The Basement Tapes
Compilation album by Bob Dylan & The Band
Released	June 26, 1975
Recorded	June-September 1967 & March 1975
Genre	Rock
Length	76:41
Label	Columbia Records
Producer(s)	Bob Dylan & The Band Compiled by Robbie Robertson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau A+ link Rolling Stone link
Bob Dylan chronology
Blood on the Tracks (1975)	The Basement Tapes (1975)	Desire (1976)
The Band chronology
Before the Flood (1974)	The Basement Tapes (1975)	Northern Lights - Southern Cross (1975)

The Basement Tapes is a studio album by Bob Dylan and The Band, released in 1975 by Columbia Records. Cover of the Bob Dylan and The Band album The Basement Tapes. ... A compilation album is an album (music or spoken-word) featuring tracks from one or multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources (such as studio albums, live albums, singles, demos and outtakes. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Jaime Robert Robertson (born July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, best known for his membership in The Band. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... Blood on the Tracks is a 1975 album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... Desire is an album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on the Columbia Records label in 1976. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Before the Flood is the title of a 1974 live album by Bob Dylan and The Band. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Northern Lights - Southern Cross - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ...

Most of the album was actually recorded eight years earlier, in the basement of a house shared by the two artists. As Bob Dylan recovered from a near-fatal motorcycle accident during 1967, he called on The Band to help him experiment with themes of traditional folk music and Americana—a departure from the heavy, surrealist rock'n'roll he'd recently pioneered. The sessions laid the foundation for Dylan's 1967 album John Wesley Harding, a critically-acclaimed foray into country-influenced folk styles. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... An apple pie and baseball bat sitting atop an American flag. ... Rock and roll (also spelled rock n roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... John Wesley Harding is an album of original songs by Bob Dylan, produced by Bob Johnston and released on December 27, 1967. ...

Material from the sessions had been heavily bootlegged since 1968, with the most famous being 1969's Great White Wonder. It wasn't until Dylan's comeback with Blood on the Tracks in 1975 that any of it was officially released, and The Basement Tapes was welcomed with high praise from fans and critics. Compiled by Robbie Robertson, the album features new songs and many overdubs made by The Band long after the original sessions. More complete and authentic documents of the 1967 tapes have since surfaced and are traded by fans. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Great White Wonder, a double album released in July 1969 of a Bob Dylan recording session, was the first bootleg of the rock-and-roll era. ... Blood on the Tracks is a 1975 album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... Jaime Robert Robertson (born July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, best known for his membership in The Band. ... Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously taped musical recording. ...

The Basement Tapes peaked at #7 in 1975 on Billboard's (North America) Pop Albums chart and reached #8 in the UK. In 2003, the album was ranked number 291 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Promotional Book Cover The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ...

The Story of the Basement Tapes

In the mid-1960s, Bob Dylan was at the peak of his creativity, having broken into the mainstream with his popular and acclaimed albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. In the latter half of 1965, during the interim between those two albums, Dylan began touring with The Hawks (later known as The Band). Their live collaboration would continue into the first half of 1966, culminating in a legendary 'world' tour documented in The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. Highway 61 Revisited, widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever, was the sixth album released by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... Blonde on Blonde is singer-songwriter Bob Dylans 7th studio album, released in 1966 by Columbia Records. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ...

According to Hawks/Band guitarist Robbie Robertson, "When I first met [Dylan] [in 1965], I played him this ballad from The Impressions' Keep On Pushing album, 'I've Been Trying,' written by Curtis Mayfield. I said: 'They're not saying anything much and this is killing me, and you're rambling on for an hour and you're losing me; I mean, I think you're losing the spirit.'" Whether or not Robertson's comments had any real influence on Dylan's decision to change his musical direction, within a couple of years Dylan would be writing quite different styles of songs. Jaime Robert Robertson (born July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, best known for his membership in The Band. ... For the Australian rock group, see The Impressions (Australian band). ... Keep on Pushing is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions. ... Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, funk and R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist probably best known for his soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly. ...

