Well, to me, it’s a great song that seldom (or never) is on the “best-of” lists of the artist, and it could have/should have been. They are sometimes alternative recordings or “out of print” releases.
I am talking about great songs that are often overlooked. We are talking about personal favorites that you wouldn’t rate among the artists top 20 (maybe), but deserve more praise and recognition than they get.
These are songs which takes its programming from non-single album tracks, B-sides, and other obscure songs.
While we were dissecting the Bob Dylan classics, other good songs fades into the background, and crucially, these tracks will help Dylan fans to discover “the whole story”. As a Bob Dylan music fan, I have a responsibility to help introduce fellow Dylanologists to my own musical discoveries, particularly when they draw attention to forgotten brilliance. Bob Dylan has a vast catalog that contain some “hidden” songs that his biggest fans know by heart just as much. For every one of his songs that turned into classics, there are other essentials scattered through his production.
But let’s face it: there’s no such thing as a “buried treasure” in the Bob Dylan catalogue. How can there be?
This is the most over-analyzed artist in the music history. Most of what he has recorded are readily available in the form of an official CD/LP/Stream and more material are becoming available each year. So, these are songs that the hardened Dylan fan knows but are often overlooked by casual listeners. These are tracks that people at large might not know very well.
So what are these lists all about (there will be six of them)?
They are a collection of 10 tracks per decade, as chosen by me (Hallgeir), which you may not hear enough. Lists of fantastic stuff by an artist that has made a lot of great “unknown” stuff, but material that doesn’t get heavy rotation on the radio or the streaming services.
So with that in mind, and in celebration of the eternal hunt for lesser known genus, here are ten great overlooked songs recorded, but not necessarily written, by Bob Dylan from 2010-2016. We have now posted lists from 6 decades, hope you have enjoyed the collections. The songs are included in the decade they were released.
Check out the 1960s list
Check out the 1970s list
Check out the 1980s list
Check out the 1990s list
Check out the 2000-2010 list
Overlooked songs 2010-2016
– Scarlet Town (Tempest, 2012)
– Pay in blood (Tempest, 2012)
– Tin Angel (Tempest, 2012)
– Pretty Saro ( The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013)
– When I Paint My Masterpiece – demo version ( The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013)
– This evening so soon ( The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013)
– Thirsty Boot ( The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), 2013)
– Sign on the cross (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, 2014) Couldn’t find it on Spotify or anywhere else, buy the box-set!
– That Lucky Old Sun (Shadows in the night, 2015)
– Visions of Johanna “the rockabilly jam” , Take 5, rehearsal (Bootleg series vol. 12)
Bob Dylan — PAY IN BLOOD (Hamburg – 19 october 2013):
– Hallgeir
Great list, though my initial reaction was that the first two, which have (rightly) been staples of his live act for years, barely qualify as overlooked; but then much of what he has done this century has indeed been overlooked by too many!
I might add Roll On John, Soon After Midnight, These Hands, Bring Me A Little Water; What’ll I Do, Song For Canada, Still In Town.