Bob Dylan Bootleg Series: Travelin’ Through 1967-1969

Bob Dylan Bootleg Series Vol. 15 will be released November 1, and features Dylan’s Nashville sessions including recordings with Johnny Cash and Earl Scruggs.

If you watched Ken Burns’ country music documentary on PBS, you may have just seen the episode covering the period 1968-1972. In it, Burns focuses a lot of attention on Johnny Cash and his relationship with Bob Dylan, centering on Dylan’s Nashville albums (John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline). It’s a period in Dylan’s career that I’ve always found interesting, and now it will be documented in the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series.

The 15th volume of the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series of recordings is due to be released November 1, 2019. This volume focuses on Dylan’s time in Nashville, including two days of sessions recorded with Johnny Cash, his appearance on Cash’s television program, recordings with Earl Scruggs, and outtakes from John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline albums. 

Watch clips of 10 Johnny Cash duets with Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, June Carter and more

Dylan’s Nashville recordings have long been a subject of fascination for fans of Dylan and country music alike. The recordings done with Cash have mostly gone unreleased until now and will be of interest to fans of both musicians. The two perform a version of ‘Mystery Train’ with guitarist Carl Perkins, who contributes to five additional tracks.

The Earl Scruggs session features Randy and Gary Scruggs along with Earl and Dylan and was recorded for a 1971 PBS special entitled Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends. 

The set, entitled Travelin’ Through–1967-1969 will be of great interest to fans of John Wesley Harding since it includes outtakes from the sessions that were done quickly with songs that Dylan had not previously been known to be working on during his time in Woodstock with The Band. 

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