Dylan Christmas Album...
chris r hanzl
At last, definite evidence has come to light that confirms that, in the
autumn of 1965, Bob Dylan *did* record a Christmas Album.
The existence of the Dylan Christmas Album has always been hotly denied
by Dylan himself, his management, and his record company. Even the most
determined bootleggers and Dylanologists have been unable to obtain
extant copies of the record, the master tapes of which were allegedly
destroyed when the project was suddenly nixed by Dylan himself at the
eleventh hour.
Now, "Thrills" has obtained a copy, rumoured to be one of only seven
copies in the world, the other copies being in the possession of Dylan
himself, his then manager Albert Grossman, ex-CBS president Clive Davis
and anonymous French collector said to have paid $100,000 for it in
1966.
How this copy of the album - which was entitled "Snow Over Interstate
80" - came into our hands, must of course, remain the darkest of
secrets. But here, for your delight, are the true facts.
The sessions which produced "Interstate" took place in New York City,
between the completion of "Highway 61Revisited" and the commencement of
the "Blonde On Blonde" sessions. Considering the album comes from
Dylan's 'classic' middle period, most of the tracks are, frankly,
disappointing.
It has been said that the idea of a Christmas Album was forced on Dylan
against his will by commercial pressures and a previously unnoticed
clause in his recording contract. Dylan seems to have treated the idea
with an intriguing mixture of enthusiasm and commercial cynicism.
The album had apparently been completed, mixed, and several thousand
copies pressed before Dylan reversed his decision and cancelled the
whole project, after threatening never to perform again if the album
were released. Even the cover artwork had been tentatively completed
[when Dylan announced his decision], the rough of which "Thrills" shows
for the first time.
Side one kicks off with a dynamic up-tempo version of "Visions Of
Johanna", in which the "Nightingale's Code" version of the lyrics is
laid over a rocking Kooper/Bloomfield workout on what is at root, a
standard Jimmy Reed riff. The track runs to some seven minutes and
tends to slide over the edge towards the end when Bloomfield and Kooper
indulge in a lengthy pre-"Super Session" trading of solos.
Track two is a studio recording of "Tell Me Mama" that Dylan performed
regularly during the 1966 tour with The Band and is already preserved on
the "Live At The Albert Hall" bootleg.
The third track is the most bizarre on the record. Would you believe
"Frosty The Snowman" in the style of the Ronettes on Phil Spector's
Christmas album with The Zim giving a three year advance preview on his
"Nashville Skyline" voice? Fantastic, but true. Dylan drawls out the
lyrics, and at one memorable juncture after yelling ".... and two eyes
made out of co-a-l" adds a spontaneous whoop of "believe me mama".
The production credit for "Frosty" is mysteriously given to one "Delmore
Nis Won", which, according to more than one reliable source, was Phil
Spector and Brian Wilson working in uneasy harness at Dylan's personal
and adamant insistence.
The first side closes with a massed female chorale of dubious pitch
singing "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas" against an almost mournful
background of strings, with an occasional overdub of some lazy slide
guitar, sounding suspiciously like early Ry Cooder. The chorale was
apparently made up of youthful Greenwich Village folkies, including
(according to some sources) the anonymous and bespectacled eighteen year
old Patti Smith, and the Warhol model Edie Sedgwick.
Dylan occurs nowhere on the entire cut unless it is he strumming lazy
twelve string rhythm guitar. Production here, however, is credited to
Dylan.
Side Two opens with the title track, "Snow Over Interstate 80" - which
is possibly as magnificent as anything on "Blonde On Blonde", with
lines like:
"Arabella talks so sweetly
Her Chevy's broken down
As the snow piles on her windshield
Winston's back in town ... "
Backing is the 'jingle jangle' sound of numbers like "Stuck Inside of
Mobile With Thee" supplemented at the end with some heavily echoed
sleigh bells.
It's followed bv "Farewell Angelina", which is frankly, just not that
good. It seems to have been left over from an earlier session -
possibly from "Another Side" - and features Dylan playing acoustic and
singing halfheartedly. Joan Baez did it better.
Then we are confronted by another sop to a 'Dylan Christmas Album', as
he recites, with no instrumental accompaniment, the relevant part of St.
Matthew's gospel - "And there came a great light, etc."
It takes a little over a minute. There is nothing else to say.
Those of you still reading this will probably be familiar with the
widely bootlegged "She's Your Lover Now", which is the next cut. In
fact, none of the bootleg versions has a completely mixed ending like
the version presented here, which has a fade-out time of some two
minutes.
Next up is an eight minute marathon cut, called "Freewheelin'", never
previously bootlegged or published. It's a slow acoustic number
supplemented with spartan bass and drums and a sinewy guitar from what
must be Robbie Robertson, and seems to be another diatribe against Suzy
Rolloto [sp.] whom enthusiasts recall is pictured walking down
snow-bound streets of New York with Dylan on the cover of "Freewheelin"'
album.
The album then swings back in its schizoid fashion to a final stab at a
seasonal offering with "Silent Night" with what sounds like Michael
Bloomfield playing primo tacky acoustic and Dylan's almost consistently
out of tune singing.
It's easy to see why Dylan insisted on the whole thing being scrapped
despite the outstanding magnificence of a handful of the cuts. The
title track was also being considered for a Christmas Single by all
accounts.
A later Dylan Christmas single rumoured to be called "Woodstock Yule",
and alledgedly arising from the "Self Portrait" sessions, has never come
to light.
- ---------------------- End of 1975 article ----------------------
------------------------------
Alan Fraser
says...
>
>DYLAN - the missing Christmas album
>
>At last, definite evidence has come to light that confirms that, in the
>autumn of 1965, Bob Dylan *did* record a Christmas Album.
This hoax article from a UK music magazine is quoted in Paul Cable's
1978 book of Unreleased Dylan Recordings, but it's good to have the
full original text - thanks.
Alan
4Ke...@interlog.com
chris r hanzl wrote in message
<19991130.044438.4...@juno.com>...