My recent post about what I’d heard via an email from someone calling himself Raul Spendliv has excited a lot of comment, a lot of people treating what I wrote, understandably, with some suspicion. More than a few correspondents wanted to know if what Raul had to say was actually true, while ev...
My recent post about what I’d heard via an email from someone calling himself Raul Spendliv has excited a lot of comment, a lot of people treating what I wrote, understandably, with some suspicion.
More than a few correspondents wanted to know if what Raul had to say was actually true, while even more wanted to know, exactly, who this Raul actually is – although a couple of you seemed convinced it was an alias for Bob himself (I thought it sounded like a character from a Pynchon novel).
I don’t know the answer to either of those questions, but was intrigued enough by Raul’s message to pass on what he’d told me.
And while there were some blisteringly scornful dismissals of Raul’s email, I’ve had a few emails claiming to add more information about the alleged content of the unconfirmed album – which I’ll pass on here, without being able to vouch entirely for its veracity.
According to one visitor to my blog, the album Dylan’s said to have been working on includes a version of Loretta Lynn’s “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly”, something that clocks in at least the length of “Highlands”, the 17-minute epic that closed Time Out Of Mind”, another song with the unlikely title of “George, I Miss You, Man” and another called “To Build A Fire”.
Mr Frosty Mouth, meanwhile, claims to know the titles of up to 11 songs Dylan’s and has even provided a brief comment on the tracks. I again merely reprint it here, and make no claims for its accuracy. Be a hell of a thing if it was on the money, though.
Anyway, here’s Mr F Mouth’s tracklisting;
1 The Third On The Wire (‘a slow-burner, Bettye Lavette said to be on backing vox)
2 Hard Lines And Soft Rhymes (‘doo-wop style, well kinda’)
3 Went To The Well And Got The Bell (Blues For Elmore James) (‘Garth Hudson on synth!’)
4 What Angel Fell
5 Coming In From The Cold (‘said to be in the vein of ‘Lonesome Day Blues’, nothing to do with Bob Marley’)
6 Talkin’ the Killin’ Floor Blues (‘Garth on synth again!’)
7 The Prince And The Warden (‘feels like some old folk tune’)
8 Down The Deep River Blues (loud and rockin’, the lyrics mention Katie Melua! Holy shit!’)
9 Somebody In My Coat (But Not Me) (‘weary piano blues, in the vein of ‘Working Man’s Blues’)
10 My Bad Brain (‘a waltz! Incredibly funny’)
11 Waiting For The Train Not To Stop Here Anymore (‘nine-minutes plus, makes this the long and lonesome album-stopper we’ve grown used to, ain’t we?’)
If anybody’s got anything else to add, I’m all ears!
