Bob Dylan - I'll Keep It with Mine - Non-Album Tracks (1964)

Here's yet another in a long line of Bob Dylan stray tracks albums. As it so happens, there's just enough material this time around to cover the year 1964.

I think Dylan must have slowed his songwriting considerably after his hyper-productive 1963, probably because he was changing styles from the political and outward looking to the personal and introspective. The album "The Times They Are A-Changin'" came out just two weeks into 1964, so effectively this album covers the time he was working on the album "Another Side of Bob Dylan," released in August 1964. He would hardly do any recording until January 1965, which would be the sessions for "Bringing It All Back Home," and another drastic musical change for him.

This album is fairly short - only 32 minutes (not counting the bonus track, which I'll get to shortly). "Another Side of Bob Dylan" is not as lauded as much as the albums that came before it or after it, and I think the shortness of this album is a sign that he didn't have as much good material to choose from. But still, any mid-Dylan material is pretty damn good.

Note that the songs "Dr. Strangelove Blues" and "Stoned on the Mountain" performed by Dylan and his folk music friend Eric Von Schmidt seem to have been composed on the spot. But still, they came up with a lot of great, amusing lines, and clearly they had a fun time.

The bonus track is a version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Ramblin' Jack Elliott on backing vocals. It was almost included on the "Another Side" album. I only added it as a bonus because it's done on Dylan's next album in a very similar manner. I'm glad Dylan rejected this version, because I think the song is better without Elliott's rough vocals.

01 Mama, You Been on My Mind (Bob Dylan)
02 Denise (Bob Dylan)
03 California [Acoustic Version] (Bob Dylan)
04 The House of the Rising Sun [Electric Overdubs Version] (Bob Dylan)
05 Black Crow Blues [Acoustic Guitar Version] (Bob Dylan)
06 I'll Keep It with Mine (Bob Dylan)
07 Dr. Strangelove Blues (Bob Dylan & Eric Von Schmidt)
08 Stoned on the Mountain (Bob Dylan & Eric Von Schmidt)
09 More and More (Bob Dylan & Eric Von Schmidt)
10 Guess I'm Doing Fine (Bob Dylan)

Mr. Tambourine Man [Early Version] (Bob Dylan with Ramblin' Jack Elliott)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15106685/BobD_1964e_IllKeepItwithMne_atse.zip.html

The cover art was made by Peter of the Albums I Wish Existed blog.