\nThe prolific singer and songwriter, who had emerged as a defining voice of the 1960s, suffered a motorcycle accident that forced him to take a break from the road. The involuntary convalescence ended up producing some of the most critically acclaimed work of his career.
\nThe 1967 recordings became what is considered rock history\u2019s first bootleg record: \u201cGreat White Wonder,\u201d a title that was simply a name for the vinyl\u2019s plain white packaging but occasionally became a moniker for Dylan himself.
\nNearly a half-century later, Dylan is releasing the entirety of the collection. The six-CD boxed-set, \u201cThe Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series, Volume 11,\u201d goes on sale Monday in Europe and Tuesday in North America.
\nAn official release announcing the exhaustive boxed-set described it as \u201ca Holy Grail for Dylanologists.\u201d
\nThe boxed-set comprises all known recordings, including several recent discoveries that have eluded Dylan\u2019s devoted fan base, from the summer sessions at the house dubbed Big Pink in West Saugerties, New York. The collection includes multiple versions of numerous songs performed in the basement by Dylan with his touring ensemble, The Band, with some equipment borrowed from Peter, Paul and Mary.
\nThe Dylan boxed-set shows the evolution of numerous Dylan classics, as well as his takes on songs by folk icons Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash.
\nDylan had stunned the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 by going electric, helping usher in rock\u2019s dominance. The Big Pink sessions showed a further experimentation with form as Dylan became more eclectic.
\nThe boxed-set shows Dylan and The Band, who sometimes recorded multiple songs a day, refining the musical form and playing with how to match the lyrics.
\n\u201cI Shall Be Released,\u201d Dylan\u2019s song of redemption, appears even truer to its Gospel roots in the first take with an organ driving the tune. The song\u2019s first line — \u201cThey say everything can be replaced \/ Yet every distance is not near\u201d — appears in the demo as a second verse and starts, \u201cEverything is not misplaced.\u201d Some tracks, however, may interest only the most avid Dylan connoisseurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"