October 7th, 2008 sees the release of Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs, Rare & Unreleased 1989-2006. The 2-Disk set is Volume #8 in the artist's Bootleg Series

Tuesday, October 7th was the official release of the anxiously awaited Tell Tale Signs: Rare & Unreleased 1989-2006. As Volume #8, it is the latest in the popular Bob Dylan "Bootleg Series". Tell Tale Signs contains 27 tracks on two disks, including 5 live performances, 6 previously unreleased songs, and a dozen studio outtake/alternate versions of songs from Dylan's last 5 studio albums.

History of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series

In 1991, Columbia Records released a three-disk set of some of Bob Dylan's previously unheard songs, entitled Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3/Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991 "to satisfy the enormous demand for Dylan's much-bootlegged unissued material." In fact , Bob Dylan is probably the most bootlegged rock performer in history, and much was made of the notion that Columbia had simply decided to cut its losses by getting in on the "action".

Since that initial set, there have been five more releases in the succeeding 17 years (including Tell Tale Signs). Each of The Bootleg Series releases, which have been quite popular, have generally been one of two types: either Rarities or historic live performances/tours. The entire series to date:

• Bootleg Series Vols 1-3 / Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991
• Bootleg Series Vol.4 / Bob Dylan Live 1966 - The Royal Albert Hall Concert
• Bootleg Series Vol.5 / Bob Dylan Live 1975 - The Rolling Thunder Revue
• Bootleg Series Vol.6 / Bob Dylan Live 1964 - The Concert at Philharmonic Hall
• Bootleg Series Vol.7 / No Direction Home / Soundtrack to the PBS Series
• Bootleg Series Vol.8 / Tell Tale Signs / Rare & Unreleased 1989-2006

An Uneven Mix is Full of Gems Nonetheless

While Tell Tale Signs includes several gems, the hodge-podge mix of alternates, soundtrack songs, recent live versions, and demos gives it a very uneven feel. It would have been a much stronger single disk, but that point is moot for true Dylan fanatics.

For instance, the wonderful "Mississippi" from 2002's Love And Theft CD is given two slots on Tell Tale Signs, both interesting early takes, neither as good as the album release. While this is the type of deep-track incisiveness that drives Dylan-o-philes (like this author) wild, it may be a bit much for the casual listener, or the fan who just wants to hear what Bob's up to next. To complicate matters, a third --liimited edition-- disk can be ordered for quite a few extra dollars. It contains another outtake of "Mississippi."

There is no argument, however, that there is plenty here to admire, particularly the never-before-heard (as opposed to the "previously unreleased"-but-heard-in-other-versions) songs. Among the beauties here are "Red River Shore" and the haunting piece of Americana "Cross the Green Mountain." Each of the five live performances are great versions of more recent songs, with Bob in strong voice.

All in all, Tell Tale Signs does fit well into the bootleg format of which it is the latest part, perhaps more so than a few of the others. It's really an extension of the initial release, an addendum to the rarities & unreleased Vols 1-3. There's a little bit of everything here, with the potential for making all levels of fans happy.