Reviews: Both Bob Dylan (‘Bootleg Series Vol 18’) and Faces (‘Early Steps’) Release Archival, Pre-Debut Sets

Some of you might think the holiday season starts when you begin seeing Xmas merch at your local shopping center. That’s not what triggers the dreaded holidays for me. I don’t think there’s a clearer sign that the holidays are here than when a flood of archival releases/box sets start getting released from myriad different artists in the hopes they find their way to your stocking or under your tree. Two of the most arguably amazing artists ever have jumped into the holiday fray with archival releases from the early stages of their careers. Legend Bob Dylan has released The Bootleg Series Vol. 18: Through The Open Window 1956 – 1963. Many of the recordings on the new box predate even Dylan’s debut album in 1962 and run right up to the release of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963. The box is entirely comprised of outtakes, alternative takes, and live cuts. It’s all just Dylan and an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Does Dylan get enough credit for his amazing harmonica work? There is so much material here that was previously unreleased it’s a bit staggering. Just when I thought I was “out” of the Bootleg Series, they pull me back in.

Another personal favorite of B&V, the Faces, have also dropped a single disc archival release from early in their career, entitled Early Steps. I bought the vinyl version because I’m “that guy.” This is on the heels of the great release, Faces At the BBC. The recordings on this record predate the Faces debut album First Step. The Faces, of course, were born out of the ashes of the Small Faces after Steve Marriott (guitar/vocals) left Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass/vocals), and Kenny Jones (drums) in the lurch, so to speak. They were quickly joined by Ronnie Wood (guitar) who played bass for the Jeff Beck Group (who switched back to guitar) and slightly later joined by Rod Stewart who sang for Jeff Beck and had also put out a debut solo album, The Rod Stewart Album. 

Since these sets both cover similar early points in each artist’s career, I thought I’d combine both in one post. I’ve never done this, so here we go. I’ll start with Dylan and get to the Faces below.

Bob Dylan, Bootleg Series Vol. 18: Through The Open Window, 1956 – 1963 (Highlights)

I can’t believe we’ve reached 18 volumes of Dylan’s acclaimed Bootleg Series. It seems like just yesterday I was writing about Bootleg Series 17: Fragments: Time Out Of Mind Sessions 1996 – 1997. Whoever is curating these sets are just spot on when they focus in on a specific period in Dylan’s career. I have purchased so many of these sets that the Rock Chick has started to question my sanity with the recurring question, “More Bob Dylan?”… I just point at the stack of boxes and say, “Honey, it’s Dylan.” Yeah, I’m not sure how long that’s going to work. The “deluxe” version of this set is 8 CDs! When I heard this was coming out, I thought it was going to be overkill. I’ll admit up front I’m talking here about the 2 CD “Highlights” version of this set. And even with only the 2 discs, it’s 42 songs. Having heard these two discs, I now know what I’m asking Santa for in my Xmas letter to the North Pole. “Dear Santa, please bring the 8 disc version…” I’m not sure I wanna wait for Santa despite the Rock Chick’s protests…

Listening to this early Dylan is astounding. You’re hearing a young artist’s metamorphosis from young teenage folky to superstar. You hear him discovering his own voice. How does someone this young summon this level of emotion in his songs. His talent just explodes in this set like a super nova. This box covers what is basically the first part of the biopic, A Complete Unknown. Prior to Dylan and Lennon/McCartney most pop songs were written by staff writers on what was known “Tin Pan Alley.” As Dylan found his own voice he helped give his generation a voice… which later caused his being labeled as The Voice of his generation…which is always a heavy crown to wear, just ask Kurt Cobain.

We have a host of “informal recordings,” done at home and I’ll tell you I’m stunned at how great the sound quality is on most of those (save for the really early stuff). We have live recordings of Dylan playing in the Village at famous folk joints like Gerdes or the Gaslight. Oh, to time travel and groove with those serious folkies. Although Dylan was folk singer you hear so much early acoustic blues in this stuff. There’s also a live show from Carnegie Hall that’s thrilling to hear. There are radio broadcasts and outtakes from his first album and Freewheelin’. I could listen to “Rocks And Gravel” over and over.

If you liked the Dylan movie or you’re a fan of Dylan’s already, this is a must have. It’s like being a fly on the wall, following him around while he moves from Minnesota to NYC. I am frankly, stunned at how moved I was by this material. And just like that I’m back in on the Bootleg Series. 

After the Small Faces lost Steve Marriott (guitar/vocals) who ran off to join Peter Frampton in Humble Pie, they weren’t sure what to do. They recruited Ronnie Wood, fresh off playing bass for the Jeff Beck Group to be the new guitarist. However, they were very leery of recruiting a new lead singer… they didn’t trust singers any more. But Lane, McLagan, and Jones joined by Ronnie Wood on guitar started rehearsing and jamming. During some of their early rehearsals and recording Wood’s buddy Rod Stewart came and hung out down the hall in the control room listening… Eventually, after a little coaxing from Wood, Stewart took that stroll down the hall and voila, magic.

This single disc covers that magical early time in the Faces prior to the debut. Side one sounds great and comprises a group of four alternate takes of tunes they were prepping for the debut, First Step. We get the first take of “Shake, Shudder, Shiver” written by Lane/Wood. We also get the Lane penned “Devotion.” It’s great to hear these raw, rocking early versions. They were sloppy but then, they were probably drinking and I’m okay with that. We also get an early take of the great “Flying” which was Stewart’s first crack at writing with the Faces. They also do a tune called “Train,” that didn’t make the cut and that’s a shame.

The second side is a little rough in terms of sound quality, it definitely sounds like a bootleg but it’s certainly listenable. It’s all rehearsals, these aren’t alternate tracks recorded in a professional studio. They were recorded at the Stones rehearsal space. We get their take on “Evil” the old Howlin Wolf song, written by legend Willie Dixon, which I love. We also get an early take on “I Feel So Good,” the old Big Bill Broonzy track. And yes, we get “Shake, Shudder, Shiver” again. If you buy the CD or MP3 version you get two extra tracks (“Devotion” and “Stone” both penned by Lane).

Hearing these guys come together into a spectacular blooze rock band is fabulous for this long time fan. I understand this disc is probably only for those of us amongst the Faces fanatics, but I really loved listening to this. Oh, were there only more Faces music out there…

Enjoy these albums and hopefully, if you’re not too naughty you’ll find one or both of these under that beautifully decorated fake tree that your cat thinks is just a large climbing post for their personal use this year…

Cheers!

“Oh the fishes will laugh, As they swim out of the path, And the seagulls they’ll be smiling, And the rocks on the sand will proudly stand, The hour that the ship comes in…”