Virtually all the reviews, comments, and information provided here
is based on information previously posted, but scattered through a
variety of sites. Quite of few of these sites are no longer
accessible. I have often edited this material freely and heavily,
often summarizing and paraphrasing it. I have corrected whatever
errors I noted, and updated whatever statements struck me as
outdated; whatever inaccuracies now exist should be presumed my
responsibility. (On the other hand, I have tried to leave
subjective judgments intact, especially when different reviewers
have disagreed!) I have also imposed my own rules of style, to make
it read as consistently as is practical. In short, most of this
information amounts to an unauthorized digest of other reviews.
The following sources are used in this guide, for reviews,
comments, etc.:
CDG -- From one or more of the no-longer-maintained web
guides to unauthorized Dylan CDs (including a few entries from
detailed tradelists).
DEEP -- Excerpted from the virtually comprehensive and
indispensible reviews posted as "DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES," archived
in full length at
Expecting Rain; a small
number of comments are taken from the reviewer's postings to rmd
before he began using the DEEP format. This site will, I hope,
eventually provide direct links to each excerpted review.
EDLIS -- Refers to all postings on rmd on behalf of, or from
the resources of, this eminent organization.
ISIS -- The long-running Dylan fan magazine. Its website is
maintained at Breadcrumb Sins.
rmd -- Information taken from postings to rec.music.dylan
which do not fall into any other listed category. The name used by
the poster is given in (parentheses) after the text, sometimes as
initials. A number of these items were taken from several after-
the-fact web archives, and may be a bit dated.
Heylin -- Abstracted from the published writing of Clinton
Heylin, most often from Bootleg: The Secret History Of The Other
Recording Industry.
Unidentified comments are likely mine; a few pass on generic
information from other sources (e.g., "This CD plays too fast").
I want to thank Dave and Tina for their valuable assistance with
many of the images used on this site; without their help, the
graphics would have proved unmanageable. I heartily recommend
their Dylan picture site, Bob Dylan '99.
I have never purchased, or otherwise provided anything of value
for, a commercial "bootleg&" CD; I intend never to do so.
I own none. This is not to say that I am unwilling to review
copies of such material which have been made without authorization
from, or compensation to, the original bootlegger . . .