Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
Compilation album by Bob Dylan
Released	November 17, 1971
Recorded	1962-1971
Genre	Rock
Length	77:31
Label	Columbia Records
Producer(s)	John H. Hammond, Tom Wilson, Bob Johnston and Leon Russell
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Bob Dylan chronology
New Morning (1970)	Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971)	Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971) was the second compilation album released by Bob Dylan. With Dylan not expected to release any new material for an extended period of time, CBS Records president Clive Davis proposed issuing a double LP compilation of older material. Dylan agreed, suggesting that the package include a full side of unreleased tracks from his archives. After submitting a set of excerpts from the Basement Tapes, which Davis found unsatisfactory, Dylan returned to the studio in September 1971 to recut several Basement songs, with Happy Traum providing backup. Image File history File links PetSounds 7/5/05 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A compilation album is a musical album featuring songs or tunes with some common characteristics. ... 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. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 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. ... John Henry Hammond (December 15, 1910–July 10, 1987) was a record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Bob Johnston (born 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a noted record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel. ... Leon Russell A Young Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_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. ... New Morning was released in October 1970 by Bob Dylan, only four months after the controversial Self Portrait. ... Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is a soundtrack album released by Bob Dylan in 1973 for the Sam Peckinpah film of the same name. ... 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. ... Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is the founder of Arista Records, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. ... The Basement Tapes is a series of recordings by North American folk_rockers Bob Dylan and The Band, recorded in the mid_1967. ... Happy Traum is an American folk musician who started playing music in the Fifties. ...

The final package included one previously uncollected single, "Watching The River Flow,"; (which became an instant cult classic and is still performed live today) an outtake from the same sessions, "When I Paint My Masterpiece"; one song from Dylan's April 12, 1963 Town Hall concert, "Tomorrow Is A Long Time," and three songs from the September sessions, "I Shall Be Released," "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," and "Down In The Flood." The remaining tracks were drawn from existing releases.

The album package was designed to capitalize on the publicity surrounding George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, about to be released on film and LP. The photo on the album cover was taken during Dylan's performance at the concert by the film's still photographer, Barry Feinstein.^[1] Reaching #14 the US and #12 in the UK, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II is now certified six times platinum in the US, making it one of his very best selling albums. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Concert For Bangladesh was the event title for two concerts held on the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York. ... The Concert For Bangla Desh is a live triple album and double DVD by George Harrison and celebrity friends performed in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. ...

Songs previously unreleased on LP

"In one sense, 1971 and 1972 might both be considered 'lost' years," writes Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin. Neither year would produce an album, at least, not an album entirely composed of newly recorded material.

Between March 16th and 19th, 1971, Dylan reserved three days at Blue Rock Studios, a small studio in New York's Greenwich Village. According to Heylin, "These sessions were produced by Leon Russell of Mad Dogs and Englishmen fame. Only two originals were recorded - 'Watching The River Flow' and 'When I Paint My Masterpiece' - but both confronted the same subject manner, a continuing dearth of inspiration, in a refreshingly honest fashion." The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (pronounced Grennich Village; also called simply the Village) is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City. ... Leon Russell A Young Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. ... Mad Dogs and Englishmen is Joe Cockers 1970 live album, featuring a fusion of rock and soul. ...

"When I Paint My Masterpiece" was also recorded by The Band, who would release their version first on Cahoots. Dylan's recording from Blue Rock would only see release on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Cahoots was the fourth LP by Canadian-American rock group The Band, and their last all-original studio album for four years. ...

"Watching The River Flow" was issued as a single in June of 1971, backed by "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue," which had been recorded during the New Morning sessions. It would fail to reach the Top 40. New Morning was released in October 1970 by Bob Dylan, only four months after the controversial Self Portrait. ...

Months later, Dylan would agree to release a second "greatest hits" compilation, provided he could compile it himself, issue it as a double album, and include several older compositions which he had written but never issued himself. To accommodate this last condition, Dylan took it upon himself to hold a recording session at Columbia's Recording Studios in New York. On September 24th, 1971, in Columbia's Studio B, Dylan recorded four songs with his friend, Happy Traum.

"He felt there were some songs that he had written that had become hits of sorts for other people, that he didn't actually perform himself," recalls Traum, "and he wanted to fit those on the record as well...So we just went in one afternoon and did it, it was just the two of us and the engineer, and it was very simple...we chose three [songs] on the spot and mixed them...in the space of an afternoon...Sometimes I wasn't even sure if it was a final take until we would just finish and Bob would say, 'Okay, let's go and mix it.'"

"Crash On The Levee (Down In The Flood)," "You Ain't Going Nowhere," and "I Shall Be Released" were recorded and selected for the compilation. "Only A Hobo," an early composition dating back to 1963, was also recorded but ultimately left unreleased until 1991's The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991. The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 is a compilation box set by Bob Dylan. ...

