Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17; Fragments: Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) [4LP/ Bonus Outtakes & Alternates/ Booklet/ Boxed Set]

Bob Dylan — Fragments — Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17

4LP standard edition of Fragments includes the Time Out of Mind 2022 remix disc 

Plus 12 select Outtakes and Alternates highlights + booklet

The latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy's highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series takes a fresh look at Time Out of Mind, Dylan's mid-career masterpiece, celebrating the album and its enduring impact 25 years after its original release on September 30, 1997. Fragments — Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series, Vol.17 follows the evolution of songs written for the album, from intimate early incarnations in the previously unreleased 1996 Teatro sessions featuring Dylan (vocals, guitar, and piano), Daniel Lanois (guitar and organ), Tony Garnier (bass) and Tony Mangurian (drums and percussion) through incandescent live renditions (also previously unreleased) showcasing Dylan and his touring ensemble channeling the songs on-stage from 1998-2001.

In early 1996, Dylan (whose last album of originals had been 1990's Under the Red Sky) began writing a group of new songs and, in August-October that year, went into Teatro studio in Oxnard with Daniel Lanois (who'd produced 1989's Oh Mercy) to record demos for a potential album. Recording for Time Out of Mind took off in earnest in January 1997, when Dylan moved the sessions to Criteria Studio in Miami and the studio ensemble was expanded to encompass a mix of all-star session players and members of Dylan's touring band including Bucky Baxter (acoustic guitar, pedal steel), Duke Robillard (guitar, electric Gibson L-5), Robert Britt (Martin acoustic, Fender Stratocaster), Cindy Cashdollar (slide guitar), Tony Garnier (bass guitar, upright bass), Augie Meyers (Vox organ combo, Hammond B3 organ, accordion), Jim Dickinson (keyboards, Wurlitzer electric piano, pump organ), and drummers Jim Keltner, Brian Blade, and David Kemper.

The end result, Time Out of Mind, became a new pillar in the Bob Dylan album pantheon, its songs — "Love Sick," "Cold Irons Bound," "Can't Wait," "Not Dark Yet" — becoming concert staples and fan favorites with one composition, "Make You Feel My Love," achieving rare status as a new contemporary standard in the Great American Songbook, a tune covered by hundreds of artists including Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond, and Adele. Time Out of Mind won the 1998 Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Folk Album while "Cold Irons Bound" took home the trophy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.