There is some confusion as to whether Bob Dylan’s January 15, 1965 session at Columbia Studio A in New York was the last for Bringing It All Back Home.
Two writers who had access to Columbia’s archives — Clinton Heylin and Michael Krogsgaard — have documented three sessions that took place on January 13, 14 and 15.
However the Bootleg Series Vol. 7 album, No Direction Home: the Soundtrack, includes a recording of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” that is dated January 16, 1965.
Of course Columbia’s record keeping regarding the Dylan sessions is, as Dylan might put it, “mixed up confusion,” so perhaps that recording was from one of the other sessions.
However photographer Daniel Kraemer writes in “Bob Dylan: A Portrait of the Artist’s Early Years” that he attended “the next to last session” where he says Dylan recorded “Mr. Tambourine Man,” It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding” and “Gates of Eden,” so that had to be the January 15 session. (If you have info on whether there was a January 16 session, please let me know.)
In any case, the January 15 session was momentous. Dylan recorded killer takes of “Maggie’s Farm,” “On the Road Again,” “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding,” “Gates of Eden” “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” all of which were used for Bringing It all Back Home.
In his book, “Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads,” Greil Marcus writes about side two of Bringing It All Back Home: There was no laughter on the other side of the album. There, except for ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,’ where single backing instruments were so subtle they seemed more like emanations from the songs than pieces added to them, this was Bob Dylan as he had always been, alone, with his guitar and harmonica. The side comprised four long songs, all of which promised they would never get near Top 40 radio — and they were so self-evidently full of meaning, so strking, so important, so elegant and so beautiful that their quiet drowned out the noise of the songs on the other side. Bob Dlan may haave meant to draw a line, but it was in a furrow already plowed, and flowers grew over it. The faster he moved, the more his trap held.”
Studio A
Columbia Recording Studios
New York City, New York
January 15, 1965
The 3rd and last Bringing It All Back Home recording session, produced by Tom Wilson.
1. Maggie’s Farm
2. On The Road Again
3. On The Road Again
4. On The Road Again
5. On The Road Again
6. On The Road Again
7. On The Road Again
8. On The Road Again
9. On The Road Again
10. On The Road Again
11. On The Road Again
12. On The Road Again
13. On The Road Again
14. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
15. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
16. Gates Of Eden
17. Mr. Tambourine Man
18. Mr. Tambourine Man
19. Mr. Tambourine Man
20. Mr. Tambourine Man
21. Mr. Tambourine Man
22. Mr. Tambourine Man
23. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
24. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
25. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
26. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
27. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
1-13, 24-27 Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, vocal), Al Gorgoni (guitar), Kenneth Rankin (guitar), Bruce Langhorne (guitar), Joseph
Macho Jr. (bass), William E. Lee (bass), Bobby Gregg (drums), Frank Owens (piano).
14-23 Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, vocal).
On January 13, 1965, Bob Dylan entered Studio A, the Columbia studio that he favored, and during a three-hour session with Tom Wilson producing, recorded 14 songs.
This session, the first of three for an album, Bringing It All Back Home, that would be his transitional move toward rock music, was business as usual. On that day Dylan recorded alone, accompanying himself, as he had done for his previous albums, on guitar and piano and harmonica. There are wonderful takes that were recorded that day, but clearly Dylan was ready to try something new, and he did during the sessions that followed.
From Wikipedia:
The first session, held on January 13, 1965 in Columbia’s Studio A in New York, was recorded solo, with Dylan playing piano or acoustic guitar. Ten complete songs and several song sketches were produced, nearly all of which were discarded.
None of the versions recorded that day were used on Bringing It All Back Home, and only five of them have thus far been officially released.
“I’ll Keep It With Mine” was included on Biograph, and “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Farewell Angelina” are on The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3. One of the “Outlaw Blues” takes was released as an iTunes exclusive in 2005.”California” is on 2009’s NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack – Vol. 2.
If you liked this post, check on the one I did on the second Bringing It All Back Home session here.
Writer Michael Krogsgaard got access to Sony Records’ archives in New York and has published detailed information online.
Here’s his information about the January 13, 1965 session:
Studio A
Columbia Recording Studio
New York City, New York
January 13, 1965, 7-10 pm
Produced by Tom Wilson.
Engineers: Hallie and Catero.
1. Love Minus Zero/No Limit CO85270 Take 1b
2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit Take 2C
3. I’ll Keep It With Mine CO85271 Take 1C
4. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue CO85272 Take 1C
5. Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream CO85273 Take 1b
6. Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream Take 2C
7. She Belongs To Me CO85274 Take 1C
8. Subterranean Homesick Blues CO85275 Take 1C
9. Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence CO85276 Take 1C
10. On The Road Again CO85277 Take 1C
11. Farewell Angelina CO85278 Take 1C
12. If You Gotta Go, Go Now CO85279 Take 1C
13. If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Addition) Take 1
14. Bending Down On My Stomick Lookin’ West CO85280 Take 1C
15. Love Minus Zero/No Limit CO85270 Take 3C
16. She Belongs To Me CO85274 Take 2C
17. Outlaw Blues CO85281 Take 1b
18. Outlaw Blues Take 2C
1 and 2 “Dime Store” on recording sheet.
3 “Bank Account Blues” on recording sheet.
5-6 “B. Dylan’s Later Dream” on recording sheet.
7 “Worse Than Money” on recording sheet.
8 “Subterranean Homesick Blues #10” on recording sheet.
9 “Barbwire” on recording sheet, corrected on the tape box to “Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence”. On the copyright card listed as “Outlaw Blues”.
11 “Alcatraz To The 5th Power” on recording sheet.
12 and 13 “You Gotta Go” on recording sheet.
17 and 18 “Tune X” on recording sheet, corrected to “Key To The Highway” on one tape box and to “Outlaw Blues” on another. This CO number is not listed in the contract cards.
3 released on Biograph.
8 and 11 released on The Bootleg Series.
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