All the songs listed in the Official
Rarities section are cross-referenced by song title in these
alphabetical pages.
A-E
F-J
K-O
P-S
T-Z
CBS A 3904 7" single (Italy, 1983), with Angel Flying Too Close
To The Ground (R-0156) as the B-side - this song was used as the B-side
with four different A-sides!
This yearly page now contains only the main Rarities List! Promotional Items (Albums and Singles) are now here. All Honourable Mentions are now 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: 18 September, 2024
Titles in red are not available on a currently released Bob Dylan CD (for these see bobdylan.com )
Key to symbols used:
Links to other World Wide Web pages -
Links to email addresses -
Performances currently available on commercial CD are marked by
(these are the ones that count as obscurities
rather than as rarities)
Allen Ginsberg - "First Blues" - stereo vinyl 2LP set: John Hammond Records W2X 37673 (USA), early 1983; 2CD set release: Water Records water166 (USA), 21 Feb 2006:
R-0157 Going To San Diego (Allen Ginsberg) - this song is copyrighted to Allen Ginsberg even though Ginsberg publicly credited Bob with the musical arrangement
R-0158-2 Jimmy Berman Rag (Allen Ginsberg/Bob Dylan) - this track previously appeared on a 1974 anthology Disconnected - The Dial-A-Poem Poets Double, Giorno Poetry Systems (USA), see 1974
R-0159 Vomit Express (Allen Ginsberg/Bob Dylan) - also released on Allen Ginsberg's 1994 Rhino Word Beat CD boxed set Holy Soul Jelly Roll, see 1994
All three Dylan rarities are on Side 1.
In "Tangled Up In Tapes" Glen Dundas records that Bob may also have played on Tyger (the famous William Blake poem set to music by Allen Ginsberg) in New York on 20 Nov 1971 (Side 4, track 2). However, he states that this track may have been recorded at a later date without Bob, as indeed it was, in Feb-Mar 1981, as stated on the back page of the "Gallimaufry", where the actual musicians are credited.
John Hammond Records W2X 37673 (USA) - detail of rear, scan by Kenneth Robson
(compare with 2013 release)
Thanks to Kenneth Robson for information and scans of the LP set. The copy shown has a gold promo stamp shown above right.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus for news that this album has been re-released on CD and vinyl by Ginsberg Recordings and was launched at Housing Works Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, in Soho, New York, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday 16 Jan 2013. Lou Reed was one of the Ginsberg collaborators and colleagues attending. There was an exclusive limited seven track vinyl edition available at the event and online. For more details see here . Scans of the 2013 CD and 2LP vinyl releases will be added in due course. As the seven track vinyl edition has only R-0157 and R-0159, it has a separate entry in 2013.
Omnivore Records 7 DVCD-175 (USA) - front of sealed copy with sticker (2016, my copy) |
A 3CD set, The Last Word On "First Blues", was released on Omnivore Records in May 2016, see 2016. This set includes the two LPs in this set as CDs 1 and 2, including the three tracks with Dylan, and a bonus disc containing four previously unreleased recordings with Bob: Nurse's Song, Spring (Merrily Welcome) and September on Jessore Road from these 1971 sessions, and Do The Meditation Rock from Rundown Studios, Santa Monica, CA, in Feb 1982. The versions of Nurse's Song and September on Jessore Road from Allen Ginsberg's 1994 Rhino Word Beat CD boxed set Holy Soul Jelly Roll, see 1994, are different recordings without Bob. Another version of Nurse's Song performed by Allen Ginsberg at Gerdes Folk City, NYC, October 23, 1975, was included in the film Renaldo & Clara, see VHS & DVD 1970s. |
Keith Green - "I Only Want To See You There" - stereo vinyl
LP releases: Sparrow
Records SPR 1066 (USA)/Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK), 1983; Stereo cassette
releases: Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (USA/Canada)/Sparrow Records TC BIRD 143
(UK), 1983:
Keith Green was killed in an air crash on 28 Jul 1982 and this album
was released posthumously.
