Side 1 edit
The chorus of "Odds and Ends", the opening song ("Odds and ends, odds and ends/Lost time is not found again"), functions as "a kind of editorial comment on the entire Basement Tapes", writes Andy Gill, emphasizing the songs' "fragmentary form and fleeting pleasures".[1] Heylin suggests that this was one of the final basement songs to be recorded, and that here Dylan acknowledges that "when it came to spouting catchphrase choruses while espousing mock profundities in the verses, the process had just about run its course. Dylan admits as much by singing, 'I've had enough, my box is clean/You know what I'm saying and you know what I mean'."[2]
Manuel and Danko laid down the basic track for "Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)" in Woodstock in 1967, according to Griffin, and the contributions of the rest of the Band were overdubbed eight years later.[3] Critic Dave Hopkins notes that the demo version included as a bonus track on the 2000 Music From Big Pink reissue is the same performance, without overdubbing.[4] Griffin calls the song "charming in its own right", but says it would not have fit in on the original Music From Big Pink because it was all too obviously from their past: "an up-tempo bluesy number that the Hawks might have played" in rural Ontario in 1964.[5] Barney Hoskyns describes the song as one of the Band's early recordings that revealed "the breathtaking scope" of their musical range; he praises "the rollicking bar-room R&B style" of the performance.[6]
According to Shelton, "Million Dollar Bash" epitomizes what he sees as one of The Basement Tapes' principal themes, joy.[7] Griffin named his detailed book about The Basement Tapes after this song, which has a similar instrumentation to 1950s rockabilly hits. According to Griffin, "Like Elvis's earliest single on Sun Records, the lack of a drummer does not prevent the assembled from swinging on this nonsense like the experienced players they are."[8] Heylin heard in this song two references to the Coasters: "'Along came Jones'—a song title in itself—and 'emptied the trash'—a reference to 'Yakety Yak'."[9]
"Yazoo Street Scandal" is one of the earliest examples of the Band's "grittily distinctive" sound coming together, according to Hoskyns.[6] Its author, Robertson, has explained that it was based on an actual Yazoo Street in a town in Arkansas, Helm's home state: "I thought, 'Wow, they don't have streets like that in Canada. There's no streets up there called Yazoo!' It was like, 'Jesus, let me make up a little story here about stuff going on in this kind of almost red light district.' Everything was lit in red in that song for me." Initially, Robertson recorded the lead vocal for the first version of this song, but because it was set in the South, the Hawks decided that Levon Helm would be a more appropriate singer,[10] employing what Hoskyns describes as his "best redneck-wildcat yelp".[6]
The release of "Goin' to Acapulco", which had not previously appeared on any demo tapes or bootlegs, made clear that more basement tracks existed than fans had believed.[11] "The song proposes a romp in that posh Mexican resort, but the heavy spirit is down in Juarez again", writes Shelton, who hears the anguish of Blonde On Blonde return to haunt the "basement proceedings".[12] Heylin comments on its uninhibited sexual innuendo, "featuring the usual debauched narrator, rambunctious harmonies, and euphemistic ribaldry" of what he regards as the best basement songs.[13]
Probably one of the first numbers written by Manuel and Robertson in mid-1967, "Katie's Been Gone" has been described as one of "the songs that all but announced the birth of the Band".[6] A different mix of the same recording was released as a bonus track on the 2000 Music From Big Pink reissue.[4][14] Griffin believes this was recorded in Woodstock, with drums overdubbed in 1975. Hoskyns asserts it was "almost certainly" recorded at CBS's Studio E in New York in September 1967, with a drummer present, possibly Gary Chester.[15]
Side 2 edit
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References edit
- ^ Gill 1998, p. 113
- ^ Heylin 2009, p. 377
- ^ Griffin 2007, pp. 295–296
- ^ a b Hopkins 2000
- ^ Griffin 2007, pp. 254–255
- ^ a b c d Hoskyns 1993, p. 145
- ^ Shelton 1986, p. 384
- ^ Griffin 2007, p. 191
- ^ Heylin 2009, p. 338
- ^ Bowman & 2000 (1)
- ^ Griffin 2007, pp. 214–215, 296–297
- ^ Shelton 1986, p. 385
- ^ Heylin 2009, p. 281
- ^ Griffin 2007, p. 297
- ^ From Hoskyns's liner notes for Music From Big Pink's 2000 reissue. Hoskyns was commissioned to write the liner notes for the 2000 Band remaster series, but Capitol Records decided not to use them and replaced them with notes written by Rob Bowman. Hoskyns's original notes have been published online: Hoskyns 2000.