boiledgutsofbirds wrote:
FieldingMellish wrote:
You cannot compare this with Cutting Edge, sorry but it just isn't a like for like comparison. Yes, the Cutting Edge 6 CD set was relatively expensive, although not egregiously so. But the content was pure gold, truly great versions of songs from Dylan's greatest period, in pristine studio quality. In my opinion, the only rival to the Cutting Edge for the title of 'best Bootleg Series release since Vols I to III' is Tell Tale Signs, but in pure 'quality of music' terms there is no rival. Cutting Edge was the motherlode.
Trouble No More is a very different animal. The era covered is interesting and, due to the Christianity and so forth, probably somewhat under-rated. But we'd be deluding ourselves if we thought the music in this set will be up to the quality of Cutting Edge or TTS, never mind Vols I to III. And the shabby practices - setting various tiers to the release priciing - sticks too hard in my craw. SO I resent paying premimum prices for 2 CDs, particularly when I would really want the studio stuff not just live tracks. I'll download and see how much I like it for free. I doubt it will ever become a favourite. The pre-released tracks so far are underwhelming and even the deluxe set is far from comprehensive.
They are milking us and I am witholding my milk this time. "I don't avoid Dylan, but I do deny him my essence."
Actually you can and this release is better. This has nothing to do with thinking the gospel era is better than mid sixties Dylan, it's not and I wouldn't suggest otherwise but the Cutting Edge was a fun indulgence that shed little light on that era. We knew Dylan was at his peak during that era because he actually put out the best takes. If you add together the three perfect albums and the releases on Biograph/BS1-3 and 7 then how much did Cutting Edge reveal? That there are some very solid outtakes from that era that are footnotes to but ultimately inferior to the released takes. In terms of 'lost masterpieces' the new takes of She's Your Lover Now were the only real contenders. The BS series don't exist in a vacuum, they have to be judged on how they expand on the official picture and by that criteria I'd rank Cutting Edge towards the bottom.
Heh. As I began reading your post I initially thouhght, well, I disagree with you but maybe you have a point: approaching the question from the point of view of shedding light, rather than relying on the quality of the music to judge; but by the end you had lost all credibiity, ranking Cutting Edge "towards the bottom" is a prepsterous assertion.
In any case, even if we did accept that the only criterion that counts is shedding light, if there is ight to be shed by Trouble No More then it is yet to be shed, since it's not been released yet; so your assessment is premature and therefore utterly invalid.
Furthermore, it simply isn't true that Cutting Edge sheds no light, there are numreous examples where the process revealed by various versions of a given song is fascinating and highly enjoyable, also leaving us with worthwhile alternative verisons of songs - just the Blonde on Blonde tracks alone, for example, would put up a formidable challenge to any other set's claims of light shedding.