LP releases: Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA)/Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK), 1983:
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R-0160 Pledge My Head
To Heaven (Keith Green) (3:00) - Bob plays harmonica on this
remixed/edited version of R-0153, the 3:53 track from Keith's 1980 album So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt...
(see 1980) R-0160 is track 2 on Side 2. |
Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA) - rear picture from www.discogs.com |
Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA) - Side 1 picture from www.discogs.com (no Dylan) |
Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA) - Side 2 picture from www.discogs.com (includes R-0160) |
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Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - front picture from www.discogs.com |
Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - rear picture from www.discogs.com |
Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - Side 1 picture from www.discogs.com (no Dylan) |
Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - Side 2 picture from www.discogs.com (includes R-0160) |
Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA)/Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - booklet front picture from www.discogs.com) |
Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA)/Sparrow Records BIRD 143 (UK) - booklet page with discography, picture from www.discogs.com |
Thanks to Peter Gilmer for the information that Bob's harmonica is "all but drowned by an electric guitar" in this version, which may be an alternate take, whereas in the original version it is very prominent. The version that later appeared in 1987 on the Sparrow Records Keith Green compilation The Ministry Years Vol. 1: 1977-79 (see 1987) is the original mix (R-0153). This 1983 album is therefore only for completists.
This album is available for download on iTunes, although there has never been a CD release.
Cassette releases: Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (USA/Canada/Australia)/Sparrow Records TC BIRD 143 (UK), 1983:
Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (USA) - outside of cassette insert, picture from www.discogs.com |
More scans required of
the USA and Canadian cassette releases! The UK cassette release has a folded insert. The cassette is white with black text, there are no paper labels. |
Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (Canada) - outside of cassette insert, picture from www.discogs.com |
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Sparrow Records TC BIRD 143 (UK) - outside of cassette insert, scan by Kenneth Robson |
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Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (Australia) - outside of cassette insert, photo by Stuart Moore |
The Australian cassette release also has a folded insert. The cassette is again white with black text, there are no paper labels. |
Sparrow Records SPC 1066 (Australia) - cassette Side 1 photo by Stuart Moore (no Dylan) |
Thanks to Dag Braathen, Kenneth Robson, Jean-Pol Hiernaux
and Stuart Moore for information and pictures.
Alan Leatherwood - "Rockabilly Music And Brakejobs" - stereo vinyl LP, Moon Records LP-777 (USA), 1983:
Thanks to Ronald Born and Tim Dunn for information and scans.
"Bob Dylan The Legend" - promo and commercial vinyl LPs, Columbia Opus 412.050 (Brazil), 1983:
This compilation was exclusive to Brazil and contains two rarities. R-0385 Baby Stop Crying - alternate mix from the
version on Street-Legal, see 1978 |
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Columbia Opus 412.050 (Brazil) - rear corner of promo copy with a gold CBS stamp with the words "AMOSTRA INVENDÁVEL' |
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R-0075-3 A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
- live from The Concert For
Bangladesh, recorded live with George Harrison, Leon Russell and Ringo
Starr, Madison Square Garden, New York, 1 Aug 1971 (including introduction by George Harrison).
For the
original Apple vinyl boxed set release, see 1972.
For the remastered Epic 2CD version with a bonus track, see
2005. As far as I know this is the only time a song from the Bangladesh concert has
appeared on an exclusively Dylan album from Columbia.
Another oddity of this release is that Mr Tambourine Man is credited to "B. Dylan/A. Grossman"! Lars M. Banke reports a rumour that this album contains a completely new mix of I Want You, but this does not appear to be true.
Tracklisting:
Side 1: Like A Rolling Stone; Lay, Lady, Lay; Baby, Stop Crying (alternate mix); Blowin' In The Wind; Mr. Tambourine Man; I Want You
Side 2: Hurricane; Just Like A Woman; If Not For You; Wigwam; A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall (live from The Concert For Bangladesh).
Note the label differences between Hans Seegers' copy and mine, both of which are promos. Apart from the colours of the background and the red text including the Columbia logo ring, the "C.G.C." numbers above the "Stereo/Mono" text are different.
