New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) Twenty-four of the 35 tracks on Bob Dylan's 'Another Self Portrait (1969-1971),' the new release from his Bootleg Series, feature the Godfather of Americana,
David Bromberg, on acoustic guitar. The collection of recordings from around the time of Dylan's contentious 1970 album 'Self Portrait' illuminates the burgeoning musical relationship between Dylan and Bromberg, with many of the arrangements comprising just the two of them.
Bromberg, whose new, Larry Campbell-produced album 'Only Slightly Mad' (Appleseed Recordings) will be released on
September 24, reflects on the recording process for 'Self Portrait' and the new collection: "I was hearing the songs for the very first time, and sometimes those first times through are what's on the album."
In 1970, Dylan saw Bromberg, an emerging New York City singer-songwriter, perform at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. After the two briefly met, Bromberg recalls, "He called me one day and asked me if I would help him 'try out a studio.' 'Trying out a studio' turned out to be recording 'Self Portrait.'" The album, which saw the era's most celebrated songwriter trade original compositions for covers of traditional songs and modern pop and folk hits, perplexed fans and critics at the time, but 'Another Self Portrait,' composed of alternate takes and unreleased material, puts the original album "into focus in ways that are new, often charming, and occasionally just great" (Slate).
While 'Another Self Portrait' features high-profile appearances by
George Harrison and Robbie Robertson, it's Bromberg's presence that is integral, according to reviews. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says, "Guitarist
David Bromberg and keyboardist Al Kooper are great throughout this set." Greil Marcus, who panned 'Self Portrait' when it was released, says in the new album's liner notes, "Dylan and Bromberg tease melodies out from behind dominant melodic themes -- melodies that hint at stories far more unresolved," going on to praise the "depth" and "oddness" of the performances. "Copper Kettle," a traditional song, "is a revelation:
David Bromberg's guitar dances around Dylan's as if tracing its outline," says the
Boston Globe.
While many involved in the sessions represented on 'Another Self Portrait' remember them as haphazard, Bromberg says Dylan knew what he was doing. Bromberg tells Rolling Stone, "There was nothing tentative about any of it. He's more than a songwriter. He's also a brilliant interpreter - I think he may have missed that."
