Bob Dylan

An endless amount of hyperbole could be heaped upon the majestic Tell Tale Signs but ultimately it’s a collection of rare and obscure Bob Dylan music best appreciated firsthand with one’s own ears and heart. Perhaps more than any other volume of Columbia’s lauded (and, by snobbish Dylanologists, often maligned) official Bootleg Series, number eight is as inviting to fans of dizzying musicianship and song craft as it is to hawkish Dylan completists. Marking a creative renaissance that spawned rich, rugged, uncompromising albums like Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, "Love and Theft” and Modern Times, much of this rescued-from-the-cutting-room-floor collection of alternate takes, lost songs and soundtrack work is evidence of Dylan’s strongest writing, singing and musical intuition. The ingenious humour and tenor of the material pours out of speakers with sensitive conviction, emphasizing the singularly staggering swagger that Bob Dylan has peerlessly commanded, particularly over the last 20 years.