The Edge

On a date like today, there better be some memorable music that marks this, and there is nothing better than The New Basement Tapes album, Lost on the River.  Now there is a notable background to the band’s name that should not be ignored.  When rumors were going around that old unreleased music of Bob Dylan’s had been found in a basement, a special group of musicians came together to make this great album happen.  The songs that they produced were handwritten copies by Dylan himself that were found in the Red Room in his basement where the original recordings for the album The Basement Tapes took place back in 1967.

The band had more than 50 finished songs to chose from for the album, and 20 tracks were on the final album released in November 2014.  At the same time this was released, Columbia released The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete and The Basement Tapes Raw under Dylan’s name.  The New Basement Tapes, on the other hand are comprised of Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James and Marcus Mumford (yes from Mumford and sons).  Even Johnny Depp can be heard here playing the electric guitar on the track,”Kansas City,” which was recorded live at Capital Records Studios. While the whole album is a work of art, and Dylan approved, here are some highlights: “When I get My Hands on You,” “Nothing To It,” “Spanish Mary,” “Liberty Street” and “Married to My Hack.”