"Searching For A Gem"

Bob Dylan's Officially Released Rarities and Obscurities

Audio: Online Performances (bobdylan.com)

All the songs listed on this web-site are cross-referenced by song title in these alphabetical pages.
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z

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Exclusive Tracks which have been featured on the Columbia Internet Web site

All performances live unless otherwise stated. These performances were made available on the site for on-line listening, and had copy-protection against downloading. I cannot help in any way with queries about obtaining any of these performances.

For online performances from sites other than bobdylan.com, see here. The Performances page of bobdylan.com was discontinued in the site revamp of Aug 2006, but there is now a Video page, see here .

Revised: 07 January, 2024

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 -
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).

The page on bobdylan.com about the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music has a radio broadcast of an interview with Greil Marcus which includes unreleased performances of Bob Dylan and the Hawks performing Ballad Of A Thin Man from the Royal Albert Hall, London, 26 May 1966, and Bob Dylan and the Band performing the following songs from the Basement Tapes, 1967:

All I Have To Do Is Dream - unreleased song
Clothesline Saga - unreleased alternate version
Lo And Behold! - unreleased alternate version
Tears Of Rage (Bob Dylan-Richard Manuel) - alternate version from the original Basement Tapes circulated to artists in 1968 (R-0382 - see Questionable Releases)
This recording also contains I'm Not There (1956), listed below (BDC1) and I'm Your Teenage Prayer (BDC9) Nick Ralph confirms all the Basement cuts have no clicks or pops, indicating a tape source, not an acetate as I originally stated.

Greil Marcus interview items - although supposedly from acetates, only Ballad Of A Thin Man appears to be.

1997

Dec 1997:

BDC0 Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) - from the 1973 Columbia album Dylan (R-0102) [this was notified to me in Jun 2000] - the full song is included in the songs pages, not just a sample

BDC1 I'm Not There (1956) - unreleased track from the Basement Tapes, 1967, now released on the original soundtrack of the Todd Haynes film I'm Not There, see 2007
It has now been released in Nov 2014 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 - The Basement Tapes Complete (CD3, track 11) and The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 - The Basement Tapes Raw (CD1, track 10), so is no longer a rarity.

BDC2 Blind Willie McTell - Jones Beach, NY, 17 Aug 1997 (A) (R-0272, see 1998)

BDC3 Visions Of Johanna - Historic Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis, MN, 3 Sep 1992

BDC4 Mr. Tambourine Man - Wolftrap, Vienna, VA, 23 Aug 1997 (A)

1998

Jan 1998:

BDC5 Lay Down Your Weary Tune - Carnegie Hall, New York City, 26 Oct 1963 (stereo version), from the cancelled 1964 album Bob Dylan In Concert (R-0370, see 1964)
Thanks to Nick Ralph for pointing out all these 1963 tracks are from acetates, with clicks, etc.

BDC6 John Brown - Town Hall, New York City, 12 Apr 1963 (stereo version), again from the cancelled 1964 album Bob Dylan In Concert (R-0372, see 1964
This has now also been released on the Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Europe 6LP limited edition 50th Anniversary Collection 1963, Dec 2013, and also released on Bob Dylan Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collection, 2018.

BDC7 Cold Irons Bound - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, 16 Dec 1997 (A) (R-0267, see 1998) - now also available on the 2001 Japanese live compilation Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000: Thirty Nine Years Of Great Concert Performances, see 2001

BDC8 You're A Big Girl Now - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, 17 Dec 1997 (A)

BDC9 I'm Your Teenage Prayer - unreleased track from the Basement Tapes, 1967
Thanks to Paul S. Levine for reminding me this was released in Nov 2014 as CD2, track 8, of the 6CD set The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 - The Basement Tapes Complete.

BDC10 Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? - early version released in 1965 as Positively 4th Street by mistake (R-0044, see 1965) (take 17, recorded at Columbia Recording Studios, New York, 30 Jul 1965)
I originally reported that this was in stereo - the 1965 released version was in mono only. However, Nick Ralph points out it was in mono!
Take 17 has now been released in stereo on The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 (6CD Deluxe Edition) CD4, track 2, and The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 (18 CD Collector's Edition) CD6, track 19. Because BDC10/R-0044 is in mono, it remains a rarity.

