Oh Mercy Outtakes
The distinctive atmosphere of New Orleans and the close collaboration between Bob Dylan and Daniel Lanois brought out the creativity of both. They recorded more songs than could fit on the album Oh Mercy. A few years after the release of the album, two outtakes, “Series of Dreams,” a typical Dylanesque song, and “Dignity,” became public. Two other songs recorded at the same time, “Born in Time” and “God Knows,” turned up on the next album, Under the Red Sky. A fifth song, “Three of Us Be Free,” is still only known to the musicians who recorded it with Dylan and Lanois on March 14, 1989.
 | Dignity Bob Dylan / 5:58 |
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano; Brian Stoltz: guitar; Tony Hall: bass; Cyril Neville: percussion; Willie Green: drums / Recording Studio: The Studio, New Orleans: March 13, 1989 (Overdubs March 28, 1989) Producer: Daniel Lanois / Sound Engineers: Malcolm Burn and Mark Howard / Set Box: The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare & Unreleased 1989–2006 (CD 2) / Released: October 6, 2008
In Chronicles, Dylan writes about “Dignity”: “The dichotomy of cutting this lyrically driven song with melodic changes, with a rockin’ Cajun band, might be interesting.”1 It’s a plea to people who are tempted to indulge their vain impulses, rather than pursuing “what it’s gonna take to find dignity.” Dignity is seen as the supreme value, both for the “Hollow man lookin’ in a cottonfield” and for the one who “went down where the vultures feed.”
Also in Chronicles, Dylan explained that a very successful first demo had been made with Brian Stoltz and Willie Green. “The demo with just me and Willie and Brian had sounded effortless and it flowed smooth.” But Lanois was not finished and insisted on rerecording a version accompanied by Rockin’ Dopsie and his Cajun band, the same band that played on “Where Teardrops Fall.” “We recorded it a lot, varying the tempos and even the keys, but it was like being cast into sudden hell,”1 wrote Dylan. The song was abandoned and left off Oh Mercy. “Dignity” was officially released on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume 3 (1994) and The Bootleg Series Volume 8 (a demo version on piano and a group version).
| Series Of Dreams Bob Dylan / 5:53 / 6:26 |
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Daniel Lanois: guitars, percussion (?); Mason Ruffner: guitar; Rick DiFonzo: guitar; Peter Wood: keyboards; Glenn Fukunaga: bass; Cyril Neville: percussion; Daryl Johnson: percussion (?); Roddy Colonna: drums / Recording Studios: The Studio, New Orleans: March 23, 1989 (Overdubs March 30, 1989) / Messina Music Studios, New York (Overdubs January 1991) / Producer: Daniel Lanois / Sound Engineers: Malcolm Burn and Mark Howard Set Box: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3: Rare & Unreleased, 1961–1991 (5:53) (CD 2); The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare & Unreleased 1989–2006 (6:26) (CD 2) / Date of Release: March 26, 1991 / October 6, 2008
Is Dylan’s “Series of Dreams” nothing but a bridge between his unconscious and reality as he sees it? If this is the case, the image in the first verse, “where nothing comes up to the top” could mean that the songwriter still has a long way to go, particularly as he says in the fourth verse that he “wasn’t looking for any special assistance.” In this song, there is a temporal dimension—the concept of time is absent in the world of dreams—and a mystical one seen in the second and third verse: “And there’s no exit in any direction”; “And the cards are no good that you’re holding / Unless they’re from another world.” We will unravel these mysteries only when we pass through the gates of paradise.
Dylan remembers, “although Lanois liked the song, he liked the bridge better, wanted the all song to be like that.” However, after thinking about it, Dylan said, “I felt like it was fine the way it was—didn’t want to lose myself in thinking too much about changing it.”1 The song was released with two entirely different mixes on two distinct bootlegs: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (1991) and The Bootleg Series Volume 8 (2008). The first mix is very far from the airy ambience so dear to Lanois. Moreover, the two sound engineers working on the remix chose, with Dylan’s blessing, to add a rhythm guitar and an organ. The second version is closer to the spirit of the Canadian producer. He probably turned up the percussion a little too high in the mix, and it quickly became invasive. It is still surprising that Dylan decided at the last moment to remove the song from the track listing. “Series of Dreams” can easily compete with the other tracks on the album.