Tag Archives: Daniel Lanois

September 30: Bob Dylan released Time Out Of Mind in 1997

Redirecting to a newer version of this post….

I don’t know… It’s certainly not an album of felicity… I try to live within that line between despondency and hope. I’m suited to walk that line, right between the fire … I see [the album] right straight down the middle of the line, really.
~Bob Dylan to Robert Hilburn in 1997

“My recollection of that record is that it was a struggle. A struggle every inch of the way. Ask Daniel Lanois, who was trying to produce the songs. Ask anyone involved in it. They all would say the same. I didn’t trust the touring band I had at the time to do a good job in the studio, and so I hired these outside guys. But with me not knowing them, and them not knowing the music, things kept on taking unexpected turns. Repeatedly, I’d find myself compromising on this to get to mat. As a result, though it held together as a collection of songs, that album sounds to me a little off.
~Bob Dylan (Press conference 2001)

Cold Irons Bound (official video):

Continue reading September 30: Bob Dylan released Time Out Of Mind in 1997

March 14: Bob Dylan recorded “Shooting Star” in 1989

bob dylan shooting star

Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you
You were trying to break into another world
A world I never knew
I always kind of wondered
If you ever made it through
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you

“Shooting star” was his first album closer since “Every Grain of Sand” to share that slightly somnambulant feel, a gorgeous melody, caressed vocal and an abiding conviction that there are two kinds of people, good (i.e. saved) and lost people.
~Clinton Heylin (Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2, . 1974-2008)

This was the 6th “Oh Mercy” recording session, and Dylan also landed another master: “Everything Is Broken”.

The Studio
New Orleans, Louisiana
14 or 15 March 1989
6th Oh Mercy recording session, produced by Daniel Lanois

Continue reading March 14: Bob Dylan recorded “Shooting Star” in 1989

March 8: Bob Dylan’s third Oh Mercy recording session in 1989

bob dylan Oh-Mercy

Most of them are stream-of-consciousness songs, the kind that come to you in the middle of the night, when you just want to go back to bed. The harder you try to do something, the more it evades you. These weren’t like that.
~Bob Dylan (to Edna Gundersen, Sept 1989)

The Studio
New Orleans, Louisiana
8 March 1989
Third Oh Mercy recording session, produced by Daniel Lanois

Continue reading March 8: Bob Dylan’s third Oh Mercy recording session in 1989

Classic Bob Dylan Bootleg: The Oh Mercy outtakes 1989

mercy on us1

Classic Bob Dylan bootleg 1989: The Oh Mercy Outtakes

“Most of them [the songs on “Oh Mercy”] are stream-of-consciousness songs, the kind that come to you in the middle of the night, when you just want to go back to bed. The harder you try to do something, the more it evades you. These weren’t like that.”
~Bob Dylan (to Edna Gundersen, 21 September 1989)

There are several releases that has these outtakes, the first I found was Deeds of Mercy but my favourite is Mercy on Us: The Oh Mercy outtakes remastered. Essentially the same release but with better sound.  I think they managed to cut the hiss, without ruining the music – unlike so many other times…

 “These recordings have traded for years, and have appeared on several commercial bootlegs. The cover states the tracks to be remastered, and indeed they sound great. The package is a cardboard triptych with some beautiful “Oh Mercy” inspired graphics. The track list shown on the back cover is correct except for one thing…What Good Am I? has a misspelling and appears as “What Goog Am I?”. Other than that typo, this is truly a stunning title . Highly recommended!”
– Bobsboots

Highlights: Born in Time, Shooting Star (both takes) and God Knows but everything is highly recommended and I would pick different songs if you asked me another day.

Other entries in this series:

My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1962: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1969: The Dylan / Cash Sessions
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1973: The Pat Garrett sessions
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1983: Infidels outtakes (Rough cuts)
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1995: Prague 3 nights in March
My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2011: Funen Village Denmark June 27
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2012: The Day of Wine and Roses, Barolo, Italy July 16
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2014: Gothenburg Sweden July 15

Continue reading Classic Bob Dylan Bootleg: The Oh Mercy outtakes 1989

March 23, 1989 Bob Dylan Recorded “Series of Dreams”





bob dylan series_of_dreams

Dreams can tell us a lot about ourselves, if we can remember them. We can see what’s coming around the corner sometimes without actually going to the corner..
~Bob Dylan (to Bill Flanagan in 2009)

“Series of Dreams” is a major Dylan song and an important statement.
~Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performing Artist Volume 3: Mind Out Of Time 1986 And Beyond)

#62 on my list of Dylan’s 200 best songs. First recorded on March 23, 1989 during the recording sessions for Oh Mercy. It was overdubbed and first released in 1991 as the final song on “The Bootleg Series 1-3”. It is a great haunting song.. with fascinating lyrics.

1991 version:

Continue reading March 23, 1989 Bob Dylan Recorded “Series of Dreams”