BREAKING DOWN BOB DYLAN’S SELF PORTRAIT
By Gloria Keeley and Bob Wilson

In June, 1970, Bob Dylan released his 10th studio album, a two record set titled SELF PORTRAIT. The tenth segment of the BOOTLEG SERIES features out-takes and unreleased recordings from the sessions that gave us this album.  The record was widely scorned, and featured country-flavored tunes long before “country was cool”.  It seems that Dylan’s intention with this release was to shed the “spokesman of a generation tag”, which put a messianic-like pressure on an entertainer to produce answers for national woes like Civil Rights, and an end to the Vietnam War.

Dylan friend and biographer Robert Shelton stated that Dylan felt that SELF PORTRAIT would have been accepted from artists like Elvis Presley or the Everly Brothers.  Dylan felt a sense of rejection according to what Shelton has related.  In 1984, however, Dylan told Rolling Stone Magazine the fuller picture in that he was being perceived as the kingpin of radicals such as Abbie Hoffman, and a “storm the embassy” type of mentality.  Such types had held a festival in the street in front of his Greenwich Village home to try to pressure him into “leading the battle charge” that Dylan wanted no part of.

He was raising a family with his wife Sara, and he was trying to find a niche for them away from the throng who impeded repeatedly on their boundaries. If this seems melodramatic, consider that the Woodstock Festival was held in Bethel, NY in 1969 because Dylan had retreated there, and this was an attempt to lure him out of seclusion.  In response Dylan fled to England to headline a now legendary concert with The Band at England’s Isle of Wight.  When Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech in August 28, 1963, Dylan performed ‘When The Ship Comes in’, and ‘Only A Pawn In Their Game’ (with Joan Baez). Peter, Paul, and Mary also perfromed Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’.  Being viewed as the leader of the counterculture protesting against the war and for Civil Rights could be a dangerous place to stand during this period.

President Kennedy had been assassinated on November 22, 1963, and later Reverend King was felled by bullets on April 4, 1968.  Although only an entertainer, Dylan received death threats while on tour for his perceived role as a spokesman for the youth struggling for change in America.  The pressure on Dylan for the safety of himself and his wife and children must have been intense.  The deflection of a release like SELF PORTRAIT to assuage the limelight makes perfect sense, in text.

The original SELF PORTRAIT was a  two-LP set filled with  pop covers and pre-rock and roll hits. There were also hard to hear cuts from the Isle of Wight concert. The album was boring, to say the least, and the instruments overshadowed Dylan. The sessions for this album began in 1969 but the project was given up on until 1970. At that time Dylan had no original material to draw on. It’s almost as if he had to fulfill his contract, so he put out second-rate tunes. There is no sign of the unique Dylan his fans were used to. Dylan claims he released these inferior recordings intentionally. He wanted people to leave him alone while he tried to get his life back on track from his motorcycle accident. He needed to spend more time with his family.

Whatever the reason for his original recording of Self Portrait, there is no excuse for this current mess. Why in the world Another Self Portrait was released is something we may never know.

Something nice about the original Self Portrait:  I loved “All The Tired Horses”. I’ll tell you why: About 8 years ago a good friend of mine died of cancer. A bunch of us were celebrating her life at a friend’s house. We gathered in a circle with the obligatory candles lit and held hands. We were just going to have our own silent thoughts, when I began to sing softly “All The Tired Horses.” Everyone joined in softly and it was one of the most beautiful moments I had ever experienced. The song lent itself to that very private, sad and celebratory moment.

The Bootleg Series began in 1991 titled The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased). It was a long-box release with 3 excellent discs, some songs sounding better than their original releases. The next release in the series, released in 1998, was The Bootleg Series, Volume 4: Live 1966 – The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert. In 2002 came The Bootleg Series Volume 5: Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Revue. Volume 6, “The Bootleg Series, Volume 6: Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall. The Bootleg Series, Volume 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack, released in 2005, was released at the same time the move No Direction Home was released. The Bootleg Series Volume 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989 – 2006 was released in 2008. The Bootleg Series IB was released in 2010.

With that said, Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series output has been excellent, with live shows, alternate takes and great cover songs.  Now we have Volume 10, the first flop in the series.  It’s hard to believe that there isn’t much better material buried deep in the vaults of SONY. The newest in the Bootleg Series, Another Self Portrait, Vol. 10, sounds like early rehearsals for a mediocre album. The songs come across as boring dirges. Most selections end abruptly with no catharsis. They just leave you hanging.

The series comes with a choice of 2 discs or 4 discs, depending on how high your pain level is, soft and hardcover collectible books, a poster and a price tag of between $20 to $120 dollars. Personally, I’m glad that my copy of the 4 discs was complimentary or I would have felt ripped off. The $120 price tag for the deluxe set makes me want to vomit like a tramp into the sewer as Rockefeller strolls by (see Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back for this charming visual). Something is happening here that is taking advantage of die-hard fans. From a simple cover painting to tracks that may be fun to hear if Dylan were a friend of your cousin’s and sent an advance copy to be played at a family barbecue, there is little here to excite even the most ardent fans with forgiving ears.

Knowing what Dylan is capable of, these main two discs are beyond disappointing. There are two very good songs. “Pretty Saro” is a beautiful folk song and Dylan sings it like a song bird. If there were more songs of this calibre, I would have high praise for this release. Watching the video of this marvelous song, with its shots of midwest fairgrounds, small town scenes, farming families, reminds me of the photos we’d see of Dylan in the 70s, photos of him on his farm with his children and dogs, just leading the quiet country life. He captures so much in this song that it’s too bad the song is surrounded by such meaningless drivel.

Another song on this set that I really like is Eric Andersen’s “Thirsty Boots”. He does a great job and makes it his own, it’s like he wrote it himself. It’s the only cover song on the set that he really takes off on. Instead of buying the new release I’d have been happy with a single of “Pretty Saro” and “Thirsty Boots.”

In a recent interview in Rolling Stone, Dylan asked why he is held to a “higher standard” than nearly every other rock star that has lit up the night sky. At the time it was a rhetorical question; but one that I propose an answer to as we consider this most current release. We hold him to a higher standard because his music reached a higher place and touched the lives of untold millions of people. What is special about his work in large part is the inherent integrity and intelligence behind it. As the scripture that permeates so much of Dylan’s work states, “Do not be conformed to the ways of this world” (Romans 12:2) and by extension to greedy record companies milking the fans. We hold him to a higher standard simply because he is Bob Dylan and no shooting star has reached higher and most likely ever will.

The most appealing of this 4-Disc set is the Isle Of Wight concert which has been remixed and sounds great. This is the concert that saw Dylan ditch Woodstock for. The Isle of Wight is steeped in myth with an audience that included the Beatles. The 4th disc is just a remastered version of the original Self Portrait, as if by sonically “improving” it the sound and songs would miraculously become listenable.

With this all said, I’m sure that fans who have the entire catalog are apt to want to satiate their inner collector and keep their set whole. The price tag here is simply usury.

As Dylan awaits to continue his Never Ending Tour in Oslo, Norway with show number 2,531,
on October 11th, 2013, the Jokerman has had the last laugh.  His attempt to deflect attention from his being the focus of unrealistic hopes in 1970 has become an album worthy of deluxe box-set treatment.  The album cover that he drew in five minutes has become a collectible poster. Imagine what road could have been traveled if the Highway here was numbered 61.  Maybe next time.

Here is a video of Dylan’s reaction of hearing about a death threat prior to a show:

“Pretty Saro”: