All the songs listed in the Official
Rarities section are cross-referenced by song title in these
alphabetical pages.
A-E
F-J
K-O
P-S
T-Z

This yearly page now contains only the main Rarities List. Promotional Items (Albums and Singles) are now here. All Honourable Mentions are now here.
If you have any entries to add to the list or additions/corrections to
existing entries, please let me know!
Please note I cannot value your Dylan rarities -
see the Mission page for reasons why. Contact the
dealers on my Trading page for assistance!
Revised: 01 January, 2012.
Titles in red are not available
on a currently released Bob Dylan CD (for these see bobdylan.com
)
Key to symbols used:
Links to other World Wide Web pages - ![]()
Links to email addresses - ![]()
Links to bobdylan.com for song lyrics -
![]()
Performances currently available on commercial CD are marked by
(these are the ones that count as obscurities
rather than as rarities)
Audience recordings are indicated by (A).
Various Artists - "Blowin' In The Wind: 20 Versions" - compilation CD, Classic Hits RADI-1160 (Germany), 5 Feb 2010:
This unique compilation features 20 versions of Blowin' In The Wind from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan including a live performance by Bob as track 4. Other artists include Dionne Warwick, Cher, Marianne Faithful, Joan Baez, Trini Lopez and The Seekers, though not the Peter, Paul and Mary cover version that broke Bob as a songwriter. The performance by Bob is identified incorrectly as "("live" - TV-Production/CB-TV Canada 1962)". In fact it's from New York in 1963!
R-0714-2 Blowin' In The Wind - Live on TV, Westinghouse
Studios "Folk Songs And More Folk Songs", Mar 1963, broadcast May 1963
This performance from a TV show introduced by John Henry Faulk first appeared on
the Martin Scorsese documentary film "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home", Sep 2005,
see VHS & DVD 200s Part 3. The
Canadian TV appearance wrongly referred to was on the CBC TV programme "Quest",
recorded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 1 Feb 1964, broadcast on 10 Mar 1964.
Bob did not perform Blowin' In The Wind on that occasion!
For a Sep 2010 release with 20 versions of House Of The Risin' Sun, see International Album Releases (Various Artists Compilations) 2010.
Thanks to Hans Seegers for information and scans.
"Dylan Ga Rock [DylanがRock/Dylan 'N' Rock]" -
limited edition 2CD set, Sony Music SICP 2620-1 (Japan), 10 Mar 2010:
This compilation first appeared in
Japan as a promo-only 2CD compilation with a different track list in
1993. This compilation also has the original
1993 graphics by
celebrated Japanese cartoonist and Dylan fan Jun Miura. According to
www.cdjapan.co.jp there will also be a bonus
disc, although Andrew Wellman has received his copy and it doesn't have one.
Other contributors including myself have received copies with a giant poster by Jun Miura and a
Dylan discography on the back (see my photos). Thanks to Gerd Rundel for finding
a promo copy on eBay.
Thanks to Horishi Hemmi for scans of a promo flyer which consists of a folded A4 sheet. It has Jun Miura's poster on the front, pictures of Bob, Jun Miura and Bob's 2010 Japanese tour dates on the back, and details of the Dylan Ga Rock release on the inside.
R-0130-8 Rita May
- Desire out-take released on 7" singles Nov 1976/Jan 1977, see
1976/1977,
lyrics on bobdylan.com
![]()
R-0130 is also on the 1978 Japanese/Australian compilation Masterpieces,
(see 1978) and on two limited
edition Japanese CD releases, Mr. D's Collection #3 and the original
version of Dylan Ga Rock (for both, see
1993). R-0130 appeared on the Sony Music Bob Dylan Custom Mix
CD web-site, Apr 2003, see Online Performances (Other). It was also one of the 42 rarities included
for download with the Aug 2006 Apple iTunes Bob Dylan
Collection, also see Online Performances
(Other).
I'm told the sound quality of this track is much improved over previous
appearances, I'll check it out!
R-0054-10 Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
- recorded live with the Hawks at The Odeon Theatre, Liverpool,
England, 14 May 1966, B-side of US 7" single I Want You, (see 1966)
This live version, never released on a regular Columbia album, is also on the Japanese promo LP Mr. D's Collection #1 (see
1974), the Japanese
promo EP Mr. D's Collection #2 (see
1976), the 1978 Australian set Masterpieces
(see 1978),
the Japanese Mr. D's Collection #3
promo CD (see 1993)
and the Band's retrospective Capitol/EMI set A Musical History, see
2005.
