(*) June 8, 1970 10th Studio Album
Somewhere in this sprawling double album is one decent album, but as released it is a mess. It features many covers of country standards (Blue Moon); four awkwardly placed live recordings from the Isle of Wight Festival; a song with gospel singers and strings, (but no Dylan) and several instrumentals. The album has two distinct sounds — Nashville Skyline-like vocals and music, mixed in with rowdy, sloppy guttural performances on the rest. Basically it seemed like a bunch of leftovers that were thrown together. But had some care been taken to narrow the sounds down, a listenable album could have come from this. Nonetheless, the performance of the Alan Lomax song “Days of 49” provides some redeeming value.
Totally underrated album. Always brings a smile to my face when I listen.
I have it ranked #10th on my list.
Highlights include “Days of 49″…”Early Morning Rain”…”Little Saddie”…”Copper Kettle”…”Gotta Travel On”