in Juarez, Mexico is told backed by the excellent playing of the band. This version reveals the power and weariness of that tour.

This particular track was taken from the essential box set of the tour called Genuine Live 66. If you like the music from this part of Bob's amazing career, you should own a copy. It is often available on eBay under the Bob Dylan listings.