if you're a dylan fan, this isn't a set that you probably want to get; this is a set that you need. no one could have imagined how many BRILLIANT songs dylan had recorded that didn't make his albums. the highlights are too numerous, but i'll try to cover some of them.

disc 1:

'let me die in my footsteps' as much as any of dylan's pre-electric songs shows us why he is a great poet. it would have been a famous anthem if it were released on THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN.
'talkin' john birch paranoid blues [live]' is hilarious before the song even starts - "and there ain't nothing wrong with this song". it's in the same vein as 'talkin' ww3 blues' & 'i shall be free no. 10'. i don't know if i'd say it's better than the other two, but i'd say it's equal to them. also, it's great to hear the crowd reaction.
'moonshiner' was not written by bob dylan. it's a traditional folk song [irish - believe - could be wrong]. one of dylan's best vocal and harmonica performances - of his entire career. it's difficult to praise this performance enough.
'last thoughts on woodie guthrie' is the only poem that dylan's ever read in public [to my knowledge]. very good poem, and i'd assume that the positive reaction it recieved led dylan to start putting his poetry in the liner notes of his albums [starting w/ ANOTHER SIDE OF BOB DYLAN]. the recording is priceless.

disc 2:

not surprisingly, his is the best disc of the set. i'll try to only highlight the very best [there's so much to highlight].

'farewell angelina' was of course given to joan baez. dylan's version is special - it's also one of his very first songs that uses surreal imagery. it's obviously nowhere near as accomplished as 'tombstone blues', 'desolation row', or 'stuck inside of mobile . . .', but it's great to see where dylan was w/ his writing.
'i shall be released' is so pained. dylan sounds like he's crying the words. i prefer this version to the more famous version or any other version that's been recorded.
'sante-fe' is beautiful.
'if not for you' features george harrison. i usually prefer the NEW MORNING version, but it's just great to have a dylan song w/ george playing, extremely well, on it.
'nobody 'cept you' is one of my 1 or 2 favorite songs in this entire collection. it would have been the best song on PLANET WAVES if dylan decided to keep it. it's completely different from any other dylan song you've ever heard.
'call letter blues' was left off of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS. it's similar to 'meet me in the morning'.
'idiot wind' is a great alternate version. more sorrowful than the album version - less angry.

disc 3:

'angelina' is completely tripped out. the writing would fit on BLONDE ON BLONDE. the music wouldn't, but, hey, it's still a good song.
'blind willie mctell' is probably the best song in the collection. it's easily dylan's best song since the 70's. it's probably the best song by anyone since the 70's.
'series of dreams' was recorded for OH MERCY! and it, not surprisingly, has that wonderful OH MERCY! sound to it.

those are SOME of the highlights. get this.

Being presented as a "bootleg", the impression one gets is that this is a collection of esoteric and rejected material aimed at obsessed fans. Well, the fact is, almost everything on this release is simply top quality. I'd even recommend this to Dylan neophytes. (And if you are already a Dylan fan and don't have this yet - what are you waiting for?) Some of these songs would have been highlights on earlier Dylan albums. The most egregious lapse in this regard is the stunning Blind Willie McTell. It is a transcendant Dylan song; the kind that just stops you dead in your tracks and demands that you listen. Why on earth did he leave it off of "Infidels"? In any event, the songs in this release represent a great display of talent that should be heard by anyone who appreciates sincere, honest, heartfelt, incisive, powerful, masterful songwriting. Oh, and don't pay any heed to the reviewer who says the third disc is a waste. You are doing yourself a great disservice if you simply disregard all of Dylan's material after "Desire". (And why put the dividing line at "Desire"? "Street Legal", his next album, is also a masterpiece.) Sure, Dylan has laid some pretty big stinkers in his career, particularly beyond 1980, but rest assured, everything on this album is solid, and the third disc contains some of the best material on it.

Discs one and two are outstanding, Nearly every song is instantly enjoyable. Disc three is dissapointing, as is Dylans career at this time 76-89(in my opinion he lost it after Hurricane.) Buy this cd if you have any interest in Dylan whatsoever, if you break it down discs one and two are definatly worth $15 a peice. The included book adds tremedous insite to the songs and is a joy to read. Very Nice Release which has earned a place of honor in my Dylan Collection (which coincedently ends at Desire in 1976)

...l you'll ever encounter. Take the Pet Sounds Sessions - the "alternate versions" often were nothing more than identical to the original except for someone else singing one verse. Only of interest to the most die-hard fans. But this Bob Dylan set is uncanny - collectively it contains more merit than many official Dylan albums. The tracks span his entire career, from some great original lyrics set to traditional folk tunes he was playing in coffee houses when he first arrived in New York, through to the dozens of fully-realised and produced bonus tracks which were going to be included on each of his albums through '61 to '91.

It contains a great booklet that has a passage on every track telling you why its rare, what album it was going to be on, special circumstances behind it, etc, and if you read as you listen it makes for a very satisfying experience.

There are alternate versions on this set which feature a completely rewritten arrangement from the original, and genuinely outclass the original - like "Every Grain of Sand". And the number of great songs which did not get included on each of Dylan's albums is astonishing.

If you've heard and loved the major Dylan albums, you'll get the most value out of this set, especially when it comes to alternate versions. But also because if you know Dylan's albums, then hearing the tracks which didn't get included on them (sometimes in favour of lesser songs, strangely).

If you're a Dylan fan, this is a genuine treasure-trove. Repeat, a gold mine. There are things you'll hear here that you'll like better than what got included on the albums!

I have 30+ Dylan albums. When I decided to buy this, I thought "alternate takes, wierd throw away songs, a few gems..." That doesn't begin to describe these 3 cds.
Not only are there no throw aways, there a few tracks on here that will leave you wondering why they weren't included on the regular albums. In my opinion, "No More Auction Block" is one of the top 10 Dylan songs ever, even though he didn't write it.
Throughout the first cd, you can hear old old Dylan and by the end of the third cd, you're hearing the prelude to TIME OUT OF MIND. This collection really spans his career up to about the early 90's.
"Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" makes this entire compilation worth buying. It is a brilliant poetry/spoken word thing that just leaves you with a new idea of what life is all about...being yourself.