Gil asked: > Jim, did I read you right? Is McGuinn's version of "Up to Me" truly an early draft of "Tangled Up in Blue"? Because the final versions of either song are poles apart, and the extant earlier (and even later) versions of "Tangled Up in Blue" betray no connection to "Up to Me". Please clarify. >
Oops! I'm so sorry. You are quite right, Gil, and I apologize for not double-checking my memory before sending that post. Instead of "Tangled Up In Blue," I should have written "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." Dylan set aside "Up To Me" during the sessions for "Blood On The Tracks," preferring to use the melody and the chord structure, albeit with some revisions, as his vehicle for his lyrics to YGMMLWYG. He was still writing the album as he was recording it, as is evident by examining the outtakes and the session chronology. A fascinating and worthwhile excerise is to listen to the BOTT outtakes (for example) while reading the corresponding chapters in Paul Williams' excellent "Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol. 1." I'm currently in the middle of a comprehensive study of Dylan's career to date, using the Williams books as my guides. He writes wonderfully in terms of how specific performances (including studio takes) move him or not, personally speaking, and gets deeply into the various outtakes and concert performances which are available to collectors. I began last summer with "The Minnesota Tapes" (1961), and am now in the middle of Dylan's overtly Christian period (1980, at present), listening to the unreleased songs recorded for what was to have been the follow-up to the album "Saved." Best, (Boston) Jim