Thanks to Alex Froemming from Brazil for the promo copy of the album! Thanks to Hans Seegers for scans and to Ronald Born for additional information.
"I And I"/"Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" (Willie Nelson) - 7" promo and commercial singles, CBS A 3904 (NL/Italy), Nov 1983:
CBS A 3904 (NL):
The title of this song is shown incorrectly as "Angels Flying..." on some rear sleeves and B-side record labels. Also, some record labels attribute the song incorrectly to "Bob Dylan" and "Special Rider Music". The B-side of this Dutch single was first incorrectly credited to Bob and then replaced with the correct credit to Willie Nelson. The song was listed incorrectly as "Angels Flying..." on both the rear sleeve and the B-side, and not corrected on the replacement B-side.
CBS A 3904 (Italy):
Thanks to Hans Seegers, Dag Braathen and Sergio Mariano Romay for information and scans.
"Union Sundown"/"Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" - 7" singles, CBS A 3916 (UK/Spain), Nov 1983:
CBS A 3916 (UK):
R-0156-2 Angel
Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson) - Infidels out-take, B-side of
singles The acetates of this single are interesting in that the A-side is on a double-sided acetate with the original B-side intended to be License To Kill as on the Dutch jukebox strip above. The original B-side is labelled "B45" and has been crossed out - it is shown in US & International 7" & 12" Singles & EPs 1980-83. The replacement B-side with the rarity, on a separate acetate, is labelled "B452". |
Union Sundown dress, photo from Gabriel Sola Berrozpe |
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CBS UK acetate of B-side, scan by Hans Seegers |
CBS A 3916 (UK), promo A-side scan by Hans Seegers |
CBS A 3916 (UK), promo B-side scan by Hans Seegers (title given incorrectly as Angels) |
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CBS A 3916 (UK), third commercial release - A-side scan by Hans Seegers (brown plastic injection labels) |
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The title of this song is "Angel Flying...", not "Angels Flying..." as shown incorrectly on the UK rear sleeves and on the B-side record labels. Also, all the four UK single labels shown in the row below attribute the song incorrectly to "Bob Dylan" and "Warner Bros Music".
The second and third UK commercial releases have "injection" labels - a thin coloured plastic ring-shaped layer is injected into the record itself, and the text/graphics are cut out using a stamp so that the black vinyl underneath shows through, there is no paper label. Two colours of plastic are shown.
CBS A 3916 (Spain):
"Sweetheart Like You"/"Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" - 7" promo and commercial singles, CBS/Sony 07SP 765 (Japan), CBS BA 223121 (Australia); CBS BA 223 121 (New Zealand), Nov 1983:
CBS/Sony 07SP 765 (Japan) - front of insert (my copy) |
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CBS BA 223121 (Australia) - A-side scan by Hans Seegers (promo release) |
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CBS BA 223 121 (New Zealand) - detail of A-side, scan by Bill Hester (promo copy) |
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R-0156-3
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson) Infidels out-take, B-side of
single
This track is now included on CD4 of the 5CD Deluxe
Edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 - Springtime In New York 1980-1985 but
as an alternate take with Bob on solo vocals instead of having Clydie King on
background vocals. R-0156 therefore remains a rarity.
On these singles the song title is shown correctly as Angel and attributed correctly to Willie Nelson.
The Japanese single came in a generic 1980s CBS/Sony sleeve (variant 5 with orange printing, see 7" Single Sleeves) with a double-sided insert. Both the promo and commercial releases have orange CBS/Sony labels. The Australian promo single has white CBS labels, the Australia and New Zealand commercial singles have orange/yellow CBS labels. None of the Australia/New Zealand singles have picture sleeves.
The US single with the Infidels picture sleeve (Columbia 38-04301) had Sweetheart Like You as the A-side and Union Sundown as the B-side, both regular album tracks. For more details see US & International 7" & 12" Singles & EPs 1980-83.
Thanks to Hans Seegers, Bill Hester and Wil Gielen for information and scans.
"Jokerman"/"Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" - 7" single, CBS 43560 (Brazil), Nov 1983:
This single is a regular release, not a promo as previously reported, and plays at 33⅓ RPM.
