"Searching For A Gem"

Audio: International All Format Singles 2020s

This page is part of a separate multi-year list by release date of international (now including the USA, which was once listed separately) promo and commercially-released stereo 7" and CD singles and EPs that have been referred to me but do not qualify for my Searching For A Gem list because they contain only performances which are available on officially released Dylan albums. Nevertheless, their interest value or scarcity means they're worth listing here - as far as I know many are not included on any other Internet site. Special thanks to Hans Seegers for many of these items! This page is incomplete - more entries required. All promo-only singles and promo versions of commercially released singles that were formerly listed in the Promotional Items sections of the yearly pages are now listed here.

If you have any entries to add to the list or additions/corrections to existing entries, please let me know! Please note I cannot value your Dylan rarities - see the Mission page for reasons why. Contact the dealers on my Trading page for assistance!

Revised 24 October, 2024.

2020

"Subterranean Homesick Blues"/"She Belongs To Me" - mono 7" single, Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan), 1 Apr 2020:

Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - front with sticker, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	This limited edition mono single on "cherry pink" vinyl was released to mark Bob's tour of Japan in April 2020, now cancelled. It is expected to be limited to 2,500 copies and is a reissue of the original 7" mono single released by CBS/Nippon Columbia in Japan in 1965, before it was taken over by Sony Music. The front artwork is the same as in 1965. This was in fact the first Bob Dylan single ever issued by CBS Japan. Sonny Boy McFitzson points out that for Sony Music to re-release this CBS single is as big a deal as when Columbia/CBS bought the rights to reissue Planet Waves and Before The Flood from Asylum in 1982. He also says these two tracks are remastered and have been taken from 2010's Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings. This should strictly be listed on a 2020s mono singles page, but is listed here as it will probably be the only 2020s mono single. The A-side of teh singke is included in the accompanying 2CD set Japanese Singles Collection, also exclusive to Japan, see 2020.
Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - front scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson (translation below)	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - detail of front, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson (the Japanese text means "Melancholy Expressed in Western Rock"!)		CBS LL-764-C (Japan) - detail of front, scan by Hans Seegers (1965)		CBS LL-764-C (Japan) - front scan by Hans Seegers (1965)
Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - unfolded insert scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson			Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - reverse of unfolded insert, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson
Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - rear of outer sleeve with top and B-side of record, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - rear of outer sleeve with top, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - A-side of record (pink vinyl), scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - B-side of record (pink vinyl), scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - A-side scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson	Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - B-side scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson

Sony Music SIKP-1002 (Japan) - detail of rear of inner sleeve, scan by Sonny Boy McFitzson

The single was expected to have a front sticker with "来日記念盤" for "Japan Tour Edition". It comes in a green outer sleeve and plain white inner sleeve with a new three-fold insert. The front sticker says: "Single cut from Japanese Singles Collection. The hardest-to-get Dylan single reproduced for just one time in 55 years!" as well as:

BOB DYLAN
-----------------------------------
Subterranean Homesick Blues
-----------------------------------
Limited edition exclusive to Japan●7inch analogue
Limited colour record (cherry-pink Vinyl)
End-to-end manufacturing in Sony Group
Inc. liner notes・lyrics・translations●MONO
￥1,500+tax
SIKP 1002

Pages 1-2 of the insert have a commentary about Subterranean Homesick Blues by Yasufumi Amatatsu, but nothing at all about She Belongs To Me (Heckel Sugano isn't involved in the tour editions). Pages 3-5 have the lyrics and page 6has the tour schedule, exactly as shown on page 65 of the monochrome booklet accompanying SICP31361-2 (see 2020), The record has matrix: number SIKP-1002　*1　B1 stamped only on Side B, not on Side A.

Thanks to Jack from Canada, Sonny Boy McFitzson and Hans Seegers for information and scans.

"Murder Most Foul" - track made available on bobdylan.com (USA), 27 Mar 2020:

Picture from bobdylan.com

bobdylan.com has unveiled a previously unreleased song by Bob entitled Murder Most Foul, almost seventeen minutes long, about the assassination of President John F Kennedy in Dallas. TX, on 22 Nov 1963. Bob's message to his fans is:

"Greetings to my fans and followers with gratitude for all your support and loyalty across the years. This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting. Stay safe, stay observant and may God be with you. Bob Dylan"

The lyrics have a reference to 50 years having passed. Speculation was originally that this is an out-take from 2012's Tempest, but it now appears it's from Bob's new studio album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, to be released on 19 Jun 2020. This entry has been added to Online Performances (bobdylan.com).

The song title is a quote from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (Act 1, Scene 5): "Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange and unnatural."

Great news is that Murder Most Foul became #1 on the US "Billboard" chart for the week ending 9 Apr 2020. This is Bob's first #1 in the USA, as his previous best, Like A Rolling Stone, only made it to #2. However, Blowin' In The Wind by Peter, Paul and Mary, and Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds both reached #1.