BDC11 Percy's Song - Carnegie Hall, New York City, 26 Oct 1963 (stereo version), third song from the cancelled 1964 album Bob Dylan In Concert (R-0374, see 1964)
This version includes the spoken intro, the version now released on the Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Europe 6LP limited edition 50th Anniversary Collection 1963, Dec 2013, has had it edited out.

BDC12 The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, 16 Dec 1997 (A)

Feb 1998:

BDC13 Seven Curses - Carnegie Hall, New York City, 26 Oct 1963 (stereo version), fourth song from the cancelled 1964 album Bob Dylan In Concert (R-0376, see 1964)
Thanks to Nick Ralph for pointing out that this performance is slightly cut.

BDC14 'Til I Fell In Love With You - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, 16 Dec 1997 (A)

BDC15 Idiot Wind - Historic Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis, MN, 30 Aug 1992

BDC16 Tight Connection To My Heart - Supper Club, New York City, 17 Nov 1993, second show, from a shelved TV special/video/live album project recorded by Bob in association with HBO - see 1995 for two songs from the early show from 16 Nov 1993, on the Highway 61 Interactive CD-ROM

BDC17 Weeping Willow (traditional) - Supper Club, New York City, 17 Nov 1993, second show, again from the shelved TV special/video/ live album project

Mar 1998:

BDC18 Love Sick - Grammy Awards, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 28 Feb 1998 (R-0263, 5:20, see 1998)

BDC19 Girl Of The North Country - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 20 Jan 1998 (A)

Apr 1998:

BDC20 The Man In Me - Landmark Theater, Syracuse, NY, 28 Jan 1998 (A)

BDC21 Born In Time - New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts, Newark, NJ, 1 Feb 1998 (A) (R-0269, see 1998) - now also available on the 2001 Japanese live compilation Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000: Thirty Nine Years Of Great Concert Performances, see 2001

BDC22 Tears Of Rage (Bob Dylan-Richard Manuel) - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 17 Jan 1998 (A) (R-0277, see 1998)

May 1998:

BDC23 Delia (traditional) - Supper Club, New York City, 17 Nov 1993, second show, third song from the shelved TV special/video/ live album project (see Feb 1998 above)

BDC24 Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Rev Gary Davies, arr. Eric von Schmidt) - with The Hawks, Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, 17 May 1966 (now on Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966 - The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert)

BDC25 The Lonesome River (Ralph & Carter Stanley) - Ralph Stanley and Bob Dylan, from the Ralph Stanley album Clinch Mountain Country (R-0266, see 1998)
R-0266 was released in Oct 2008 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 - Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006, see here. This means it is no longer a rarity.

Jun 1998:

BDC26 Make You Feel My Love - Pauley Pavilion, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 21 May 1998 (A) (R-0443, released on Things Have Changed singles, see 2000)

BDC27 I'm Not Supposed To Care (Gordon Lightfoot) - The Pond, Anaheim, CA, 23 May 1998 (A)

BDC28 Shelter From The Storm - Roseland, New York City, 19 Oct 1994

BDC29 Boots Of Spanish Leather - Glasgow, Scotland, 21 Jun 1998 (A) (R-0276, see 1999)

Aug 1998:

BDC30 Mama, You Been On My Mind - Brussels, Belgium, 17 Jun 1998 (A)

BDC31 Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) - Piazza Napoleone, Lucca, Italy, 6 Jul 1998 (A) (R-0278, see 1999)
Nick Ralph informs me that some Internet sources such as real.com date this track as "Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England, 28 Jun 1998". This is incorrect - the performance is from Lucca.

BDC32 A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - Messehalle, Leipzig, Germany, 2 Jun 1998 (A)

Sep 1998:

BDC33 I And I - Forum, Dijon, France, 1 Jul 1998 (A)

BDC34 Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Rev Gary Davies, arr. Eric von Schmidt) - with The Hawks, Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, 17 May 1966 - a preview of the then forthcoming Bootleg Series Vol. 4 album - same as BDC24

Oct 1998:

BDC35 Newry Highwayman [a.k.a. The Roving Blade] (traditional) - Botanic Gardens, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 19 Jun 1998 (A)

BDC36 Friend Of The Devil (Robert Hunter/Jerry García/John Dawson) - Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany, 31 May 1998 (A) (reported incorrectly to be a possible source of R-0369, the performance by Bob of this song on the Grateful Dead tribute album Stolen Roses, see 2000)

