The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)
by Bob Dylan

A stripped down version of, self portrait, as well as, Nashville skyline, and, new morning. Obviously, it all sounds a lot better without the overdubs, but I actually really enjoyed the song, new morning, with the overdubs. The rest is great too, apart from the dull live tracks. One of the most enjoyable of the bootleg series, albeit not as essential as some others. .

About half outakes from Self Portrait the rest from New Morning, Nashville Skyline and an assortment of live tracks. Very well produced but this is clearly the most disposable of the bootleg series I've heard so far. Dylanophilles will no doubt want it however the rest of us can live without it. Even if your in the former category you may want to skip the live version of Highway 61 Revisted as you may be scarred for life.

From Mercury 01/28/2014 18:46 | #101760

26 January 2014

"Nashville Skyline" is a unique classic in Dylan's discog. It is undeniably the masterpiece of that era of Dylan. What made that album so special to me is how natural, joyous and unserious it seemed while still being economical and beautifully written. Other albums of that time didn't have that same magic. What this release - Bootleg Series 10 - does is present a whole new and exciting look at that same period. And right here is all that same magic that I found in "Nashville Skyline". The joy and spontaneity and beauty and simplicity is all back and represented very nicely here.

Dylan's playfulness and whimsical experimentation and willingness to do most anything in these sessions is what makes this double album so special. It's easy to get totally immersed in this set. It is an album that doesn't seem to have any set place in time. It's composed of so many types of old songs and sounds and folk stories, it really feels like you are allowing yourself into a different world by listening.

There are many standouts here including the alternate versions of "Little Sadie" and "In Search Of Little Sadie", "Alberta #3" (by far the best version of that song I've heard), the alternate version of "I Threw It All Away", the beautifully sentimental, piano-heavy version of "If Not For You", the Hank Snow cover "These Hands", the overwhelmingly gorgeous folk of "Copper Kettle" (that organ is just lovely), the amazing horn-driven rendition of "New Morning" and of course the closer "When I Paint My Masterpiece". There are many more as well.

All in all, this is definitely a record that will be most appreciated by fans of Dylan. Much like bootleg series 1-3, 7, 8 and 9 - this is not really a great entrance into the greatness of Dylan. But considering that it is a compilation it manages to cover a short enough period of time with enough variety that it holds up better than any of those bootleg series albums as a stand alone album.

I really love this record. I feel I kinda needed this record. It's the perfect final statement or "cherry on top" of that period of Dylan's music.

Grade 90/100

From ProfessorSquid 09/06/2013 06:16 | #85312

I always kind of liked Self Portrait so I was very much looking forward to hearing this. I enjoy all of the extra insights that it affords and the Isle of Wight show on the deluxe version is well worth a listen as well. It's funny that that show was viewed unfavorably by some at the time because he didn't play the songs exactly as they'd been recorded. Having seen Bob Dylan this summer the stark differences between what I heard and the original recordings makes the differences on here seem very minor.