After the crash

On July 29th that year, Dylan suffered a mild concussion and cracked vertebrae when he crashed his Triumph 650 Bonneville motorcycle near Woodstock, New York. He was taken to a local hospital where he phoned the members of the Hawks, informing them of his injuries. Dylan and the Hawks were scheduled to perform at several concerts later in the year, but with Dylan's current condition, those concerts had to be cancelled. July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... Your brain floats within your skull surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). ... A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... Triumph Motorcycles is an English motorcycle manufacturer, originally based in Coventry. ... Woodstock, New York The name Woodstock is associated with two locales in New York. ...

A little more than a week later, Dylan was back in Woodstock, wearing a neck brace and recuperating at a local doctor's house. While he was recovering, Dylan reviewed a preliminary cut of D. A. Pennebaker's documentary of the 1966 'world' tour. "They had made another Dont Look Back, only this time it was for television," recalled Dylan in 1978. "I had nothing better to do than to see the film. All of it, including unused footage. And it was obvious from looking at the film that it was garbage. It was miles and miles of garbage." Dissatisfied with Pennebaker's results, Dylan re-edited the footage into a surrealistic film, titled Eat the Document. (Howard Alk, who shot much of the footage, and Robbie Robertson also accepted Dylan's invitation to help him edit the film.) D.A. Pennebaker is a documentary filmmaker. ... Dont Look Back (sic) is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylans 1965 concert tour of England. ... Eat the Document is a rarely exhibited documentary of Bob Dylans 1966 tour of England with the Hawks. ...

As biographer Clinton Heylin writes, "in the latter months of 1966 Dylan was certainly re-evaluating where he had come to at the age of twenty-five, and reviewing the raw film footage [of Eat the Document] was only part of that process."

Dylan later recalled, "The turning point was back in Woodstock. A little after the accident. Sitting around one night under a full moon, I looked out into the bleak woods and I said, 'Something's gotta change.'"

Killing time with The Hawks

According to the late Rick Danko, the Hawks joined Robbie Robertson at their house in West Saugerties in February of 1967. Nicknamed "Big Pink," the house originally belonged to "[Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson," according to Robertson. "I think Levon eventually moved in there, too. I didn't live there, but the whole idea was that we had been living in New York City, and we ended up moving upstate really to get a clubhouse, a place where we could woodshed. It was a real clubhouse, and we were just like a street gang — only we played music instead of going out fighting. We would get together every day at the clubhouse, just like the Bowery Boys. And as soon as Bob got well from his motorcycle accident, he started coming up every day." Richard Clare Rick Danko (December 29, 1942-December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician and singer, probably best known as a member of The Band. ... Richard Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian musician and songwriter probably best known for his membership in The Band. ... Eric Garth Hudson (b. ... The Dead End Kids were five young actors and one ex-plumbers assistant, from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsleys play Dead End in 1935 on Broadway. ...

The date is uncertain, but sometime between March and June, Dylan and the Hawks began a series of informal recording sessions. Originally taking place at Dylan's house, "in the equally color-conscious Red Room" (according to Heylin), these informal sessions eventually moved to the basement of Big Pink.

"We used to get together everyday at one o' clock in the basement of Big Pink, and it was just a routine. We would get there and to keep [every] one of us from going crazy, we would play music every day . . . There was no particular reason for it. We weren't making a record. We were just fooling around. The purpose was whatever comes into anybody's mind, we'll put it down on this little tape recorder." That tape recorder was actually an old Uher that was used on their legendary 'world' tour in 1966. Equipped with a couple of Altec PA tube mixers and allowing up to three microphones to be input per channel, with four or five studio-quality Neumann microphones, the machine was operated by the Hawks' Garth Hudson during the recording sessions. Dylan would later say in 1969, "that's really the way to do a recording — in a peaceful, relaxed setting, in somebody's basement, with the windows open and a dog lying on the floor."

