1. 2 Dollars and 99 Cents – Still singing blues grooves – B+
2. Jelly Bean – 60s popper, almost girl groupie without the girl group, really terrific – A
3. Any Time – These are more together blues tracks than the vamps on CD 5, this is closer to completion – A-
4. Down by the Station – Just a piano, Manuel has been all over the first four songs here – A
5. Hallelujah, I’ve Just Been Moved (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan) – Spiritual, with dylan cracking up and the the best of the band joining in – A-
6. That’s the Breaks – Beautiful country folk, like the Carter family – A
7. Pretty Mary – Country blues – B+
8. Will the Circle be Unbroken (written by A.P. Carter) – Bluesing the carter Family up – B
9. King of France – with a tasty little lick, a blues workout… but the sound is brutal – A-
10. She’s on My Mind Again – country track – B+
11. Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan) – piano bangs two notes – B+
12. On a Rainy Afternoon – This is so typical Dylan, just the construction of it it is what we expect from it…. but a little easier going. The thing is, it is just a simple smart song – A
13. I Can’t Come in with a Broken Heart – That lick must have been Robbie Robertson, the band are vamping , the song is breaking and it sounds like the Animals – A-
14. Next Time on the Highway – Blues working out, love the way Bobby sings”death of meeeee”, the break is some of the best guitar on the entire six CDs – A
15. Northern Claim – Blues work out, a little less so – B+
16. Love is Only Mine – “OK, what key haven’t we played in yet” – B
17. Silhouettes (written by Bob Crewe and Frank C Slay Jr.) – Four seasons classic, goofing around by the end – A-
18. Bring it on Home – Nothing like Sam Cooke, with whom it nearly shares a title, it ain’t up to much though the beginning made me think they were gonna play some soul – B
19. Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies (Traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan) – Dylan yodels! – B
20. The Spanish Song (Take 1) – Faux Spanish, I coulda sworn this some where in the middle of a torn in Mexico track was original – B+
21. The Spanish Song (Take 2) – Great vocal workout, “when we’re kissing she knows what we’re missing” – A
22. 900 Miles/Confidential – And that’s it, a reprise of a traditional and a 50s ballad – B+
Comments: If the sound wasn’t so crappy, this might have been my favorite on the entire enterprise. The first 12 tracks are real good with some much closer to being completed tracks. “Jelly Bean”, “Any Time” and “Down By The Station” may not be the major major “sign On The Cross” or “I’m Not There”… still, I don’t know em so it is more exciting.
I may take another shot at the entire collection but the difficulty is, it is so overwritten I can’t see how I can write something not deeply influence by everyone. Is it worth noting how it defines Americana? How it moves from rehearsal to new songs and back? How the sound can be a real problem? How it is a trip through an America hidden from sight in 1967?
CD 6: A