All versions are as far as I know still in mono as originally recorded.
Sadly, it does not appear on the B-side of a withdrawn CBS Spanish EP (see 1972), because the record was
mispressed with It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry from Highway
61 Revisited instead!
R-0469-9 Things Have Changed
- Portsmouth, England, 25 Sep 2000, from the Japanese live compilation
Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000: Thirty-Nine Years Of Great Concert Performances, see 2001
This performance, obviously not on the 1993 release of
Dylan Ga Rock, is also on the Columbia US "blue" and "red"
promo CD singles Things Have Changed Live & Unreleased, the Columbia UK
promo CD The Voice Of Every Generation, the European and Canadian promo
CD singles Live & Rare (for all of these see
2001).
Track listing:
CD1: Tombstone Blues (from Highway 61 Revisited); Maggie's Farm (live from The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack); On A Night Like This (from Planet Waves); Everything Is Broken (from Oh Mercy); It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (from The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3); Thunder on the Mountain (from Modern Times); Union Sundown (from Infidels); Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar (from Greatest Hits Vol. 3); Neighbourhood Bully (from Infidels); Absolutely Sweet Marie (from Blonde On Blonde); Dignity (from Greatest Hits Vol. 3); I Threw It All Away (live from Hard Rain); Odds And Ends (from The Basement Tapes); Saved (from Saved); Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (from Blonde On Blonde); Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum (from "Love And Theft"); All Along The Watchtower (live from Before The Flood).
CD2: Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I Go Mine) (live from Before The Flood); Solid Rock (from Saved); Rita May (R-0130, from B-side of Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again 1976 single); Honest with Me (from "Love And Theft"); Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) (live from Self Portrait); Changing of the Guard (from the remastered 1999 Street-Legal); Highway 61 Revisited (from Highway 61 Revisited); Rollin' And Tumblin' (from Modern Times); Subterranean Homesick Blues (from Bringing It All Back Home); Things Have Changed (R-0469, live from Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000); Wiggle Wiggle (from Under The Red Sky); Shelter from the Storm (live from Hard Rain); Outlaw Blues (from Bringing It All Back Home); Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (from Biograph and therefore still in mono); Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (R-0054, live from B-side of I Want You 1966 single); Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (from Together Through Life); Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You (live from The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 - Live 1975); Like a Rolling Stone (from Highway 61 Revisited).
Two rarities on the 1993 release of Dylan Ga Rock are missing:
R-0084 George Jackson
("Big Band" version)
- lyrics on
bobdylan.com
,
from 7" singles,
see 1971
R-0046 From A Buick 6
- alternate take with harmonica intro (3:06),
from the original US and Japanese stereo pressings of Highway 61 Revisited (see 1965)
Thanks to Michio Kinoshita for information. Thanks to Aaron Derfel for information that six tracks appear to be remastered from their current incarnation on CD - I Threw It All Away, Solid Rock, Saved, The Mighty Quinn, Wiggle Wiggle and Shelter From The Storm. This raises hopes that Self Portrait, Hard Rain, Saved and Under The Red Sky may appear this year in remastered form.
![]() Front scan by Wil Gielen |
Jun Miura also drew the artwork for the 2003 Japanese edition of The Essential Bob Dylan,
see International Album Releases
(Regular) and the 2004 Japan-only Dylan compilation Iden & Tity, see
International Album
Releases (Dylan-Only Compilations) 2000s. Shown here is the 1994 Blues
Interactions Inc. Japanese edition of the book "Bob Dylan 1964-65: A
Portrait of the Artist's Early Years" by Daniel Kramer, with front and rear
cover illustrations by Jun Miura. Thanks to Wil Gielen for information and scans. |
![]() Detail of front, scan by Wil Gielen |
![]() Rear scan by Wil Gielen |
About the pink leaflet, Wil Gielen says: "The coupon (bottom right corner of the leaflet) is for a prize draw, if you send it to Sony you will be entered in the lottery for the following prizes:
D – a Bob Dylan harmonica
Y – a Bob Dylan mouse pad
L – a Bob Dylan T-shirt
A – a Bob Dylan note pad
N – a Bob Dylan book mark
(The numbers at the end of each line are the numbers of each prize available).
