Pastures Of Plenty: Unreleased Recordings, 1969-1971

Pastures Of Plenty: Unreleased Recordings, 1969 - 1971

I Threw It All Away (Johnny Cash Show, 1969)
Folsom Prison Blues (Outtake - Self-Portrait Sessions, 1969)
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Outtake - Greatest Hits Volume 2, 1971)
Mama, You Been On My Mind (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Blue Yodel #1 (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
Cupid (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Living The Blues (Johnny Cash Show, 1969)
I Guess Things Happen That Way (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
Da Doo Run Run (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
One More Night (Outtake - Nashville Skyline Sessions, 1969)
All I Have To Do Is Dream (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Ring Of Fire (Outtake - Self-Portrait Sessions, 1969)
Good Ol' Mountain Dew (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Lay Lady Lay (Outtake - Nashville Skyline Sessions, 1969)
I Don't Believe You (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Yesterday (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Big River (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
I Walk The Line (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
East Virginia Blues (Earl Scruggs Session, 1970)
One Too Many Mornings (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
Matchbox (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)
I Still Miss Someone (Outtake - Johnny Cash Session, 1969)
Song To Woody (Outtake - New Morning Sessions, 1970)

[links removed due to official release]

Howdy Cyberspace,

I hope all is going well. And if not, it’s about to get better. This week’s new release includes the best of Bob Dylan’s unreleased recordings from 1969 to 1971. This period is one of my favorites in Dylan’s oeuvre, and I hope you enjoy it too. After all, this CD has 26 tracks!

Found among those 26 songs are sessions with other prominent musicians of this era, including George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and Earl Scruggs. The Earl Scruggs track is especially rare, and you’d be hard-pressed to find it in an audio format elsewhere. This is really a shame, since the performance is top notch. Dylan sings the heck out of this old American classic, and the boys play with spirit. The Cash tracks are largely duets of Johnny Cash songs and the occasional country standard. Their recording of Blue Yodel #8, an old Jimmie Rodgers song, is notable for the yodeling. You won’t be disappointed, I’m sure.

New Morning outtakes are particularly well-represented in this set, and George Harrison is present on many, if not all, of these recordings. It’s important to bear in mind that these are fairly informal sessions, so many of the songs are being performed seemingly off-the-cuff. The roughness of the renditions serve them well, and the sound quality is impeccable.

In fact, the sound quality of this collection is rather strong all around. A handful of exceptions exist, like the aforementioned Earl Scruggs track, but in general these are almost releasable in quality.

It is worth mentioning that an earlier version of this CD, not released here, contained tracks which may be being released on the upcoming Bootleg Series Volume 10: Another Self Portrait. I would strongly, strongly recommend purchasing this collection. It’s a bold move by Columbia to release outtakes from such a controversial era, and for those of us who especially enjoy Dylan’s country side, this is an amazing surprise. There is no overlap between this compilation and that release, and hopefully if nothing else this collection of unreleased songs will encourage you to look into Another Self-Portrait. You can order it here.

I hope you like Pastures of Plenty. It’s too bad this era did not last longer, because Dylan’s singing is rarely finer than in these years. Enjoy, and thanks for listening.

If you enjoy these recordings, do yourself a favor and look into the following official releases:

Nashville Skyline

Self-Portrait 

New Morning 

Greatest Hits, Volume 2

The Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3
The Bootleg Series, Volume 10

Note: All links here are to bobdylan.com, but these recordings are available at Amazon, iTunes, and possibly your local music store (if it still exists).