Thanks to Alan Hoaksey, Fred Muller, Éamonn Ó Catháin and Derek Barker for information.

"I Contain Multitudes" - track made available on bobdylan.com (USA), 17 Apr 2020:

Picture from bobdylan.com

bobdylan.com has unveiled a second previously unreleased song by Bob entitled I Contain Multitudes, (4:38), again from Bob's new studio album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, to be released on 19 Jun 2020.

The photo was taken at Sporthalle Alpenstrasse, Salzburg, Austria, 9 Jul 1996 by Andrea Orlandi. The song title comes from the Walt Whitman poem "Song of Myself" (1855), "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"

This entry has again been added to Online Performances (bobdylan.com).

Thanks to Éamonn Ó Catháin, Harold Lepidus and Andrea Orlandi for information.

"False Prophet" - track made available on bobdylan.com (USA), 8 May 2020:

Picture from bobdylan.com

bobdylan.com has unveiled a third previously unreleased song by Bob entitled False Prophet (6:01). These three tracks are now revealed to be from Bob's new studio album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, to be released on 19 Jun 2020. Sonny Boy McFitzson says that verses six and seven from the published lyrics are reversed.

The skeleton illustration is taken from the cover of "The Shadow" magazine, USA, 15 Jul 1942. This song is said to have been inspired by the 1954 Sun Records B-side, If Lovin' Is Believing by Billy ''The Kid'' Emerson. This time the song title comes from the Bible: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:15)

This entry has again been added to Online Performances (bobdylan.com).

Picture from Instagram

Sun Records 195 (USA, 1954) - B-side picture from www.discogs.com

Thanks to Harold Lepidus and Dag Braathen for information.

"Blind Willie McTell" - 7" stereo single, Secret 7"/Sony Music (no catalogue number) (UK), 1 Nov 2020:

Front in plastic sleeve with auction number, photo by David Flanagan (design by Joe Boyd)	Secret 7" in the UK has released seven stereo 7" singles, including Bob's Blind Willie McTell from The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3, 1991, with bespoke artwork by international artists. There are just 100 copies of each single, each with a different front sleeve, so Secret 7" released 700 unique singles in total. All the artwork was scheduled to be exhibited at NOW Gallery on Greenwich Peninsula in London from 9 - 30 May 2020, with a first come, first served sale on 31 May 2020. Other artists include Aretha Franklin and Miles Davis. This year each record is priced at £70. Originally planned for 31 May 2020, the release was postponed until 1 Nov 2020.		Front photo by David Flanagan\| (design by Joe Boyd)	Alternative front sleeve design by Lisa Paige-Smith, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design, scan by François Guillez
Rear of sleeve with Artist Authentication insert, photo by David Flanagan	Detail of rear of Artist Authentication insert with signature, photo by David Flanagan		A-side in plain inner sleeve, photo by David Flanagan	B-side in plain inner sleeve, photo by David Flanagan (blank)	Plain A-side scan by François Guillez
Alternative front sleeve design by Sebastian König, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Marc Jones, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Elizaveta Kovalevich, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Kate Bird, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by O T Pascoe, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Jemima Sunley, picture from Secret 7" web-site
Alternative front sleeve design by Kenn Lam, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Spencer Wilson, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Ella Masters, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Luke Pantelidou, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Alternative front sleeve design by Joseph Short, picture from Secret 7" web-site	Columbia CSK 4042 (USA, 1991) - front insert scan by David Plentus (two versions of Blind Willie McTell)

Some interesting alternative front designs are included on this page, but all 100 Dylan front designs can be seen here: Secret 7" - WELCOME TO OUR 2020 GALLERY (secret-7.com).

David Flanagan's single comes in a clear plastic sleeve with an auction number sticker ("691"). The rear sleeve is plain white. There is an Artist Authentication insert with the signature of the artist Joe Boyd (not the Fairport Convention producer) on the back. The record is in a white paper sleeve with a plain white label on the A-side. The B-side is blank.

Blind Willie McTell has never before appeared on a 7" single, but two versions, a 4:05 radio edit (R-0438) and the 5:52 album version, were released on a Columbia US promo CD single in 1991. Because the radio edit is a rarity, full details are in 1991. This single contains the full version, so is not a rarity.

Thanks to David Flanagan and François Guillez for information and pictures.

2021

"Jokerman"/"I And I" (The Reggae Remix EP by Doctor Dread) - 12" stereo vinyl EP, Columbia/Sony Music (catalogue numbers?) (USA/Europe), 17 Jul 2021:

Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 19439868941 (Europe) - front with sticker (my copy)

This 12” exclusive to Record Store Day 2021 features two reggae remixes each of Jokerman and I And I, by Doctor Dread. The original versions of both tracks appeared on Dylan’s Infidels album, with Sly & Robbie (Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare) as the rhythm section. The two I And I remixes were previously released on Is It Rolling Bob: A Reggae Tribute To Bob Dylan (see 2004), while the Jokerman remixes are newly commissioned and previously unreleased. Doctor Dread has worked with Bob Marley, Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, Inner Circle, Gregory Isaacs, Luciano, Mad Cobra, Freddy McGregor, Sly and Robbie, Steel Pulse, The Wailers and many others.

