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Subject: Re: Who's Gonna Throw This Minstrel Boy Some Info? Bob at the Isle of Wight
From: l.kokay@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Les Kokay)
Date: 1996/01/07
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
In article <4chldj$o8h@niamh.indigo.ie>, bkelly@indigo.ieü says...
>
>Can anybody help? Is there a decent cd out there of Bob at the Isle of
>Wight? I know CBS recorded the show 'cause there are tracks from the
>concert on Self Portrait. The only available cd I could get had nice
>packaging but most of the material on it was audience tape, except for
>the inclusion of the Self Portrait material.
>
>Thanks!
>--
>Brian Kelly
>E-mail address: bkelly@indigo.ie
>
A while back, I posted a lengthy piece on the IOW recordings. At that time I
did not have all the possible recordings so some parts were incomplete. Since
then I have obtained copies of all the recordings (thanks to Bruce Stephenson)
and have been able to complete my analysis.
What follows is totally my own work and my personal opinion from *MY* tapes
boots and CDs.
The Bootlegs are
1. 'Bob Dylan in Concert' GWA 34 (USA or Sweden 1970).
2. 'Isle of Wight' (UK 1970) Blank Labels, CT A(B), GWA 44A
3. 'Isle of Wight'(1972 USA)TMQ GWA45
4. 'Belle Isle' Europe 1983
5. 'Island Man' Germany 1986
6. 'Minstrel Boy' Germany 1986
7. 'Minstrel Boy' CD WPOCM
8. 'Bob Dylan - Isle of Wight' CD Wanted Man 1994
Recording: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The IOW set was:
1. She Belongs to me a b b - d d d d
2. I threw it all away - b b e e e e e
3. Maggies Farm a b b e e e e e
4. Wild Mountain Thyme - b b e e e e e
5. It aint me Babe - b b e e e e e
6. To Ramona - b b e e - e e
7. Mr Tambourine Man - - c e e e e e
8. St Augustine - - c - f g g h
9. Lay Lady Lay - b b - e e e l
10. Highway 61 Rev. a b b e e e e e
11. One too Many Morns. a b b - b i j i
12. I pity the Poor Imm. - b b - b b b k
13. Like a Rolling Stone a b b - d d d d
14. I'll be your Baby.. - b b e e e e e
15. Quinn the Eskimo a b b - e d d d
16. Minstral Boy - b b - e d d d
17. Rainy DW #12&35 a - a? e e e e e
sources: a. Audience Tape (7 tracks only) (not circulated as a tape)
b. Audience tape inc 14/17 tracks (not circulated as a tape)
c. Audience Tape (2 tracks only) (not circulated as a tape)
d. Official Recording PA - 4 Tracks only
e. Dutch DJ Tape (Audience Tape - 12 Tracks)
f. St Augustine tape version 2 (best)
g. St Augustine tape version 3
h. St Augustine tape version 4 (worst)
i. One too many morns. tape version 3 (with drop-out) (worst)
j. One too many morns. tape version 4
k. I pity the poor Imm. tape version 2 (worst)
l. Lay Lady Lay tape version 3 (worst)
m. Audience Tape - Complete! - not bootlegged
n. Audience Tape (7 songs - 2 inc.) - not bootlegged
Recordings :
1. 'Bob Dylan in Concert' Side 1 has 7 tracks from IOW in correct concert order
*and* #12&35 is COMPLETE. GWA 34 (USA or Sweden 1970). May have been the first
bootleg to contain IOW tracks and is from a DIFFERENT tape to [2] or [3].
2. 'Isle of Wight' (UK 1970) Blank Labels, CT A(B), GWA 44A Sides 1/2 need to
be reversed to get the correct concert order.
Tk 1 is inc (1st verse missing). Tks 7,8 and 17 are missing. (my theory on this
is that the taper forgot to turn the tape over and ran out of tape at the
end!).
Not a bad recording in that it appears to be continuous (but it isn't, as
certain comments and tuneups are missing).At least it doesn't have the
EXCESSIVE
fades that occur on later IOW releases.Often claimed as a PA tape (Roques,
Cable)
Which it DEFINITELY isn't!! Listening to the (AUDIENCE) clapping!