Thanks to Hans Seegers and Tommy Lidgren for information and scans.
"Mixed Up Confusion etc." - 1962 Columbia acetates (USA),
surfaced Nov 1983:
These acetates were previously listed as Jan
1984.
This entry covers nine acetates which surfaced in Nov 1983. The acetates themselves were probably single-sided discs and did not circulate, but were copied on to tape. Each track sounds as though it was recorded from disc separately, rather than each set being a continuous recording from a single disc. Whoever had the discs just put the songs all together on a tape, probably in an arbitrary sequence. A further six acetates surfaced in Jun 1984.
R-0583 Baby, I'm In The Mood For You
- out-take from The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan,
alternate take to the one released on Biograph in
1985 (CO75717 - take 3),
unique to this acetate, recorded Columbia Studios, New York, 9 Jul 1962 ( take 4)
This occurred as part of the early 1984 nine acetates, and then again as part of
the Jun 1984 set of six acetates.
R-0583 has now been released on the Sony Music Europe 4CD-R set The 50th Anniversary
Collection in Dec
2012.
R-0576 Mixed Up Confusion - a mono mix from a US Columbia acetate of the original 1 Nov 1962 (take 10) alternate recording of this song (which was later overdubbed with different backing and released on the Japanese compilations Mr. D's Collection #1 (LP, see 1974) and Mr. D's Collection #2 (EP, see 1976) and the 1978 Australia/Japan compilation Masterpieces (see 1978) and (in stereo) on the original Biograph (R-0748, see 1985).
R-0577 Mixed Up Confusion - a slightly different mono mix of take 10 from 1 Nov 1962 (R-0576)
R-0582 That's All Right, Mama (Arthur
Crudup)
- unreleased 1962 out-take from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, then
unique to this acetate, recorded Columbia Studios, New York, 26 Oct 1962
(CO76983 take 1 - the "slow" version)
This occurred as part of the early 1984 nine acetates, and then again as part of
the Jun 1984 set of six acetates.
R-0582 has now been released on the Sony Music Europe 4CD-R set The 50th Anniversary
Collection in Dec
2012.
R-0575 Mixed Up Confusion - different mono mix, unique to this acetate, of R-0007 (original US single, see 1962)
R-0008-2
Corrina, Corrina (traditional) - B-side of Mixed Up Confusion single (see
1962), alternate mono take to The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan version, recorded at Columbia Studios,
New York, 26 Oct 1962 (take 4 - version on The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is take 6), still otherwise officially unreleased
R-0008 was
not released on the Sony Music Europe
4CD set The 50th Anniversary Collection, Dec
2012.
R-0550-2 Gamblin' Willie's Dead
Man's Hand [Rambling Gambling Willie] - mono version, recorded at Columbia
Studios, New York, 24 Apr 1962 (take 4) from the Columbia test pressing and promotional copies of
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan,
1963.
This mono version of Gamblin' Willie also appeared on a UK
Emidisc test pressing from the late 1960s, see Questionable Releases.
R-0550(M) was not released on the Sony Music Europe 4CD-R set The 50th Anniversary
Collection in Dec
2012.
R-0551M-2 Let Me Die In My
Footsteps - unedited original version from the Columbia test pressing and promotional copies of
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan,
1963, the version released on The Bootleg
Series Vols. 1-3 in 1991 has a verse missing
R-0551(M) was not released on the Sony Music Europe 4CD-R set The 50th Anniversary
Collection in Dec
2012.
R-0578 Mixed Up Confusion - a second slightly different mono mix of take 10 from 1 Nov 1962 (R-0576)
Thanks to Roger Ford, Bob Stacy and Ian Woodward for information.
Promotional/Regular Items for 1983
Stereo promo items for 1983 which don't contain rare material but which are still very collectable are now included with promo releases of regular albums and commercially released singles on the appropriate page in International Stereo Releases. |
Infidels (1983) |
A Flying Pig production
Listings © 1998-2024
The rights to material from all quoted contributors remain
with them. Copyright of all included artwork remains with the various record companies.