Bob Dylan - The MacKenzie Tapes (1961-1962) [RARE]
May 04, 2022 20:47
"Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth he can do with it as he please / And if things don't change soon, he will / Oh, man has invented his doom." ~Bob Dylan
Here's what I promised! This is most of the famed tapes recorded at the home of Eve and Mac McKenzie between 1961 and 1962, although there is debate on whether these sessions spilled into '63. For years, there was a bootleg tape in circulation of the complete sessions. Unfortunately, the quality of these recordings was horrendous. Even for a bootleg collector like me, the tracks were mostly unlistenable. It wasn't until I acquired "The 50th Anniversary Collection - 1962" that I discovered that another version of the tape existed. Some of the tracks recorded were studio quality.
It occurred to me that the bootlegs in circulation must've been recordings of the recordings. I don't know the whole story, but it was common that bootleggers would express interest in certain rare tapes for sale, hide tape recorders in their coats while listening to these tapes at the seller's home, then later release the recordings they took there. If you'd like to hear what the original tape sounded like, the second song
0:00 - Hard Times in New York Town 1:57 - Baby, Let Me Follow You Down 4:10 - The Death of Emmett Till 8:35 - I Rode Out One Morning 11:27 - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Instrumental) 12:21 - House of the Rising Sun 15:38 - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean 20:16 - Ballad of Donald White (Stereo Recording) 22:57 - Long Time Gone (Stereo Recording) 26:06 - Only A Hobo (Stereo Recording) 28:27 - Untitled Blues Jam 30:38 - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (EARLIEST KNOWN RECORDING / ALTERNATE LYRICS)