For the first couple of months, they were just "killing time," according to Robertson. Apparently, much of the early months was spent on covers. "With the covers Bob was educating us a little," recalls Roberston. "The whole folkie thing was still very questionable to us — it wasn't the train we came in on ... He'd come up with something like '[The Banks of the] Royal Canal,' and you'd say, 'This is so beautiful! The expression!' ... he remembered too much, remembered too many songs too well. He'd come over to Big Pink, or wherever we were, and pull out some old song — and he'd prepped for this. He'd practiced this, and then come out here, to show us." Circulating tapes from these sessions reveal a large, diverse number of popular songs, including compositions written or made popular by Johnny Cash, The Stanley Brothers, Ian Tyson, John Lee Hooker, Hank Williams and Eric Von Schmidt as well as "sea shanties . . . country tearjerkers, from pure gospel to morality tales . . . material from the English and Irish dales, the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi Delta, Nashville's Music Row, and even Tin Pan Alley," according to Heylin. Johnny Cash (born J. R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a multi Grammy Award-winning influential American country and rock and roll singer and songwriter. ... Carter and Ralph Stanley The Stanley Brothers (Carter Stanley, 1925-1966, and Ralph Stanley, born 1927) - American bluegrass musicians. ... Famous Alberta cowboy music singer. ... John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. ... It has been suggested that Audrey Williams be merged into this article or section. ... Eric Von Schmidt was born May 28, 1931. ... A rainy day in the Great Smoky Mountains, Western North Carolina The Appalachian Mountains (French: les Appalaches) are a vast system of North American mountains mostly in the United States, and partly in Canada, forming a zone, from 100 to 300 miles wide, running from the island of Newfoundland some... The shared flood plain of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. ... For other cities named Nashville, see Nashville (disambiguation). ... Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ...

New compositions

Dylan was soon writing and recording new compositions at these informal sessions. "We were doing seven, eight, ten, sometimes fifteen songs a day," recalls Hudson. "Some were old ballads and traditional songs . . . but others Bob would make up as he went along ... We'd play the melody, he'd sing a few words he'd written, and then make up some more, or else just mouth sounds or even syllables as he went along. It's a pretty good way to write songs."

Two of the first songs Dylan recorded was "Tiny Montgomery" and "Sign on the Cross"; the former "rediscovered his flair for characters out of left field," wrote Heylin, while the latter "captures the deathless fatalism of gospel and country Dylan was after in much of his later born-again albums," according to NPR's Tim Riley. NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ...

In a matter of months, Dylan would record at least thirty new compositions with the Hawks, including some of the most celebrated songs of his career: "I Shall Be Released", "This Wheel's On Fire", "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)", "Million Dollar Bash", "Tears Of Rage", "You Ain't Going Nowhere", "Going To Acapulco", "I'm Not There (1956)", "All You Have To Do Is Dream", "Apple Suckling Tree", etc. At least two songs were co-written with members of the Hawks: "Tears Of Rage" with Richard Manuel and "This Wheel's On Fire" with Rick Danko. "He came down to the basement with a piece of typewritten paper . . . and he just said, 'Have you got any music for this?'," recalled Manuel. "I had a couple of musical movements that fit . . . so I just elaborated a bit, because I wasn't sure what the lyrics meant. I couldn't run upstairs and say, 'What's this mean, Bob: 'Now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse'?'" Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ...

In May of 1967, Dylan gave his first interview in roughly a year. He told Michael Iachetta that "What I've been doing mostly is seeing only a few close friends, reading a little 'bout the outside world, poring over books by people you never heard of, thinking about where I'm going, and why am I running, and am I mixed up too much, and what am I knowing, and what am I giving and what am I taking . . . Songs are in my head like they always are. And they're not going to get written down until some things are evened up. Not until some people come forth and make up for some of the things that happened."

