Biograph (1985)
Disc One
1. Lay Lady Lay
2. Baby Let Me Follow You Down
3. If Not For You
4. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
5. I'll Keep it With Mine
6. The Times They Are A-Changin'
7. Blowin' in the Wind
8. Masters of War
9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
10.Percy's Song
11.Mixed Up Confusion
12.Tombstone Blues
13.The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar
14.Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
15.Like a Rolling Stone
16.Lay Down Your Weary Tune
17.Subterranean Homesick Blues
18.I Don't Believe YOu (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
Disc Two
1. Visions of Johanna
2. Every Grain of Sand
3. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
4. Mr. Tamborine Man
5. Dear Landlord
6. It Ain't Me Babe
7. You Angel You
8. Million Dollar Bash
9. To Ramona
10.Your a Big Girl Now
11.Abandoned Love
12.Tangled Up in Blue
13.It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
14.Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
15.Positively 4th Street
16.Isis
17.Jet Pilot
Disc Three
1. Caribbean Wind
2. Up to me
3. Baby, I'm in the Mood for You
4. I Wanna Be Your Lover
5. I Want You
6. Heart of Mine
7. On a Night Like This
8. Just Like a Woman
9. Romance in Durango
10.Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
11.Gotta Serve Somebody
12.I Believe in You
13.Time Passes Slowly
14.I Shall Be Released
15.Knockin' on Heaven's Door
16.All Along the Watchtower
17.Solid Rock
18.Forever Young
As far as I know, this was the first
box set ever to have been released. I'm not even sure the term "box set" was invented at the time.
If it was the first ever, this was the perfect artist and the perfect
time for someone to release such a thing. The formula on this
compilation pretty much sets the standards for every other box set that
would ever be recorded, mostly familiar material plus a lot of
unreleased gems, with some alternate versions of well known songs tossed
in the mix as well.
This isn't as complete as one might think it should be. Even in 1985,
Dylan really had too much great material for the limited amount of space
that is devoted to these tracks, so be fair warned if some of your
favorites aren't here. Pretty much all of the best of the best is
featured, which I'm sure was the intention. The set isn't exactly
chronological either, although it does seem to follow a loose time line.
Most of the sixties stuff is near the beginning, with most of the
latter day stuff near the end. The fascinating thing about this record,
though, is to listen to the evolution of Dylan's music through the
years. One may have forgotten, but Dylan mostly would change styles
from record to record, and most of his albums are featured here even
though there may only be one song from selected records. He simply had
too much material.
Then there's a wealth of unreleased material as well. I haven't
attempted to try it, but I'll bet if you grouped all of the unreleased
stuff here (including the never before released alternate versions of
some tracks) it would probably account for one whole disc out of the
total three. As he would prove on his first
bootleg compilation a few years later, he had tons of incredible songs
that, for whatever reason, was never legitmately released in the first place.
The album serves as a perfect "biography" of the man, the genius, and
the multitude of songs and styles he managed to master. His recording
career hasn't been as frequent since this record, but it serves as a
great sampler of the many great things he gave the world.
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