Apparently he just didn't finish it. Whatever the reason, he seems to have re-assessed the song since the album was released, it featuring regularly in his live sets as a full-band version. It was finally given a release on 1991's Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 collection, opening it up to a wider audience, and has since been covered by a variety of artists and discussed by a variety of critics, who put it up there with the most famous songs he has written. There are a few other versions available, with different arrangements, but I think this original one is the best.
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Song Of The Day 19/02/2011: Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
I'm currently having a weekend of listening to nothing but Bob Dylan, so I though today's song had to come from somewhere in his extensive oeuvre. This is probably the most well-regarded bootleg-only track ever, by any artist. In the early 80s, Dylan had done 3 albums in a row dealing with largely Christian themes, and had therefore sunk slightly off the radar of the mainstream rock critics. 1983's 'Infidels' was his return to secular songwriting, but was found fairly flat and lifeless by many of his most ardent fans, and really has not stood the test of time well. And this song, a song that would be the crowning glory of pretty much any artist bar Dylan, was left off the album.
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