According to Heylin, that someone expected to atone 'for some of the things that happened' was Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. Within weeks of the interview, Dylan recorded a Bobby Bare song that dated back to 1959. Titled "All-American Boy", it was originally a thinly veiled critique of Elvis Presley's notorious manager, Colonel Tom Parker, but Dylan rewrote some of the verses, adding some personal references regarding his relationship with Grossman. Albert B Grossman Born 1926 Chicago (d. ... Bobby Bare Bobby Bare (born Robert Joseph Bare on April 7, 1935 in Ironton, Ohio) is an American country music singer and songwriter. ... Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer, musician and actor. ... Colonel Tom Parker (born Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk on June 26, 1909 in Breda, Netherlands – died on January 21, 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada), was an American/Dutch entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley. ...

Dwarf Music demos

Dylan still owed Columbia one more album. According to Robert Shelton, he owned them foruteen new songs. In fact, Dylan's original intentions for those songs remain unclear, although it should be noted he copyrighted fourteen of the songs, the same number that he owed Columbia. The songs copyrighted are: "Million Dollar Bash", "Yea Heavy and a Bottle of Bread", "Please Mrs. Henry", "Down In the Flood", "Lo and Behold", "Tiny Montgomery", "This Wheel's On Fire", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "I Shall Be Released", "Tears of Rage", "Too Much of Nothing", "Quinn the Eskimo", "Open the Door, Homer" and "Nothing Was Delivered",

At the end of August, ten of them were dubbed down from their original stereo recordings to mono and copyrighted by Dwarf Music; in January of 1968, Dylan copyrighted another batch of songs including "Tears of Rage", "Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)," "Nothing Was Delivered", and "Open the Door Homer." Jointly formed by Dylan and Grossman, Dwarf Music was established in 1965 in order to copyright demos intended for other artists. In an interview taken in 1978, Dylan admitted that the songs written and recorded at Big Pink "were written vaguely for other people . . . I don't remember anybody specifically those songs were ever written for . . . At that time psychedelic rock was overtaking the universe and we were singing these homespun ballads." Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ...

Peter, Paul and Mary were the first to chart with a Big Pink composition when they issued their single of "Too Much of Nothing" in November 1967. Soon after, Manfred Mann topped the charts with "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)." When The Byrds released their groundbreaking, country-rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo in 1968, they opened and closed it with "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and "Nothing Was Delivered". In the UK, "This Wheel's on Fire" made the top 5 for Julie Driscoll and the Brian Auger Trinity; the song was also covered by The Byrds for their second album of 1968, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, while the Hawks — reunited with Levon Helm and rechristened The Band — recorded their own version on their celebrated debut, Music from Big Pink, an album that also featured "I Shall Be Released" and "Tears of Rage." Fairport Convention would also record "Million Dollar Bash" on their celebrated third album, Unhalfbricking. The trio Peter, Paul and Mary (often PP&M) is an American musical group that was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s. ... Cock-A-Hoop Manfred Mann was a British R&B and pop band of the 1960s, named after its keyboard player, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Manns Earth Band. ... Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964) were an American rock band. ... Sweetheart of the Rodeo is an album by American country rock band The Byrds, released on July 29, 1968 (see 1968 in music). ... Julie Driscoll (born June 8, 1947) is a British singer and actress, best known for her 1960s hit version of Wheels on Fire with the Brian Auger Trinity. ... This article or section reads like an advertisement. ... The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964) were an American rock band. ... Dr. Byrds & Mr. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Music From Big Pink is the 1968 debut album by folk-rock band The Band. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Unhalfbricking, released in 1969, was the third album by British band Fairport Convention. ...

Eventually, rumors of Dylan and The Band's enormous stash of unreleased recordings began to circulate. Rolling Stone Magazine even ran a cover story in June 1968, claiming that "there is enough material ... to make an entirely new Bob Dylan record, a record with a distinct style of its own ... These tapes could easily be remastered and made into a record. The concept of a cohesive record is already present." This article is about the music magazine. ...

