The album consists of a series of tracks based on recently uncovered lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967; these were probably written in the period between his motorcycle accident (July 29, 1966) and the first recordings in the spring of 1967 in the "Red Room" in Dylan's house, where the first recordings of The Basement Tapes took place. The album was released November 11, 2014 in both a standard 15-track release and a "Deluxe Version" featuring 20 tracks.
The album cover image is a photograph by Jacob Riis titled "Mullen's Alley". It was taken in New York City in 1888.[2]
In early May 1967, Dylan told reporter Michael Iachetta: "Songs are in my head like they always are, but they are not going to get written down until some people come forth and make up for some of the things that had happened", probably referring to his conflict with his manager Albert Grossman.[3] During the period in which he started recording with The Hawks, Dylan changed his writing habits and wrote his text directly on a typewriter.[4]
Dylan's publisher contacted Burnett regarding the box of handwritten lyrics that had been found, dating back to Dylan's Basement Tapes days, and asked if he had any interest in doing something with them. As soon as Burnett was assured that Dylan was on board with the project, he agreed to it.[5] Burnett selected his band based on their talent and collaborative style, as well as their interest as "musical archaeologists".[5] Each member of the group was sent the collection of lyrics, and each arrived at recording session with a selection of tunes, some having set only some of the lyrics, others having set all of them. Not wishing to encourage competition, the group decided to record all the tunes, including multiple settings of the same lyrics. Of the resulting 40 tracks, 20 are included on the present album.[5]
Actor Johnny Depp played guitar on "Kansas City", filling in for Elvis Costello, who could not attend one of the recording sessions due to a previously scheduled concert with The Roots in Las Vegas.[6] Depp also joined the band onstage, along with Haim, for one of their only live performances at the Ricardo Montalban Theater in Los Angeles.[7]
The album aims to honor the freewheeling musical spirit and collaborative creative process of the original sessions. One intriguing facet is the collaboration among the participants. Each has come up with his or her own music for many of the lyrics, resulting in multiple versions of the same songs and allowing a perspective on the ways different artists respond to Dylan's lyrics.[8]
Lost On The River is an album of good, sometimes excellent songs with a unique creation story which, in the end, adds little of substance to the narrative of perhaps the most mythologised recordings in history. As footnotes go, however, it’s an entertaining, energised and often fascinating one.[10]
Among Bob Dylan’s many cultural milestones, the legendary Basement Tapes – dozens of songs written and recorded by Dylan in 1967, backed by members of his touring ensemble who would later achieve their own fame as The Band – have fascinated and enticed successive generations of musicians, fans and cultural critics alike. Having transformed music and culture during the preceding five years, Dylan had reached unparalleled heights by the mid-1960s through the release of three historic albums, the groundbreaking single, "Like a Rolling Stone", a controversial and legendary "electric" performance at the Newport Folk Festival and wildly polarizing tours of the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. Dylan's mercurial rise and prodigious body of work in that decade came to an abrupt end in July 1966 when it was reported that he had nearly been killed in a motorcycle accident in upstate New York.[11]
Recovering from his injuries and away from the public eye for the first time in years, Dylan ensconced himself, along with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and, later, Levon Helm, in the basement of a small house in West Saugerties, New York – dubbed "Big Pink" by the group. This collective recorded more than a hundred songs over the next several months – traditional covers, wry and humorous ditties, off-the cuff performances and dozens of newly-written Bob Dylan songs, including "I Shall Be Released", "The Mighty Quinn", "Tears of Rage", and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere".[12]
When rumors and rare acetates of some of these recordings began surfacing, an album mysteriously titled Great White Wonder began showing up in record shops in 1969 as one of the very first bootleg records. The actual recordings, however, remained commercially unavailable until 1975, when Columbia Records released 16 of them on The Basement Tapes album.[12]
As of October 26, 2014, five lyric videos had been released for tracks from the album, each of them featuring Bob Dylan's actual handwritten lyrics inhabiting an animated environment:
"Nothing to It", with lead vocal by Jim James, [1] on August 19, 2014.
"Married to My Hack", with lead vocal by Elvis Costello, [2] on September 2, 2014.
"When I Get My Hands on You", with lead vocal by Marcus Mumford, [3] on September 23, 2014.
"Spanish Mary", with lead vocal by Rhiannon Giddens, [4] on October 14, 2014.
"Liberty Street", with lead vocal by Taylor Goldsmith, [5] on October 26, 2014.
The 20-track "Deluxe Version" listed below includes five additional songs not found on the standard issue, "Golden Tom – Silver Judas", "Quick Like a Flash", "Hidee Hidee Ho #16", "Diamond Ring", and "The Whistle Is Blowing".
Before the Flood is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and the Band, released on June 20, 1974, on Asylum Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom. While in later years earlier live recordings would be released, this was the first live album that Dylan released. It is the 15th album by Dylan and the seventh by the Band, and documents their joint 1974 American tour. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, reached No. 8 on the popular album chart in the UK, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Hard Rain (Bob Dylan album)
Hard Rain is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 13, 1976 by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue.
King of America
King of America is the tenth studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1986 in the United Kingdom as F-Beat ZL 70946, and in the United States as Columbia JC 40173. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK and Europe, and "The Costello Show featuring Elvis Costello" in North America. It peaked at #11 on the UK album chart, and at #39 on the Billboard 200. Some songs have a Country feel, others reflect his interest in Americana, whilst 'American Without Tears' deals with the experience of Irish immigrants in the US, and 'Little Palaces' references Costello's working-class roots.
Jim James
James Edward Olliges Jr., professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has released three solo albums.
Kojak Variety
Kojak Variety is a 1995 album by Elvis Costello, composed of cover songs written by others.
The Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes is an album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and The Band. It was released on June 26, 1975, by Columbia Records and is Dylan's 16th studio album. The songs featuring Dylan's vocals were recorded in 1967, eight years before the album's release, at Big Pink and other houses in and around Woodstock, New York, where Dylan and The Band lived. Although most of the Dylan songs had appeared on bootleg records, The Basement Tapes marked the songs' first official release.
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is the 2009 studio album by Elvis Costello. It was recorded in Nashville with American songwriter and producer T Bone Burnett, and released on 9 June 2009 on the Hear Music label. The album features bluegrass, Americana and country music along with Costello's familiar garrulous lyrics.
National Ransom
National Ransom is the 2010 studio album by Elvis Costello. It was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with American songwriter and producer T Bone Burnett, and was released on 25 October 2010 on the Hear Music label. The album was received positively, earning a score of 79/100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic.
Larkin Poe
Larkin Poe is an American roots rock band from Atlanta, GA fronted by sisters Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell. Featuring strong southern harmonies, heavy electric guitar riffs, and slide guitar, they are often touted as "the little sisters of the Allman Brothers". The band performed at the 2014 and 2016 Glastonbury Festival, and were voted "Best Discovery of Glastonbury 2014" by the UK's The Observer.
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete is a compilation album of unreleased home recordings made in 1967 by Bob Dylan and the group of musicians that would become The Band, released on Legacy Records November 3, 2014. It is the ninth installment of the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, available in the six-disc complete set and a two-disc set common to the rest of the series entitled The Basement Tapes Raw.
Forever Words
Forever Words is a 2018 album by various artists recording poetry and lyrics by Johnny Cash set to music for the first time. The album follows a 2016 book release of the poems entitled Forever Words: The Unknown Poems (ISBN 0399575138). The album includes a posthumously released track by Chris Cornell, who died in 2017.
Taylor Goldsmith
Taylor Dawes Goldsmith is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who is best known as the lead singer and chief songwriter of the American folk rock band Dawes.
