Author Geoff Dyer on Bob Dylan: ‘The songs pour off his records like they’re written in my soul from him to me’

Nobody ’Cept You, a newly released rarity, clocks in at under three minutes but contains multitudes, joining the dots between Dylan and DH Lawrence, and inadvertently echoing the spell the musician continues to castIt’s Dylan season again! The European leg of his tour kicked off in Prague on Friday and arrives in the UK on 1 November, climaxing with three nights at the Albert Hall. The latest official Bootleg release, meanwhile, comprises 27 CDs thoroughly documenting – to put it mildly – his raucous 1974 North American tour with the Band. A selection of highlights, recorded near the end of that tour, was released as an instant souvenir on Before the Flood. So the items of chief interest from this new flood are songs that didn’t make it on to the earlier double album, as opposed to slightly different renderings of songs already featured there. From this marathon haul of 417 songs – more than 24 hours of listening – I want to zoom in on just one, easily accessible via Spotify’s 20-song sampler and almost certainly not to be reprised on the current tour.The Dylan long song has long exerted a special fascination, from Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (occupying an entire if shortish side of Blonde on Blonde) through to Highlands and the slightly longer (and infinitely worse) Murder Most Foul. Nobody ’Cept You is from the opposite end of the audio spectrum. Clocking in at under three minutes, including applause, it was recorded in Chicago on 3 January. A double first then: opening night of the tour and the first known live performance – solo, acoustic guitar – of a song from the second tier of Dylan rarities. Continue reading...