The New Basement Tapes: Lost On The River
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Angela Goldberg
(Record review published on inyourspeakers.com on November 13, 2014)
At its core, folk and rock music is all about storytelling and embracing community. It's about music that is all-encompassing, welcomes all walks of life and urges you to relate to its songs and stories, welcoming you with outstretched arms. Lost On The River, by folk supergroup / collaborators, The New Basement Tapes, is something of an extreme example of this folk music mentality.
In July of 1966, after Bob Dylan suffered from a near-fatal motorcycle accident, he began writing songs with a band then known as The Hawks, and now, infamously, known as The Band. Some of the songs created during this period of time in Woodstock, New York, were released in 1975 on The Basement Tapes. However, the 1975 recording only scratched the surface of the material created by these legends during that time. Just earlier this month a box set was released titled, The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, a six disc set of the original recordings from Dylan and The Band. So, that’s the end of the story, right?
Wrong. Dylan’s publisher approached producer T-Bone Burnett with unused lyrics of Dylan’s from this time period, and with Dylan’s blessing, Burnett set out to do something with them. Burnett assembled musicians Elvis Costello, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons, Rhiannon Giddens of The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The group put music to the lyrics, recorded the songs, and released them in the form of Lost On The River.
The album is vast and varied, each song taking on its own life and, in some cases, genre. Occasionally, the same lyrics actually show up in the form of two different songs. It seems as though each of the artists kept to their own individualized style when creating these new songs, adding to the variation on the album. Each collaborator acted as bandleader as they recorded their individual songs, which becomes evident on the album, each track seeming to stand on its own.
“Duncan and Jimmy,” led by Rhiannon Giddens, is an all-encompassing modern Americana tune, complete with banjos and emotional, layered vocal harmonies. It's driving and everything that you would expect from a bluegrass revival song; just the right balance between old school nostalgia and modern sophistication. However, the song that leads into the track, “When I Get My Hands On You,” couldn’t exude a more different vibe. Penned jointly by Mumford and Goldsmith, it is an understated track, with elements of pop and even R&B. With simple instrumentation and soulful vocals, it’s worlds away from Giddens' track.
That is probably one of the most interesting and exhilarating things about Lost On The River. It is a collaboration, but a collaboration where you can easily hear each contributor's voice. For example, the track, “Florida Key,” a song of Goldsmith’s, sounds like it could be released as a track from his band Dawes. Similarly, the opening track, “Down On The Bottom,” is a track of Jim James’ and sounds very similar to a My Morning Jacket song. However, there’s also a bluesy feel to the track, and you can hear Bob Dylan’s influence in the mix, reminding us that there is in fact a sixth collaborator on the entire album.
Costello’s songs sound the most influenced by Dylan. His track, “Golden Tom - Silver Judas,” is remarkably simple, with just guitar and vocals. The track seems to go back to the basics of folk music; acoustic guitars and storytelling. The harmony vocals on the track even conjure memories of the vocal harmonies of The Band.
While the album as a whole isn’t necessarily cohesive, Lost On The River is a beautiful and interesting page in the Basement Tapes story that started in 1966. Each musician has created songs that encompass their place and voice in music, their collaboration with the album’s other incredible musicians, and with Dylan’s lyrics. It’s a celebration of folk music, but also its history of storytelling and collaboration, and ultimately of Bob Dylan himself.
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