Bob Dylan, The Complete Album Collection Vol. One. Happy 2019!

This all started with a trip to the Mondo Scripto exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery, back in November.

I’m not a big fan of Dylan’s drawings, but the event took me back to the lyrics and the songs which, of course, are sublime. Then, I was blessed with some new stuff for Christmas (Trouble No More, from the Bootleg Series) .

And then the itch started. I remember this collection being released in 2013. In its original form, it came with a Harmonica-shaped USB stick containing all the the music for easy download. I really wanted it back then, but I resisted. It contains every studio and live album by Bob Dylan, from 1962’s eponymous debut to 2012’s Tempest (his last album, so far, of original material). That’s 41 albums in all.

It doesn’t include the Bootleg Series, of which there are now 14 albums, and the various Greatest Hits collections have been replaced with a two-disc collection, Side Tracks, that sweeps up all the otherwise unreleased tracks.

Some of these albums I’ve only had on vinyl. Others I’ve never heard (Together Through Life, Christmas In The Heart, anyone?).

At first inspection, it looks fantastic. Each disk is in a miniature card reproduction of its original sleeve. Obviously, the sleeve notes become too small to read, but they are included in a nice little hard-back book, along with the original artwork.

Perhaps, I should just start at You’re No Good and work my way through, track by track.

I may be some time.