A few lyrical revisions were made on "You Ain't Going Nowhere," the most notable being a reference to Roger McGuinn. Told to "pick up your tent, you ain't going nowhere," McGuinn's band, The Byrds, had successfully recorded "You Ain't Going Nowhere" on their landmark album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and they even issued their recording as a single. According to McGuinn in the liner notes to the 1997 reissue of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Dylan singled him out in these lyrics for bungling Dylan's original Basement Tapes lyrics on the Byrds version of the song in which McGuinn sings "Pack up your money/ Pick up your tent" instead of "Pick up your money/ Pack up your tent" as Dylan had. James Roger McGuinn (born July 13, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter, who was born as James Joseph McGuinn III in Chicago, Illinois. ... 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). ... Sweetheart of the Rodeo is an album by American country rock band The Byrds, released on July 29, 1968 (see 1968 in music). ... The Basement Tapes is a series of recordings by North American folk_rockers Bob Dylan and The Band, recorded in the mid_1967. ... L-R: David Crosby, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn The Byrds were an American rock music group founded in Los Angeles, California in 1964 by singers and guitarists Jim McGuinn (he later changed his name to Roger McGuinn), Gene Clark, and David Crosby. ...

Other notable releases recorded in 1971

In addition to the material added to Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II, Dylan recorded a single, "George Jackson." An incarcerated black activist, George Jackson died on August 21st, 1971. After reading a newspaper article about his death, Dylan quickly wrote an elegy for Jackson and rushed a small band into Blue Rock Studios to record it the following day. He recorded two versions, one following a simple acoustic arrangement, another with a full-band arrangement. Dylan also recorded another original composition, the country-flavored "Wallflower." Both versions of "George Jackson" were issued on both sides of a single released on November 12th, 1971. The single reached the lower reaches of the Top 40 - peaking at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Wallflower" was set aside and would later be released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991. Cover of Soledad Brother George Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was a Black American militant who became a member of the Black Panther Party while in prison, where he spent the last 12 years of his life. ... The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 is a compilation box set by Bob Dylan. ...

Dylan gave three significant concert performances in 1971, both of which were professionally recorded and eventually released.

The first two came on August 1st, at Madison Square Garden for a benefit concert organized by George Harrison. Dylan was not scheduled to perform, but Harrison convinced him to make a surprise appearance. Dylan performed a set at both the afternoon and evening shows, backed by Harrison on lead guitar, Leon Russell on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums. A selection of his performances was issued on the Grammy-winning The Concert for Bangladesh, issued on December 20th, 1971. Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ... A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Leon Russell A Young Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. ... Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940 in Liverpool, England), known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English popular musician, singer and actor, best known as the drummer of The Beatles. ... The Concert For Bangladesh was the event title for two benefit concerts organized by George Harrison and held on the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York. ...

The third and final performance actually came during the first hour of 1972, when he made a surprise appearance at The Band's New Year's Eve concert at the New York Academy of Music. Dylan appeared sometime after midnight and performed four songs backed by The Band: "Crash On The Levee (Down In The Flood)," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "Don't Ya Tell Henry," and "Like A Rolling Stone." Clinton Heylin would later describe Dylan's appearance as "a return to some approximation of peak performing powers." The concert was recorded by Phil Ramone and later mixed and compiled as The Band's Rock of Ages. However, Dylan's set would have to wait until May of 2001 for official release, when it was included as part of an expanded, remastered CD edition of Rock of Ages. The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... The quality of this article or section may be compromised by peacock terms. You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Phil Ramone is a violinist, composer, recording engineer, and innovative record producer. ... The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock group of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Rock of Ages was The Bands fifth album. ...

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Dylan. As with The Beatles 1962-1966, the CD version was released on two discs, though it could have fit onto a single disc. 1962-1966 (or the Red Album) is a compilation of The Beatles greatest hits from 1962 to 1966. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Songs which were previously unreleased on Dylan's albums are in bold.

Disc one

1. "Watching the River Flow" – 3:32
2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" – 3:36
3. "Lay Lady Lay" – 3:14
4. "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" – 7:06
5. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 2:37
6. "All I Really Want to Do" – 4:02
7. "My Back Pages" – 4:21
8. "Maggie's Farm" – 3:49
9. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" – 3:21

Dont Think Twice, Its All Right is a song by Bob Dylan, written in 1963 and released on the album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. ... Lay Lady Lay is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released on his Nashville Skyline album. ... All I Really want to Do was Chers debut. ... My Back Pages is a Bob Dylan song from the album Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964). ... Maggies Farm is a song by Bob Dylan. ...

Disc two

1. "She Belongs to Me" – 2:46
2. "All Along the Watchtower" – 2:30
3. "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)" – 2:43
4. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" – 5:25
5. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" – 6:47
6. "If Not for You" – 2:38
7. "It's All over Now, Baby Blue" – 4:13
8. "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" – 3:01
9. "When I Paint My Masterpiece" – 3:22
10. "I Shall Be Released" – 3:01
11. "You Ain't Going Nowhere" – 2:41
12. "Down in the Flood" – 2:46

She Belongs To Me is a song by Bob Dylan first appearing in 1965 on the album Bringing It All Back Home. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... Highway 61 Revisited, widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever, was the sixth album released by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ... A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 in Chip Moncks apartment in the basement of the Village Gate (now The Village Theater) on the corner of Bleecker and Thompson Streets in Greenwich Village. ...

References

1. ^ The Concert for Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison and Friends, 2005, DVD.