version "a"; unknown [unbooted] generation > ? > CD [trade] > EAC > WAV > Soundforge 6.0 > CD Wave > FLAC, plus: master tapes [unbooted] > ? > "The Genuine Bootleg Series Vol.3" > ? > CD [trade] > WAV > Soundforge 6.0 > CD Wave > FLAC, Notes on the transfer and quality -, *I did not try to 'improve' the sound of these low-fidelity home recordings in any way from the CD of the 'unedited' version of the tapes., *What I did do was trying to adjust the pitch, which is hard to do when the solo performer re-tunes his guitar all the time ..., *I performed some minor edits in spots where there seemed to be an unnecessary cut in the original transfer to re-create the seamless flow., *I re-tracked the whole thing, trying to reflect, but not necessarily sticking to, the existing tracklistings., *"The low-quality tape was made surreptitiously in the early 70s and the original is of course not much better than the bootlegs"., *The version of the McKenzie Tapes found on "I Was Young When I Left Home" is edited and missing several minutes. The sound may, be a bit easier on the ear. I have no idea what 'enhancement' was applied, but the tracks definitely have been processed in some way., *The difference in quality between this tape and the six tracks from "The Smith Tapes" [Smith was an alias to hide the identity of the, McKenzies when the tapes first circulated, in the early 70s] is painfully big. It is almost incredible how good these sound, additionally the original tapes seem to be in stereo. Let's hope that we ALL get to hear the complete thing !!, Notes on the recording dates -, =First McKenzie Tape=, *tracks 01-15 - The November 23, 1961 date (Thanksgiving) has been confirmed, amongst others by Eve McKenzie (The Telegraph #36, p.29-40)., *tracks 16-22 - The December 4, 1961 date was established by Michael Krogsgaard, though, according to Clinton Heylin, A Life In Stolen Moments, p.24, "there is no evidence such a seesion took place"., *GBS_01 and GBS_02 are dated January 29, 1962 in the sleeve notes of "The Genuine Bootleg Series, Vol.3"., That date is backed by Heylin, A Life In Stolen Moments, p.26, nontheless 'Hard Times In New York Town' is, almost certainly the version that already circulated as fragment, dated November 23, 1961 !, *It could well be that both segments were recorded on that Thanksgiving dinner, surely the mood near the end of the first part, hints at the more collaborative efforts of part two. It's not unlikely that 'This Land Is Your Land' was performed twice. Who knows ..., *'The Death Of Emmett Till' was clearly not written by November 1961, but rather in January 1962, so the January 29 date, seems as good as any other. If so, no other recordings from that date seem to circulate right now., =Second McKenzie Tape=, *commonly, tracks 01-07 are dated September 1962 and the remainder April 12, 1963 (or April 18, see below) with 'I Rode Out One Morning', attributed to the second part. I do think, however, that 'I Rode Out One Morning' belongs to the first segment because to my ears, 01:55 to 02:10 of d2t03 has Dylan toying with the picking of the same song without adding vocals. I think it's highly unlikely that the only two, existing fragments of the song were recorded months apart, both at the McKenzie's home., *It has long been assumed that the second part of the tape was recorded in the afternoon of April 12, 1963, just a couple of hours before his, important solo appearance in New York's Town Hall. This seems to be highly unlikely, also in light of Columbia's files, which mention, a 4:00 pm soundcheck at Town Hall. Indeed, Heylin (p.43) now gives April 18, 1963 as the probable date. Alas, no evidence is provided, with this information., Notes on the musical content -, *some of the tracks named 'instrumental' are in fact doodles and endless tunings. Additionally, d2t10 and d2t16 are merely sketches of, 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' and 'Cocaine Blues', respectively., *Bj, rner names d2t15 'Two Trains Runnin'', Dundas d2t15 'Still A Fool' and d2t16 'Worried Blues'. I can't hear any of this but I might me wrong., *GBS_01 'Hard Times In New York Town' is almost certainly the version that already circulated as fragment d1t02, *Until now, all reference books mention two versions of both 'Katy Cline' and 'Bells Of Rhymney' at the start of the second part, of the first tape. But a close listen revealed that these version are just fragments of the longer tracks d1t17 and d1t18. I think that 'Katy Cline', (Dundas) fits that track better than 'Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms' (Bj, rner, Krogsgaard)., *d2t07 is sometimes referred to as 'Times Ain't What They Used To Be' by Clarence 'Tom' Ashley. In fact, that is the first line of 'James Alley, Blues'... Either way, this seems to have been an inspiration for his own 'Mixed-Up Confusion'.