First of all, the timing of its release is very specific in itself. Seven years without any new original material since Under The Red Sky , Bob having heart problems that almost killed him giving the critics a warmer approach to the album and a lot of experimentation and uncertainty, that almost lead to the album not even being released.
Bob took his time more than ever. The entire process started in what seems to be middle to late , and the album was finally released in September A full year of Dylan overthinking an album.
Unheard of! Apparently, these songs were demos only, but still, some of them are probably worthy. It might as well be the next bootleg series: Volume Along with the Oxnard Demos, we could see the second appearance for some songs on the Bootleg Series. It would be nice to see how this song came about and did it actually turn into Standing In The Doorway, or was it just another song that just had very similar lyrics. This song has had two versions on Tell Tale Signs. Both versions are far from a finished song in my opinion, but it does show some promise.
Red River Shore β this song is actually seen by many as a lost masterpiece. We also have two versions of this one, but both lack a few details to be finished and released songs. Maybe there are more and better versions during the sessions? The two versions on Tell Tale Signs do not contain that lyric.
Written in apparently, we have witnessed three different versions on Tell Tale Signs, more than any other song from that Bootleg Series volume, maybe meaning that it was a song which Dylan experimented with the most? Still, it would be nice to see if there might be some really masterful versions out there. One with much clearer vocals and different lyrics some lyrics that later ended up on Sugar Baby from Love And Theft! Those two versions definitely are one of my highlights of Tell Tale Signs, which to this day is my favorite Dylan bootleg series volume probably.
