Bob Dylan Mines ‘Time Out Of Mind’ Era For ‘Bootleg Series’

Bob Dylan’s latest bootleg series offering, Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17, is set to arrive on January 27, 2023 via Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. A preview of the collection arrived in the form of an outtake, “Love Sick” (Version 2),” from Dylan’s Album Of The Year Grammy-winning 1997 album.

His first record since 1990’s Under The Red Sky, 1997’s Time Out Of Mind marked a mid-career renaissance for Dylan. The LP not only took home the coveted AOTY Grammy but also Best Contemporary Folk Album and standout “Cold Irons Bound” garnered Bob the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1998 awards.

The journey to Time Out Of Mind began two years earlier when Dylan convened with Oh Mercy producer Daniel Lanois at Teatro studio in Oxnard, California to demo a group of songs. Players for the sessions included Lanois on guitar and organ, Tony Garnier on bass and Tony Mangurian on drums and percussion.

Recording for the LP began in earnest when Dylan moved the sessions to Criteria Studios in Miami in Janaury 1997. These sessions featured a conglomeration of all-star session players and members of Bob’s touring ensemble including Bucky Baxter (acoustic guitar, pedal steel), Duke Robillard (guitar, electric Gibson L-5), Robert Britt (Martin acoustic, Fender Stratocaster), Cindy Cashdollar (slide guitar), Tony Garnier (bass guitar, upright bass), Augie Meyers (Vox organ combo, Hammond B3 organ, accordion), Jim Dickinson (keyboards, Wurlitzer electric piano, pump organ) and drummers Jim Keltner, Brian Blade and David Kemper.

Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17 takes Dylan fans on a five-disc journey documenting the LP’s creation. Disc one contains 2022 remixes — by Michael H. Brauer at Brauer Sound Studios — of the album’s 11 tracks.

“The album itself has been remixed to sound more like how the songs came across when the musicians originally played them in the room, without the effects and processing that Lanois applied later,” ​​Steven Hyden wrote of the remix in his liner notes. “It’s not meant to replace the Time Out of Mind that won all of those Grammys a quarter-century ago; it’s a reimagining, an alternate view of a great work of art. If the original album remains mythic and enigmatic, this Time Out of Mind puts you in close proximity to the players.”

Discs Two and Three feature rare outtakes and alternate versions of songs from the era including demos of four Dylan originals not included on the album and more. Disc Four compiles live performances as Dylan supported the landmark LP between 1998 and 2001. Disc Five presents studio versions of the four songs omitted from the album along with more live performances previously appearing on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006.

Preview Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17 with a lyric video for “Love Sick” (Version 2)” below:

Head here for Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions tracklist info and more.