Most of the text is explaining how to enter, and the rules (for example, they can only ship to addresses in Japan). The first date (2010-4-30 = 30 Apr 2010) is the closing date for entries, the second date (2010-6 = Jun 2010) is the estimated date for shipping the prizes to the winners. The ‘high-hopes’ is a keyword for an internet search engine, if you enter this into Google etc it should take you to the Sony information page for this prize draw. You can find the homepage at this link: http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/International/Special/high-hopes/"
Various Artists - "Step Right Up!" - compilation CD given away with "Mojo" magazine (no catalogue number) (UK), Jul 2010:
R-0514-3 I Was Young When I Left Home (traditional)
- from the "Minnesota Hotel
Tape", Minneapolis, MN, 22 Dec 1961
This previously appeared on a UK Emidisc
acetate in the 1960s, see Questionable Releases,
and on a bonus disc with the special limited edition of "Love And Theft",
see 2001 and
2002.
This track was also one of the 42 rarities included for
download with the Aug 2006 Apple iTunes Bob Dylan
Collection, see Online Performances
(Other).
Now released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home, Sep 2005,
but in a version with a spoken intro, so R-0514 remains a rarity.
David McBride says: "July 2010 was the 200th issue of "Mojo" and Tom Waits was guest editor.The album was a 15 track bespoke selection culled from his wider playlist that was in the magazine and reflected his current listening tastes. Included was the Bob track I Was Young When I Left Home credited as from "Love and Theft". Phil Alexander, Editor of "Mojo", writes that Tom personally rang up Bob and his management to secure a track for this collection. Other artists featured include Hank Williams, Ray Charles and Howlin' Wolf."
Thanks to Fred Muller for information and scans.
Various Artists - "Crackdown 2" - video game for Microsoft XBox 360, Ruffian Games (catalogue number?) (USA), 6 Jul 2010:
![]() Picture from play.com |
R-0473 Masters Of War - remix of track from The Freewheelin'
Bob Dylan by "Sientific American" for video game Crackdown 2 To see a clip of the remixed version, see here. Thanks to Harold Lepidus and Arie de Reus for information. |
Rhythms Del Mundo - "Revival" - CD release, Transmission Recordings TRANSCD005P (UK), 26 Jul 2010:
Sean Wilentz - "Bob Dylan In America" - 10CD audiobook, Random House Audio 978-0-3077-1497-8 (USA), 7 Sep 2010:
![]() Random House Audio 978-0-3077-1497-8 (USA) - front scan by Arie de Reus |
This 10CD audiobook is described
as "Featuring the songs of Bob Dylan and the music that inspired him" and
has excerpts of fourteen Dylan songs. R-0866 Mr. Tambourine Man - recorded live, Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 17 May 1966, 0:57 excerpt from The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 - Live 1966 R-0867 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall - recorded live, Gaslight Club, New York, Oct 1962, 0:28 excerpt of R-0701 from Bob Dylan Live At The Gaslight 1962, Starbucks/Hear Music/Sony Music Custom Marketing Group (USA), see 2005 R-0868 One of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - 0:30 excerpt from Blonde On Blonde R-0869
Absolutely Sweet Marie - 1:03 excerpt from Blonde On Blonde |
![]() Random House Audio 978-0-3077-1497-8 (USA) - rear scan by Arie de Reus |
![]() Random House Audio 978-0-3077-1497-8 (USA) - CD1 scan by Arie de Reus |
|
![]() Random House Audio 978-0-3077-1497-8 (USA) - CD10 scan by Arie de Reus |
R-0870 Tangled Up In Blue - recorded live, Boston, MA, 21 Nov 1975 (evening show), 0:20 excerpt from The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 - Live 1975
R-0871 Blind Willie McTell - 0:30 excerpt from The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3
R-0872 Delia - 0:30 excerpt from World Gone Wrong
R-0873 Lone Pilgrim - 0:34 excerpt from World Gone Wrong
R-0874 Highway 61 Revisited - 0:32 excerpt from Highway 61 Revisited
R-0875 Chimes Of Freedom - 0:30 excerpt from Another Side Of Bob Dylan
R-0876 Desolation Row - 0:26 excerpt from Highway 61 Revisited
R-0877 High Water (For Charley Patton) - 0:22 excerpt from "Love And Theft"
R-0878 Nettie Moore - 0:30 excerpt from Modern Times
R-0879 Blind Willie McTell - 0:42 excerpt of radio mix of track from The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3, from US Columbia promo CD single, see 1991
The audiobook also contains songs by Blind Willie McTell and other artists. Thanks to Ian Woodward for information and to Arie de Reus for further information and scans.
"Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings" - promo 10CD set in card sleeves, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761042 (USA/Europe), Sep 2010:
![]() Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761042 (USA/Europe) - picture from bobdylan.com |
This album contains the 9 CDs from the commercial boxed
set in card sleeves plus a bonus CD (also in a card sleeve) of the
Japan-only release
Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000: Thirty-Nine Years Of Great Concert
Performances, see 2001.
For the boxed set itself, see
International Album Releases (Multi-Packs) 2010s.
The catalogue number of
the bonus disc is 88697644522, scan to follow. Thanks to Hervé from France for information. |
|
Various Artists - "Journey To Love: Rare & Early Elektra Classics" - compilation CD with "Mojo" magazine Nov 2010 issue, Mojo (no catalogue number) (UK), Oct 2010:
|
Front (my copy) |
This compilation of
tracks selected by Jac Holzman of Elektra Records includes a Dylan rarity. R-0038-3 Downtown Blues (Frank Stokes) - Bob plays piano as "Bob Landy" for Geoff Muldaur (stereo version) For the original Elektra The Blues Project stereo album containing this track, see 1964. R-0038 is also included in the 5CD Rhino compilation Forever Changing: The Golden Age Of Elektra Records 1963-1973, see 2006. Thanks to Arie de Reus for informing me of this album. |
![]() "Mojo" (UK) - Nov 2010 issue with cover CD |
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CD |
Outside of unfolded front insert |
Inside of unfolded front insert |
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"Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963" - limited edition mono CD releases, Columbia/Legacy 88697 794552 2 (USA), 19 Oct 2010; Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697 80442 2 (Europe/Australia), 18 Oct 2010:
This 7-track CD in a card
sleeve was given
away as a bonus disc with copies of The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The
Witmark Demos and the 9CD set The Original Mono
Recordings . All tracks were recorded live at the 1st Annual Folk
Festival, Brandeis University,
Waltham, MA, Friday 10 May 1963. The advance artwork showed a card
sleeve with spine text, which is the US design - the European and Australian card sleeves
have no spine text. It also omitted the text in red "1ST SET" and "2ND
SET", which is present on all three commercial releases shown. The CD itself has the design of a 1960s
"audiosonic" blank
(equivalent to a CD-R today). The European release has "Made in the EU" on
both the rear sleeve and the CD. The Australian release has "Distributed in
Australia by Sony Music Entertainment Australia Pty. Ltd." on both the rear
sleeve and the CD. The European and Australian releases have the Sony Music
logo, omitted from the US release. Thanks to Derek Barker of "Isis" magazine
for pointing out that Bob's set took place on Friday evening 10 May
1963, not "SATURDAY EVENING" as on the back of the sleeve, and also that the
ticket price on the Brandeis poster they published in "Isis" 152 was $4.00,
not $4.40!
R-0859 Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance (incomplete)
R-0860 Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
R-0861 The Ballad Of Hollis Brown
R-0862 Masters Of War
R-0863 Talkin' World War III Blues
R-0864 Bob Dylan's Dream
R-0865 Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
Thanks to "Isis" 152 for the
picture of the Brandeis
poster and the story of how this performance was discovered in the Ralph Gleason
archives by site contributor Jeff Gold, for more details see Jeff's blog here
. Thanks to Steven Jump of Badlands and
Éamonn Ó Catháin
for the artwork, to Derek Barker of "Isis" and Arie de Reus for information and to
Moise Potié, Jeremy Mayle,
Stuart Moore and Bill Hester for scans.
"Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963" - limited edition mono CD release, Sony Music SBCI 80013 (Japan), 5 Mar 2011:
"Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963" - promo mono CD release, Columbia/Legacy A 53130 (UK), Apr 2011:
"Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963" - mono CD release, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697 84742 2 (Europe), 12 Apr 2011:
"Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963" - mono 180gm vinyl LP release, Columbia/Legacy 88697 84743 1 (USA), 16 Apr 2011; Columbia/Legacy/Music on Vinyl MOVLP 286 (NL for Europe), 26 Apr 2011:
Thanks to Dag Braathen for finding the picture above right on eBay of a pirate copy with white vinyl and picture labels. This is definitely not an official Columbia release!
Promotional/Regular Items for 2010
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Stereo promo albums and singles for 2010 which don't contain rare material but which are still very collectable are now included with promo releases of regular albums and commercially released singles on the appropriate page in International Stereo Releases. |
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A Flying Pig production
Listings © 1998-2012
The rights to material from all quoted contributors remain
with them. Copyright of all included artwork remains with the various record
companies and artists.
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