The fourteen songs copyrighted by Dwarf Music brought those particular songs into private circulation, as demo acetates were soon cut for those songs. With no planned release in sight, these demo acetates became the source material for a number of bootlegs, the first of which was titled Great White Wonder. Bootlegs had existed for many years, mostly among other forms of music, but with Great White Wonder, rock music had its first commercially (albeit illegally) available bootleg ever. Great White Wonder, a double album released in July 1969 of a Bob Dylan recording session, was the first bootleg of the rock-and-roll era. ...

Columbia's release of The Basement Tapes compilation

On June 26, 1975, Columbia officially released a 24-song, double-album titled The Basement Tapes. Compiled and produced by Robbie Robertson, eight of the twenty-four songs did not feature Dylan, and of those eight, only four actually dated from the Big Pink sessions. ^{[citation needed]} All of the tracks were 'remixed' to mono while Robertson and other members of The Band overdubbed new piano, guitar, and/or drum parts over four of the original Dylan-Band recordings. Furthermore, songs like "I Shall Be Released," "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)," "Sign on the Cross," and "I'm Not There (1956)" were omitted, and the rough, first take of "Too Much of Nothing" was used in place of the later, comparatively flawless take copyrighted by Dwarf Music. (Critic Greil Marcus would later hail "I'm Not There (1956)" and "Sign on the Cross" as the best and second best songs, respectively, of the Big Pink sessions.) 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. ...

Nevertheless, The Basement Tapes was initially hailed by critics, with Robert Christgau giving it a rare A+ in his "Consumer Guide" column. "These are the famous lost demos recorded at Big Pink in 1967 and later bootlegged on The Great White Wonder and elsewhere," wrote Christgau, apparently unaware of some of the changes made by Robertson. "Because the Dylan is all work tape, the music is certifiably unpremeditated, lazy as a river and rarely relentless or precise — laid back without complacency or slickness. The writerly 'serious' songs like 'Tears of Rage' are all the richer for the company of his greatest novelties — if 'Going to Acapulco' is a dirge about having fun, 'Don't Ya Tell Henry' is a ditty about separation from self, and both modes are enriched by the Band's more conventional ('realistic') approach to lyrics. We needn't bow our heads in shame because this is the best album of 1975. It would have been the best album of 1967 too. And it's sure to sound great in 1983." Other critics agreed as The Basement Tapes topped The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1975, beating out Patti Smith's Horses, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, Dylan's own Blood on the Tracks, and Neil Young's Tonight's the Night, the #2, 3, 4 and 5 ranking albums, respectively. Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... The Village Voice is a weekly newspaper in New York City featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ... The Pazz & Jop critics poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. ... Patricia Lee (Patti) Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American musician, singer, and poet. ... Horses is the debut album by Patti Smith released in November of 1975 (see 1975 in music), and produced by John Cale. ... Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... Blood on the Tracks is a 1975 album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... Neil Percival Young[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director. ... This article is about the 1975 Neil Young album. ...

At the time, some critics lamented omissions like "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" and "I Shall Be Released" from The Basement Tapes, but the double-album only represented a fraction of the Big Pink recordings, and sure enough, a nearly-complete collection of the known recordings was eventually bootlegged as a 5-compact disc set known as The Genuine Basement Tapes. This famous bootleg has since been remastered in 2001, and re-released in the bootleg market under the title "To a Tree With Roots." The body of work found in "The Genuine Basement Tapes" is the centerpiece of Greil Marcus' well-known book of music journalism The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes. In this book, the Basement Tapes are compared to Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. The thesis of Marcus' book is that both collections accurately describe an alternate weirder history of the United States. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. ... Harry Everett Smith (1923–1991) was an American born in Portland, Oregon; he was an archivist, ethnomusicologist, student of anthropology, record collector, experimental filmmaker, artist, bohemian and Kabbalist. ... The Anthology of American Folk Music is a recording that collects several dozen folk and country songs which were initially recorded from the 1920s and 1930s, and were first released on 78 rpm records. ...

