The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete

The Bootleg Series Vol. 11:
The Basement Tapes Complete
A photo of Bob Dylan leaning over a table
Compilation album by
ReleasedNovember 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)
RecordedJune–October 1967
Studio"Big Pink," West Saugerties, New York
Genre
Length6:33:49
LabelColumbia
Bob Dylan chronology
The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963
(2014)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11:
The Basement Tapes Complete

(2014)
The 50th Anniversary Collection 1964
(2014)
The Band chronology
Live at the Academy of Music 1971
(2013)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete
(2014)
Bob Dylan Bootleg Series chronology
Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971)
(2013)
Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete
(2014)
Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966
(2015)

The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete is a compilation album of unreleased home recordings made in 1967 by Bob Dylan and the group of musicians that would become the Band, released on November 3, 2014 on Legacy Records. It is the ninth installment of the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, available as a six-disc complete set, and as a separate set of highlights – in a two-disc format common to the rest of the series – entitled The Basement Tapes Raw.

Revered for decades as the "holy grail" for music collectors and Dylan fans,[1][2] the recordings have been notoriously bootlegged by collectors in various forms throughout the years, some of which were included on what is arguably the first rock bootleg album ever, Great White Wonder, released in July 1969.[3] The Basement Tapes Complete is the first time the complete sessions, containing 138 tracks of which 117 were not previously issued, have been officially released. Of these tracks 23 are alternate takes, making 115 distinct songs in the set of which some heard in two or three different takes. The Basement Tapes Complete was universally acclaimed upon release by critics and fans alike, and went on to win Best Historical Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[4]

The liner notes for The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 are by Sid Griffin, American musician and author of Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band, and The Basement Tapes.[5]

  1. ^ "Bob Dylan and the Holy Grail: Basement Tapes Officially Released After 47 Years". Highbrowmagazine.com. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  2. ^ "40 Years Ago: Bob Dylan and the Band's 'Basement Tapes' Finally Gets an Official Release". Ultimateclassicrock.com. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  3. ^ Eric Harvey (2012-09-12). "Bob Dylan's Great White Wonder: The Story of the World's First Album Leak". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  4. ^ "GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees for Best Historical Album". Grammy.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  5. ^ Greene, Andy (August 26, 2014). "Bob Dylan's Complete, Legendary 'Basement Tapes' Will Be Released". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2014.