The standard format for entries in this guide is
straightforward:
The title appears as the first line of the entry. Titles in green
are commercial discs; titles in red
are fan projects. Occasionally, an entry will be included with an aqua
title; this represents a
title which has not yet appeared, but has been prominently announced, discussed at some length on rec.music.dylan, and/or described in reliable press reports (such as ICE magazine). A few titles appear in black
text; these are items that do not strictly belong in the Guide --pirate discs, discs devoted to another artist with a Dylan guest spot, collections with tracks by several different artists, etc --but which often are offered for sale as, or appear on lists of, Bob Dylan field recordings. These entries are usually abbreviated.
The second line identifies the label which released the disc, if it can be identified, and indicates the number and type of discs in the set as it originally appeared. Glass-mastered cds are noted as
CD, recordable cds as CDR, and computer discs as CDROM. If the type of disc is not known, the item is simply noted as 1D, 2D, etc. It is important, of course, to remember, that many discs originally issued as glass-mastered CDs often circulate, through both fan and commercial channels, as CDR copies.
Most glass-mastered discs have been assigned Townshend numbers, which appear in brackets in the form [T-xxx] at the end of this line. When only a T-number follows the label, the entry represents a single, originally glass-mastered, CD.
The second part of the entry lists the sources for the disc(s), to the extent that the tracks can be identified. Many discs have proved to have grossly inaccurate source information, and Michael
Krogsgaard's ongoing research into Dylan's studio recordings has provided much new information (and forced no small number of corrections to previous listings!). When sources differ, this Guide relies on Krogsgaard's work (now being published in The Bridge).
The third section of the entry provides tracklists. Tracklist errors in CD packaging are fairly frequent, and the Guide tries to correct them. Many songs, especially traditional songs covered by Dylan, are known by several different titles; this Guide follows one simple, unambiguous rule in consistently identifying such songs -- I use the title I like best (and I like short titles). In the
same spirit, one Dylan standard is listed as "Memphis Blues Again," rather than any of its longer title variations.
The final section of the entry provides reviews, comments, notes, etc. In some cases, comments on a source disc are also used as comments on direct clones from that disc. Any assistance in
providing comments on otherwise unreviewed items, or in providing different perspectives on already reviewed discs, is appreciated. And, of course, I am beginning to add original reviews to the Guide, so CDR copies of unreviewed items are quite definitely appreciated . . . .
Thumbnail images are displayed for most Guide entries. If the thumbnail image appears as an active link -- usually bordered in blue, but the display may
vary with your browser configuration -- the link should take you to a printable art file, either directly or via an index page. Most of the CD art pages
are independently maintained; and some of these external pages, unfortunately, may disappear with little or no notice. At this time, some broken links to the defunct
desolationrow.com archives remain, but should be removed or replaced in the near future.
