A couple of months ago I ran across a bootleg Bob Dylan website. Every few weeks, some guy in Japan uploads new songs, mostly rehearsal tapes and studio outtakes.

There are plenty of Dylan bootleg sites out there, but this one is quite special. Most of the stuff I’ve heard so far is superior to just about anything Dylan has formally released. It’s far more relaxed and less self-important than his commercial recordings, and less distracted and choppy than his concert performances. And the recordings are a higher quality than most of the Basement Tapes.

Tonight, while waiting for a bad case of writer’s block to pass, I’ve been listening to outtakes from his 1983 album Infidels. There are three versions of “Sweetheart like you,” for instance (one of my favorite Dylan tunes), and you can listen as the lyrics evolve.

Got to be an important person to be in here, honey,
Got to have done some evil deed,
Got to have your own harem when you come in the door,
Got to play your harp until your lips bleed.

My absolute favorite track, however, is a jarring bloozy version of “You’re a big girl now” from a concert rehearsal in the late 1970s. Dylan perfectly captures the essence of the song in a way that he didn’t even approach in the commercial release. I never quite understood until I heard the bootleg that it was a great blues tune.

I’m going out of my mind,
With a pain that stops and starts
Like a corkscrew to my heart
Ever since we’ve been apart.

The latest upload from our mystery Japanese guy is a 1988 New York concert bootleg. It’s OK, but I prefer the studio and rehearsal tapes.

I won’t link to the site for fear of getting sued by some giant media monster, but I might be convinced to send you the link if you email me and ask in a nice way. Or, you could just follow the first link in this post and figure it out for yourself.

They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail,
Steal a lot and they make you king.
There’s only one step down from here, baby,
It’s called the land of permanent bliss.
What’s a sweetheart like you doin’ in a dump like this?