Side A: 1. “Jokerman [Reggae Remix]” 2. “Jokerman [Instrumental Dub]”
Side B: 1. “I and I [Reggae Remix]” 2. “I and I [Reggae Dub]”

RAS/Sanctuary RZDDD008 (UK) - front of 2CD set with sticker (my copy, 2004)

RAS/Sanctuary Records 06076-89943-2 (USA) - front with sticker, scan by Hans Seegers (2005)

For full details see 2021.

"Blind Willie McTell (Take 1)"/"Blind Willie McTell (Take 5)" - 7" stereo vinyl single: Third Man Records (catalogue number?) (USA), 20 Aug 2021:

Third Man Records TMR-740 (USA) - front (my copy)

Third Man Records of Detroit, MI, have announced the release of an exclusive limited edition 7" stereo single with two takes of Blind Willie McTell recorded at The Power Station, New York, 11 Apr 1983. Take 1 on the A-side is unique to this single, Take 5 on the B-side is from The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 - Springtime In New York 1980-1985. For full details see 2021.

The acoustic take from 5 May 1983 released on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 in 1991 appeared on a CD single in that year, and also as a limited edition Secret 7 UK 7" single in 2020 (see above).

Columbia CSK 4042 (USA, 1991) - front insert scan by David Plentus

Secret 7 (UK, 2020) 7" single front in plastic sleeve with auction number - photo by David Flanagan (design by Joe Boyd)

Thanks to David Plentus and David Flanagan for information and pictures.

2022

"Love Sick"/"Cold Irons Bound (live)" - 7" stereo vinyl single given away with "Rolling Stone" magazine issue dated Feb 2023: Columbia/Sony Music (no catalogue number) (Germany), Dec 2022:

"Rolling Stone" magazine (Germany) with 7" single, Feb 2023 (my copy)	The German "Rolling Stone" magazine for Feb 2023 includes a Dylan feature article and 7" single containing two tracks from The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 - Fragments: "Time Out of Mind" Sessions (1996-1997).	7" single front (Germany)	7" single rear (Germany)	Detail of 7" single rear (Germany)	"Rolling Stone" magazine (Germany), Feb 2023
	7" single A-side (Germany)	Detail of 7" single A-side (Germany)	7" single B-side (Germany)	Columbia/Legacy 88985450607 (Europe, 2018) - 7" single front (my copy)	"Rolling Stone" magazine (Germany), Feb 2023

The A-side is Love Sick (version 1) from CD2 of both editions while the B-side is Cold Irons Bound (live in Oslo, Norway, 19 May 2000) from CD4 of the Deluxe Edition. The tracks are copyrighted by the Austrian "Austromechana" organisation.

The rear sleeve wrongly says "Rolling Stone Issue 11/2022", but it actually came with the German Feb 2023 issue. The Dylan Bootleg Series set is also wrongly said to have been released on 13 Nov 2022, which was probably the originally planned release date, not 27 Jan 2023. The record has dark red labels and handwritten matrix numbers: A-side - 171804H1/A, B-side - 171804H2/A.

Thanks to Kevin Carroll for pointing out that this new single has the same two songs as the 7" single included with the "20th Anniversary" 2LP release of Time Out Of Mind in 2018. Although they were the same two songs these are different versions: a different studio version of Love Sick and a different live version of Cold Irons Bound. I am sure these choices for the new single were deliberate.

Thanks to Norman McBride and Dr. Walter Roedl for information and to Ronald Born for the copy of the German magazine.

2023

"Love Sick"/"Cold Irons Bound (live)" - 7" stereo vinyl single given away with "Rolling Stone" magazine issue dated Jun 2023: Columbia/Sony Music (no catalogue number) (France), May 2023:

"Rolling Stone" magazine (France), Jun 2023, picture from "Rolling Stone" web-site	Thanks to Jürgen Wasser for information that the above single has now been included with the June 2023 French issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine, although apparently only with online orders, not with copies sold on newsstands. The rear sleeve of the single says it was given away with the French "Rolling Stone" magazine and that the Dylan set is now released. The single now has the logo of the French copyright organisation SACEM and French copyright text on the circumference.				7" single front scan by Benoît Narinx (France)
	7" single rear scan by Benoît Narinx (France)	Detail of 7" single rear, scan by Benoît Narinx (France)	7" single A-side scan by Benoît Narinx (France)	Detail of 7" single A-side, scan by Benoît Narinx (France)	7" single B-side scan by Benoît Narinx (France)

Thanks to Benoît Narinx and Michel Pomarede for further information and scans.

A Flying Pig production