You want to talk iconic songs? The ones that are burned into our brains; where we know every nuance, every lick, every lyric. You know, the songs that are always covered by other artists. At the top of that list is the 1967 Bob Dylan tune, "I Shall Be Released." Golly galoshes, it even has its own WIKI entry! It was on the legendary Music From Big Pink, The Band's first album, issued in 1968. Add to that a long list of other folks who have recorded it including, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Melissa Etheridge, U2, Big Mama Thornton, even the Beatles, though their version has never seen light of day.
While we are talking Bob Dylan, there are two projects coming out on October 19th, The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos: 1962 - 1964; these are the original recordings for his early music publisher, done before he hit the tender age of 24! This 2-CD set, 47 songs, is the first addition to the aclaimed Bootleg Series since 2008. Also out the same day: The Original Mono Recordings, an 8-CD boxed set of his first eight long-playing albums, reproduced from their first generation mono mixes. Among the tunes on The Witmark Demos are 15 songs that Bob recorded solely for these sessions, some of which are just now being released to the public. These include “Ballad For A Friend,” “Long Ago, Far Away,” “The Death Of Emmett Till,” and “Guess I’m Doing Fine." Many of the other early songs did appear later on Bob Dylan’s own albums, as well as having been recorded by others; including Peter, Paul and Mary and Stevie Wonder (“Blowin’ In The Wind”), Judy Collins (“Tomorrow Is A Long Time”) and The Byrds (“Mr Tambourine Man.”)
It is simply amazing that this crop of songs has been covered by more than a thousand artists in the nearly fifty years since these demos were created. And Dylan continues his amazing legacy, with important new releases of his own, as well as by continuing to have his songs interpreted today. At WoodyFest 2010 in Okemah, OK this past July, we had the occasion to film Stonehoney, with Jimmy LaFave and Red Molly. They stopped time with this version of "I Shall Be Released."
- Jessie Scott