Perhaps the most listenable of all the IOW bootlegs.
This disk contains the BEST versions of 'One too Many Mornings' and 'I pity the
poor immigrant'!
(this is also available as 'IoW/in Concert on the Island' GWA44b)(Holland 1971)
(also a Contraband version (USA 1972) GWA 44c)
3. 'Isle of Wight'(1972 USA)TMQ. This is a copy of [2] with the 3 missing
tracks
tacked onto the end. Tracks 7 and 8 are of similar (poor) quality from the same
tape, but track 17 is better and possibly copied from [1]. Track 17 is also
incomplete for some reason (perhaps to fit the side onto the vinyl it had to
be cut). Anyway the track order at the end is misleading as it goes:
#12&35(cut) *2 verses only*/Mr Tambourine Man/St Augustine.
[the normal matrix number is BD-521 A/B but was copied onto TMQ2 1855 A/B in
poorer quality].
['70 dollar Robbery' contains tracks 4 & 5 source (b) lifted from this boot].
['VD Waltz has track 4 from the same source (b) too. Usually better pressed!]
['Daddy Rolling Stone' has has tracks 4,6 & 16 - source unknown as I don't have
this boot. Tape anyone, please]
4. 'Belle Isle' Europe 1983. This 10" bootleg was made soon after the Dutch DJ
(11 song) tape emerged. In fact the track order follows the tape (hence the
track order does not follow the concert!). Of interest also is the IOW press
conference has been added to the start of side 2. This boot has only 9 tracks
as it does not include the (officialy) released Quinn the Eskimo or the repeat
of Highway 61 revisited (see later for 11 song tape details).
5. 'Island Man' Germany 1986. This Boot seems to be an attempt to 'flesh out'
'Belle Isle' into the full concert (and concert order). Hence it contains 12
tracks from the Dutch DJ tape, 2 tracks tracks lifted from [2] plus 2 official
tracks. ('She Belongs' and 'LRS')
note: 'Quinn' and 'Minstral boy' had been released on 'Self Portrait' but here
the bootleggers have used the audience recordings.
6. 'Minstrel Boy' Germany 1986. This boot is similar to 'Island Man' with the
following exceptions: 'Quinn' and 'Minstral boy' are the 'Self Portrait'
versions, 'One too many Mornings'is new and it has some sound drop-outs!
'To Ramona' is not on the LP but listed on the cover.
7. 'Minstrel Boy' CD WPOCM. The first CD of IOW and an attempt to make a CD
from 'best sources'. However, some heavy handed person on the fader has made
this CD almost worthless. EVERY TRACK is faded and often in the middle of a
the last line. Tracks 1,4,6,14 and 16 suffer the most by being faded ON THE
LAST LINE of singing. On Tracks 5 and 10 the fade IN is so late that the first
part of the song is missing. Additionally the track order is taken from [3]
ie 'Mr Tambourine Man' and 'I Dreamed I saw St Augustine' are Tacked on
AT THE END! Why!! There is surely no excuse for this type of sloppy work.
As I listened to the tape(s) that this was made from I could see no reason for
the dreadful fades.
8. 'Bob Dylan - Isle of Wight' CD Wanted Man 1994
First off this CD *is NOT the best in terms of quality*. The Tape source
used for tracks 8, 9 and 11 is poor. Track 9 is NOT from the Dutch DJ tape
and I am not able to determine it's origin. Track 11 is the bad one that
has drop outs in the sound! (the same drop-outs that are on 'Minstrel Boy'LP).
However, at least it does not suffer from the fades of [7], and it has the
tracks in the correct order.
Now the mysterious Dutch DJ tape that is the ORIGIN of most of the tracks on
all
the recent Boots and CDs: (the 12 tracks are probably as good as they get!)
I say mysterious as it has had a strange history (to me at least).
First off a * 4 * Song tape emerged (maybe in 1978?)
Track order:
'I threw it all Away'
'I'll be your Baby Tonight'
'Wild Mountain Thyme'
'To Ramona'
[ what a strange order and selection!]
