Bob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks: the New York Sessions

Recorded at A&R Recording Studios, New York City, September 16-19, 1974

This torrent contains only four songs from Dylan's original "test pressing" of the "Blood on the Tracks" album; these four songs are the only performances from the "test pressing" which have not been officially released.

1. Tangled up in Blue (Take 2 or 3, 9/19/74)
2. Idiot Wind (Take 6, 9/16/74, overdub Take 4, 10/8/74)
3. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 1, 9/16/74)
4. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1, 9/19/74)

The personnel for the September 16 session are listed as: Bob Dylan (guitar, vocal), Charles Brown III (guitar), Barry Kornfeld (guitar), Eric Weissberg (guitar), Thomas McFaul (keyboards), Tony Brown (bass), Richard Crooks (drums). On the September 19 session, just Dylan and Brown appear.

These four songs were taken from the "Watchtower remaster" of the "New York Sessions" bootleg, titled "The Outtake Vol. 1." I converted the files from SHN to FLAC (level 8), and generated checksums, using Trader's Little Helper.

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Dylan's original "test pressing" contained the following versions of the songs which ultimately appeared on the "Blood on the Tracks" album:

1. Tangled up in Blue (Take 2 or 3, 9/19/74)
* 2. Simple Twist of Fate (Take 3, 9/19/74)
3. You're a Big Girl Now (Take 2, 9/17/74)
4. Idiot Wind (Take 6, 9/16/74, overdub Take 4, 10/8/74)
* 5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 2, 9/17/74)
* 6. Meet Me in the Morning (Take 2, 9/16/74)
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Take 1, 9/16/74)
8. If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1, 9/19/74)
* 9. Shelter from the Storm (Take 4, 9/17/74)
* 10. Buckets of Rain (Take 4, 9/19/74)

The songs marked with an asterisk (*) were officially released on "Blood on the Tracks." The "test pressing" version of "You're a Big Girl Now" was officially released on "Biograph," although the song was significantly remixed (in particular, reducing the prominence of the organ). The four songs included in this torrent have never been officially released to my knowledge.

Dylan re-recorded 5 of the songs recorded during the New York Sessions, with a different band, in Minneapolis in December 1974, purportedly at the urging of his brother David Zimmerman and others.

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The "Watchtower Remaster" of the "New York Sessions" was shared on sharingthegroove.org, but was quickly banned because it contained all 10 of the "test pressing" songs, more than half of which have been officially released. Besides basic artwork which is included in this torrent, this was the entire text file included with that original upload:

THE Outtake Vol1.

Lineage=CD==>EAC==>wavs==>cooledit reamster==>wavs==>SHN

Removed the hiss and pops. Thats it, it sounds great.

A Watchtower remaster.

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FYI, besides the 5 "New York Sessions" songs which appeared on the final, official version of "Blood on the Tracks," additional performances from these sessions have been officially released on the following releases:

ON "BIOGRAPH":

Up to Me (Take 2, 9/19/74)
You're a Big Girl Now (Take 2, 9/17/74, re-mixed)

ON "THE BOOTLEG SERIES, VOLUME 1-3":

Call Letter Blues (Take 3, 9/16/74)
Tangled up in Blue (Take 1, 9/16/74)
Idiot Wind (Take 4, 9/19/74)
If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 2, 9/16/74)

ON THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE MOVIE "JERRY MAGUIRE":

Shelter from the Storm (Take 1? Take 7?, 9/17/74)

AS THE B-SIDE TO THE "DUQUESNE WHISTLE" 45-RPM VINYL SINGLE, RELEASED IN A LIMITED EDITION ON RECORD STORE DAY 2012 (NOV. 23, 2012):

Meet Me in the Morning (Take ?, 9/19/74)

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Additional information about the New York Sessions can be found in a variety of places, including:

http://www.bjorner.com/DSN02710%201974%20Blood%20On%20The%20Tracks%20recording%20sessions.htm#DSN02710

http://www.punkhart.com/dylan/sessions-3.html

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/bob-dylans-blood-on-the-tracks-ny-sessions-vs-minneapolis-sessions.393910/

http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2015/04/15/bob-dylan-blood-on-the-tracks-the-new-york-sessions/ (a very interesting critical essay, with photographs from the sessions)

OR on Wikipedia.org, "Blood on the Tracks", which reports that "Only one of the five New York acetate recordings that were subsequently replaced on the official album has been officially released: "You're a Big Girl Now", released on 1985's Biograph. Although alternate takes of "Tangled Up in Blue", "Idiot Wind", and "If You See Her, Say Hello" from those same sessions were released on The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1�3, these were not the same takes that were initially slotted for inclusion on the official album. "


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