BDC37 Rank Strangers To Me (Albert E. Brumley) - La Scalinata, Rome, Italy, 5 Jul 1998 (A)

Nov 1998:

BDC38 Shake Sugaree (Elizabeth Cotten) - The Roxy, Atlanta, GA, 1 Dec 1997 (A)

BDC39 Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) - Stadtpark, Hamburg, Germany 12 Jun 1998 (A)

Dec 1998:

BDC40 The Times We've Known [Les Bons Moments] (Charles Aznavour) - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1 Nov 1998 (A)

BDC41 Little Moses (Bert A. Williams-Earl C. Jones) - Historic Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis, MN, 2 Sep 1992

1999

Jan 1999:

BDC42 I Believe In You - Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, 3 Nov 1998 (A)

Feb 1999:

BDC43 Across The Borderline (Ry Cooder-John Hiatt-Jim Dickinson) - Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, 3 Nov 1998 (A)

Apr 1999:

BDC44 Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly-Norman Petty) - RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, NY 22 Feb 1999 (A)

BDC45 Man In The Long Black Coat - Ice Palace, Tampa, FL, 30 Jan 1999 (A)

BDC46 To Be Alone With You - RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, NY 22 Feb 1999 (A)

BDC47 Never Gonna Be The Same Again - Ice Palace, Tampa, FL, 30 Jan 1999 (A)

May 1999:

BDC48 Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, NY, 22 Feb 1999 (A)

BDC49 Silvio (Bob Dylan/Robert Hunter) - Ice Palace, Tampa, FL, 30 Jan 1999 (A)

BDC50 Visions Of Johanna - Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME, 25 Feb 1999 (A)

BDC51 Friend Of The Devil (Robert Hunter/Jerry García/John Dawson) - Broome County Arena, Binghamton, NY, 19 Feb 1999 (A) (reported incorrectly to be a possible source of R-0369, the performance by Bob of this song on the Grateful Dead tribute album Stolen Roses, see 2000)

BDC52 Watching The River Flow - Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL, 1 Feb 1999 (A)

BDC53 Make You Feel My Love - UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA, 3 Feb 1999 (A) (reported incorrectly to be the same as R-0433, see 2000, but that is actually BDC26 - see above)

BDC54 Tears Of Rage (Bob Dylan-Richard Manuel) - RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, NY, 22 Feb 1999 (A)

Jun 1999:

BDC55 Blowin' In The Wind - Ice Palace, Tampa, FL, 30 Jan 1999 (A)

BDC56 Love Sick - Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN 6 Feb 1999 (A)

Aug 1999:

BDC57 Tryin' To Get To Heaven - Pavilhão do Atlântico, Lisbon, Portugal, 7 Apr 1999 (A)

BDC58 4th Time Around - Palacio de Festivales, Santander, Spain, 13 Apr 1999 (A)

BDC59 Highlands - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 27 Jul 1999 (A)

Dec 1999:

BDC60 To Ramona - misdated as The Oval, City Hall, Sheffield, England, 30 Apr 1965, from the 2000 DVD edition of Don't Look Back (R-0294, see VHS & DVD 2000s Part 1) Although bobdylan.com gave the correct date of the Sheffield show (it's wrongly listed on the DVD insert as being from 4 May 1965), I now know this performance is not from Sheffield, but from Newcastle, 6 May 1965

BDC61 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 10 May 1965, from the DVD edition of Don't Look Back (R-0296, see VHS & DVD 2000s Part 1)

BDC62 Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) - New Haven Colisseum, New Haven, CT, 10 Nov 1999 (A)

2000

Jan 2000:

BDC63 Things Have Changed - full length video (also available on the Wonder Boys 2000 DVD release, see VHS & DVD 2000s Part 1) to download for a limited period only
The video of Not Dark Yet was also available on the site.

Mar 2000:

BDC64 I Am The Man, Thomas (Ralph Stanley/Larry Sparks) - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

BDC65 Song To Woody - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

BDC66 It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

BDC67 Ring Them Bells - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

BDC68 Visions Of Johanna - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

BDC69 Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon) - Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ, 13 Nov 1999 (A)

2001

24 May 2001:

A 60th Birthday Bonanza of 60 Retrospective Performances!