Then later an * 8 * Song tape came my way
Track order:
'I threw it all Away'
'I'll be your Baby Tonight'
'Wild Mountain Thyme'
'To Ramona'
'H61 Revisited'
'Minstrel Boy'
'Mr Tambourine Man'
'Lay Lady Lay'
[obviously related to the 4 song tape]
Then the * 11 * song tape circulated among tape collectors
Track order:
< the intro to IOW festival >
'I threw it all Away'
'I'll be your Baby Tonight'
'It aint me Babe'
'Mr Tambourine Man'
'Maggies Farm'
'H61 Revisited'
'Quinn the Eskimo'
'RDW #12&35'
'Wild Mountain Thyme'
'To Ramona'
'H61 Revisited' (again)
'Minstrel Boy'
note: missing:- 'Lay Lady Lay'
Perhaps too, as 'Lay Lady Lay' is missing from this particular incarnation then
maybe the makers of the 'Bob Dylan - Isle of Wight' CD Wanted Man 1994 ONLY
had this version so were FORCED to get the missing tracks from another inferior
source (tracks 8, 9 and 11 )
Finally a few years ago I obtained the * 15 * song IOW tape.
Track order:
'It aint me Babe'
'Mr Tambourine Man'
'Maggies Farm'
'Quinn the Eskimo'
'RDW #12&35'
'Wild Mountain Thyme'
'To Ramona'
'H61 Revisited'
'Minstrel Boy'
'I threw it all Away'
'I'll be your Baby Tonight'
'Lay Lady Lay'
'I dreamed I saw St Augustine' (source f)
'One too Many Mornings' (source j)
'I pity the poor Immigrant' (source k)
In retrospect I don't believe this tape to be genuine. The last 3 tracks seem
to
me to be from a different source and IMHO are NOT part of the Dutch DJ tape.
Over recent years, the tracks missing from the Dutch DJ tape(s) have caused
problems with the bootleggers. There are 12 songs on the full Dutch DJ tape,
and there are 4 officially released recordings, however 2 songs ('Quinn' and
'Minstral Boy') overlap so there are only 14 'good' recordings. The missing
songs are 'St Augustine', 'One too many..' and 'I pity the Poor Imm'. Several
different recordings of these songs exist on bootleg:
St Augustine: (4x) the best on [5] the worst on [8]
One too many: (3x) the best on [2] the worst on [8]
I pity the..: (2x) the best on [2] the worst on [8]
The completist tape collector may also have a couple of IOW tapes that don't
appear in other forms:
(1) source [m] This is a complete (single) source tape that is quite rare
It is good quality, but the crowd is VERY noisy between tracks and the taper
has taken to stopping and starting the recording for each song. As such he
has missed out such gems as 'This is a song that was a big hit for Manfred
Man.. A great group.. A great group.. Before 'Quinn'. Pity.
Possibly the most unified recording of the concert.
(2) source [n] Tracks: 1 (inc),3,10,11,13 (inc),15 (inc) and 17. Not a bad
sounding tape but a bit messy.
Recommended reading:
Fourth Time Around #3 (great IOW special)
His Unreleased Recordings - Paul Cable
The Great White Answers - Dominique Roques
Nights in Wight Satin - Brian Hinton (great also)
Conclusion:
Which is the best Boot to get?
1. 'Bob Dylan in Concert' Only 7 tracks - Incomplete
2. 'Isle of Wight' GWA 44A Only 14 tracks - Incomplete but the most
'continuous'
of the recordings. Quality is above average, and the BEST for two songs.
3. 'Isle of Wight'GWA45. Some songs inc. and out of order. Quality as GWA44A
4. 'Belle Isle' Reasonable copy of the Dutch DJ tape. Incomplete. Wrong order.
5. 'Island Man' Thin harsh sound. Correct order. 'Rare tracks' acceptable.
6. 'Minstrel Boy' Slightly better sound than [5.] 'Rare tracks' poor.
Incomplete
7. 'Minstrel Boy' CD Best quality but tracks dreadfully FADED and out of order.
8. 'Bob Dylan - Isle of Wight' CD Better than [7.] except the 'rare tracks' are
inferior to ALL of the other IOW boots.
So IMHO these are all flawed and a serious collector should seek out some
non-bootleg tapes of this event.
Les