Expecting Rain

Hi all, this is a beautiful track, my mums favourite Bob Dylan song. And it leaves me baffled as to why he left it off Another Side does anybody know why? has he said? I was thinking about editing it in on iTunes, in between Ballad In Plain D & It Ain't Me Babe. I love Ballad in Plain D, but if I had the choice I would've put Mama on instead...

I love the live version on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 where Bob forgets some of the lyrics and Joan Baez sings "Daddy, you been on my mind".

Yeah that's a great version! Love the Rolling Thunder version too, with Joan.

All great, but I'm a sucker for the country version he did at his return to Newport in 2002...great sound quality too.

She hears the longing in the song. The studio version slays me, often comes to mind unbidden. One of Dylan's best compositions.

His kiss off to Baez.

Don't care for the studio take as much as the live version with Joanie in '64. I'm not crazy about her, but there is something really beautiful about they way the sing together on that track. But it also reminds me of my Ex.. which I don't care for either...

I'de also be curious to hear from anyone in the know how this song has never shown up on a studio album.

This song is gold.

except the singer/narrator is the one who has been kissed off; not about baez in any way, shape or form

http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php ... june-2011/

Here's a question for the experts: is this the earliest example of an indisputably great Bob Dylan song being left off an album in favour of inferior options? What say you?

Dunno about left off in favor, there was ample room for the song on the album, but it got axed anyway.

I think your question could pertain to Times They Are A-Changin' though.

That is an excellent article, elmer - thanks for that link!

I'm not an expert but...

No.

From The Times, "Hollis Brown" and "The Drawn Out God Song" could have been replaced by the much superior:

Lay Down Your Weary Tune
Percy's Song
Seven Curses

Taking it back further, I think his odd song omission streak really began on Freewheelin'. I know most wouldn't agree because everyone seems to believe that album is perfect, but nobody ever lists "Down the Highway", "Bob Dylan's Blues", "Oxford Town", "Honey, Just Allow Me..." or "I Shall Be Free" as favorites from the album. Those songs are clearly the weakest from Freewheelin'. So much for a perfect album. Any of the following songs are better to my ears:

Rocks and Gravel (the solo acoustic version)
Let Me Die In My Footsteps
Worried Blues

Oh, and the solo acoustic version of "Corrina" should have been used.

Nice post. You make a good case, but just to quibble, I don't think any of the songs you list - with the possible exception of 'Let Me Die in My Footsteps' - really qualify as 'indisputably great' Bob Dylan songs. Good songs, no question. But I don't think they're in the same league as 'Mama You Been On My Mind,' which can seriously be regarded as among his finest moments.

You do, however, show that Bob's predilection for trading good songs for weaker songs goes all the way back to the start. The disastrous, career-jeopardizing decisions of SOL and Infidels were, perhaps, bound to happen eventually.

I have always found this seemingly career long prediliction to give precedence to 'lessor' works on limited album space over stronger material frustrating. Has there never been a producer or record executive strong enough to override Bob's skewed song selection judgement from time to time? I guess not. Cynically I could take it as being ahead of the trend in this time of remastered/expanded back catalogs as a way to legitimize the enterprise with additional material from the time of the recording. Do not want to think his own self-critical judgement could have such obvious gaps.

JC just posted this link in the Visions thread :

http://youtu.be/l3AoKIwVTtE

^^^

It's a beautiful song, Isis. I love the original best, but I also love those sorrowful versions from 1999-2000, when the song takes on additional meaning (Dylan's mother was ill and passed away at the end of 1999 or very early 2000 as I recall).