While Columbia has issued only three more Big Pink recordings since The Basement Tapes ("I Shall Be Released" and "Sante Fe," both issued on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991, as well as take 2 of "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" issued on Biograph in 1985), even more complete collections of Basement Tape material circulate freely among Dylan fans and collectors, like A Tree With Roots, which compacts the The Genuine Basement Tapes to 4 discs and remasters them; most recent commercial bootlegs of the material are actually sourced from noncommercial fan projects such as this. The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 is a compilation box set by Bob Dylan. ... Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... Biograph is a collection of Bob Dylan tracks, both rare and popular, that was released in 1985. ...

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "Odds and Ends" (Dylan) - 1:46
2. "Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)" (Manuel) - 3:37
3. "Million Dollar Bash" (Dylan) - 2:31
4. "Yazoo Street Scandal" (Robertson) - 3:27
5. "Goin' to Acapulco" (Dylan) - 5:26
6. "Katie's Been Gone" (Manuel/Robertson) - 2:43
7. "Lo and Behold" (Dylan) - 2:45
8. "Bessie Smith" (Danko/Robertson) - 4:17
9. "Clothesline Saga" (Dylan) - 2:56
10. "Apple Suckling Tree" (Dylan) - 2:48
11. "Please, Mrs. Henry" (Dylan) - 2:31
12. "Tears of Rage" (Dylan/Manuel) - 4:11

Disc 2

1. "Too Much of Nothing" (Dylan) - 3:01
2. "Yea Heavy and a Bottle of Bread" (Dylan) - 2:13
3. "Ain't No More Cane" (Traditional) - 3:56
4. "Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)" (Dylan) - 2:03
5. "Ruben Remus" (Manuel/Robertson) - 3:13
6. "Tiny Montgomery" (Dylan) - 2:45
7. "You Ain't Going Nowhere" (Dylan) - 2:42
8. "Don't Ya Tell Henry" (Dylan) - 3:12
9. "Nothing Was Delivered" (Dylan) - 4:22
10. "Open the Door, Homer" (Dylan) - 2:49
11. "Long Distance Operator" (Dylan) - 3:38
12. "This Wheel's on Fire" (Danko/Dylan) - 3:49

Aint No More Cane is a traditional work song of the American south. ...

Personnel

• Bob Dylan and The Band - producers
• Rick Danko - bass, mandolin, vocals
• Bob Dylan - acoustic guitar, piano, vocals
• Levon Helm - drums, mandolin, bass, vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 15, 17, 20 and 23 only)
• Garth Hudson - organ, accordion, clavinet, piano, tenor saxophone, engineer
• Richard Manuel - piano, drums, harmonica, vocals
• Robbie Robertson - acoustic and electric guitars, drums, vocals

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Richard Clare Rick Danko (December 29, 1942-December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician and singer, probably best known as a member of The Band. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case. ... Carved (electric) and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a small, stringed musical instrument which is plucked, strummed or a combination of both. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... A steel string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Levon Helm performing in The Last Waltz. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Eric Garth Hudson (b. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Modern style pipe organ at the concert hall of Aletheia University in Matou, Taiwan The organ is a keyboard instrument with one or more manuals, and usually a pedalboard. ... This article is about the instrument as a whole. ... A clavinet is a keyboard instrument, manufactured by the Hohner company. ... A Yanagisawa tenor sax. ... Audio engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with the production of sound through mechanical means. ... Richard Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian musician and songwriter probably best known for his membership in The Band. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Jaime Robert Robertson (born July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, best known for his membership in The Band. ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ...

External links

• Genuine Basement Tapes reviewed
• A Tree With Roots
• Marcus, Greil. Liner notes, The Basement Tapes (Columbia Records, 1975)
• Essay by Robert Christgau
• Clinton Heylin talks about the Band contributions to The Basement Tapes.
• Info about the actual recording sessions for Band songs not recorded in the Big Pink; also about six Band tracks that really were recorded there

References

• Marcus, Greil. Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes (New York: Henry Holt, 1997) ISBN 0-8050-3393-9