Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition

Subject: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: GUEST,Steve Latimer
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 12:10 PM

I was reading my son's Guinness Book of Records and it mentioned that the most valuable album in the world is a very rare edition of Dylan's Freewheelin'. Apparently they released the album and very quickly pulled it and re-released it minus four songs.

Does anyone have information about this, what were the songs they deleted, why were they pulled etc?

The book says a stereo version of the original could fetch $30,000.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 12:18 PM

Isn't "Let me Die in my Footsteps" one of the songs? "Talkin" Bear Mountain" as well, maybe.

I think the '45' of Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" is also right up there.

Rick

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Clifton53
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 12:23 PM

Interesting, and I've never heard 'Talkin Bear Mountain'.I guess I didn't have the valuable copy, but I did wear out the one I had.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From:
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 01:25 PM

answer A promotional version of "Freewheelin" was already circulating to radiostations during April 1963 This promotional version contained material from the "Freewheeling Sessions April '62 till December '62 Two weeks after the famous "Town Hall Concert" Bob recorded four more (very good) songs. May 27, 1963 the official "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" was released. Four songs were removed 1. Rocks and Gravels (November'62) 2. Ramblin',Gamblin' Willie (April 24 1962) ("Bootleg Series" - disc 1- track 8) 3. Let Me Die In My Footsteps (April 25 1962) ("Bootleg Series" - disc 1- track 7) 4. Talkin' John Birch Society Blues (November '62)

Added (All songs from the session on April 24 1963) 1. Masters Of War 2. Talking World War III Blues 3. Girl From The North Country 4. Bob Dyla's Dream

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: GUEST,Steve Latimer
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 02:45 PM

Guest W Lindeboom,

Thank you very much. Those four were certainly good additions.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Seth
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 08:23 PM

I agree. For once, the record people were right. I like the four that were removed, but the ones that they put in are melded to my memory so closely, and are individualy so unforgetable, so distinctive, so emblematic of Dylan and the times, but also so good today, that the album would have been just another good record without them.I'm sure that Dylan stole from Woody Guthre and Jack Kerouac to put these songs together and this is when everyone began to steal from him. I have used these four songs with some of my advanced Chinese high school students, and they just love them, particularly "Bob Dylan's Dream" I find it amazing that "Masters of War" came before the Viet Nam conflict, but still expresses my feelings about the McNamaras and Kissingers of this world so well. Still, I'd sure like to find that rare one in the thrift store sometime. I did find a nice "Mono" copy once, which has a slighty different cover, but the same songs. I personally think that the "mono" sounds better. Seth from China

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From:
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 12:32 AM

talkin' john birch society blues was the song that caused a stink. the same song that kept dylan from performing on ed sullivan's show when they told him he couldn't do it. clive davis (who at that time was a legal adviser with columbia records) then "refused" to let it be included on the album. about 300 copies had gone out before the changes were made.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From:
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 09:03 AM

I DON'T AGREE WITH JOSH ABOUT "TALKIN' JOHN BIRCH SOCIETEY BLUES" AS A "REFUSED" SONG. IT'S MY OPINION THAT EVEN IN BOB'S EARLY DAYS AS AN ARTIST NO ONE COULD FORCE HIM TO LEAVE A SONG OUT FOR WATHEVER REASON THE "ED SULLIVAN SHOW INCIDENT" COMFIRMS THAT

PLAUSIBLE REASONS FOR THE FOUR OTHERS SONGS ARE GIVEN BY RICHARD WILLIAMS IN HIS BOOK "DYLAN - A MAN CALLED ALIAS" DYLAN HIMSELF WANTED TO REPLACE FOUR SONGS APPARENTLY BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THEY INCLINED TOO MUCH TOWARDS THE CHARACTER OF HIS FIRST ALBUM. THE SECOND ALBUM WOULD BE TOO CLOSE TO WOODY GUTHRIE AND THE BLUES SINGERS AND IN FACT THERE WAS NO REFLECTION OF HIS DEVELOPEMENT AS A SONGWRITER. DYLAN HIMSELF DECIDED WHICH 4 SONGS WERE OUT PROBABLY TO THE COMPANY'S INTENSE RELIEF THE OUTSPOKEN "JOHN BIRCH" WAS ONE OF THEM. MAYBE DYLAN WAS ALREADY SATISFIED WITH ALL THE COMMOTION ABOUT THE SONG, KNEW THAT THE TOPIC OF THIS SONG WASN'T TIMELESS AND AFTER ALL HE MADE HIS POINT

WITH THE FOUR NEW (POWERFULL) SONGS DYLAN INTRODUCED A YOUNG BLACK PRODUCER, TOM WILSON. WILSON, WHO HAD RECORDED AVANT-GARDE JAZZ ARTISTS, WAS PRETTY UNFAMILIAR WITH FOLK MUSIC. AFTER THE RECORDINGS WITH DYLAN HE SAID " I THOUGHT FOLK MUSIC WAS FOR DUMB GUYS" " THIS GUY (BOB) PLAYED LIKE THE DUMB GUYS, BUT THEN THESE WORDS CAME OUT. I WAS FLABBERGASTED"

ALTHOUGH I THINK BOB DID A GREAT JOB TO CHANGE THE FOUR SONGS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY HE LEFT "RAMBLIN' GAMBLING' WILLIE" OUT. I KNOW THE LYRIC STARTS LIKE GUTHRIE'S "PRETTY BOY FLOYD" AND THE SONG IS BASED ON THE OLD IRISH BALLAD "BRENNAN ON THE MOOR", BUT BOB'S TALE OF THE OUTLAW WILLIE O'CONLEY IS ENERGETIC AND BEAUTIFUL IN WORDS AND MUSIC. IT'S ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS

TO SETH I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT "MASTERS OF WAR" (WRITTEN EARLY 1963)IS DYLAN'S BLISTERING INDICTMENT OF ALL KINDS OF WAR PROFITEERS MAKING LOTS OF MONEY OUT OF THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

EARLY 1963, IN THE 21 YEARS OF HIS LIFE THERE WERE WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN WAR (WITH McARTHUR WANTING TO USE NUCLEAR POWER), THE COLD WAR AT IT'S PEAK AND OFCOURSE THE CUBAN MISSILE INCIDENT (WITH NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION ON THE THRESHOLD OF HIS OWN COUNTRY) ON 18 NOVEMBER 1961 KENNEDY SENDS WEAPONS AND 18.00O SOLDIERS TO VIETNAM TO TO SUPPORT SOUTH VIETNAM'S PREMIER NGO DINH DIEM. AMERICA WAS FIGHTING THE "COMMIES' AGAIN DURING THE COLD WAR DYLAN LIVED IN A COUNTRY WHO'S MINISTER OF DEFENCE ROBERT McNAMARA (WHO STUDIED PHILOSOPHY) WAS A DEDICATED FOLLOWER OF THE MAD-DOCTRINE. (MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION)

"YOU THAT NEVER DONE NOTHIN' BUT BUILD TO DESTROY YOU PLAY WITH MY WORLD LIKE IT'S YOUR LITTLE TOY YOU PUT A GUN IN MY HAND AND YOU HIDE FROM MY EYES AND YOU TURN AND RUN FARTHER WHEN THE FAST BULLETS FLY YOU'VE THROWN THE WORST FEAR THAT CAN EVER BE HURLED FEAR TO BRING CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD FOR THREATHENING MY BABY UNBORN AND UNNAMED YOU AIN'T WORTH THE BLOOD THAT RUNS IN YOUR VEINS" "A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL (ALSO ON "FREEWHEELIN'BOB DYLAN") IS PICASSO'S "GUERNICA" IN WORDS IT'S A APOCALYPTIC VISION. IT'S ABOUT THE RUINS OF A PUSH-BUTTON WAR. DYLAN GIVES US A CHAIN OF FLASHING IMAGES AND EACH LISTENER FINDS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THIS CATALOG OF IMAGES

"I'LL WALK TO THE DEPTHS OF THE DEEPEST BLACK FOREST, WHERE PEOPLE ARE MANY AND THEIR HANDS ARE ALL EMPTY"

"WHERE THE EXECUTIONER'S FACE IS ALWAYS WELL HIDDEN, WHERE HUNGER IS UGLY, WHERE SOULS ARE FORGOTTEN, WHERE BLACK IS THE COLOR, WHERE NONE IS THE NUMBER, AND I'LL TELL IT AND THINK IT AND SPEAK IT AND BREATHE IT AND REFLECT IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN SO ALL SOULS CAN SEE IT THEN I'LL STAND ON THE OCEAN UNTIL I START SINKIN' BUT I'LL KNOW MY SONG WELL BEFORE START SINGIN' AND IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD IT'S A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL"

"DESCRIBING THE PLIGHT OF THE NEEDY OF THE EARTH, DYLAN SWEARS HE WILL RESPOND BY SINGING ABOUT THE SITUATION SO THE WORLD WILL HEAR AND KNOW" - PAUL WILLIAMS

TODAY THE 20th CENTURY ENDS AND A NEW MILLENIUM STARTS GOD BLESS YOU AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU

WILLEM LINDEBOOM - THE NETHERLANDS

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Little Hawk
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 12:11 PM

Thanks, Willem! Your comments are well appreciated by this Dylan fan. (I think you left the "Caps Lock" on by mistake...all those capital letters are hard to read!)

Dylan's antiwar songs were timeless and universal in the power of their words and his unique delivery. They transcended any particular historical situation, and that is why they still sound fresh today.

- Little Hawk (from Orillia, Ontario, Canada)

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Seth
Date: 01 Jan 01 - 11:53 AM

Im fond of " Bob Dylan's Dream" I liked a lot when I was 18 when I first heard it, and now I'm nearly fifty-six. still like it. Dylan sounds like an old man singing it, and that just makes it work better. I heard "Ramblin', Gamblin' Willie" a few years later, and it should have been on the album. " You can be in my dream if you let me be in yours" Seth from China

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: GUEST,Dave
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 07:31 PM

I have the sleeve to the rare stereo release with the original tracks listed on the front. But inside is a disc (same serial number) but with the correct tracks as eventually released.

How come? And is the sleeve worth anything even without the record?

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: michaelr
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 07:36 PM

Nah. Lemme take it off your hands; it's worthless.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: pdq
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 07:44 PM

I suggest that GUEST,Dave get an appraisal or two and sell the record jacket at auction.

Odd that the Beatle's "butcher" cover is worth a lot of money but the record inside is exactly the same as the one issued with the revised cover. Worth just a few dollars.

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 09:02 PM

I ain't walkin' back to my studio and see what mine is... Maybe later...

B~

Subject: RE: Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Rare Edition
From: GUEST,Dave
Date: 16 Mar 12 - 02:23 PM

My sleeve is worth exactly $0.

Turns out that Columbia Canada put the right disc in the wrong sleeve from 1963 to 1975!!

There are tens of thousands of these things out there. Not the real valuable US first release.

And because of this, the US release is valuable only because of the disc, so even a US sleeve without the record is worthless.

Oh well.