Time Outtake of Mind

I was very excited to see the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss show at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden last Tuesday. Alas, at the last minute I was called away on a business trip to Dallas, so instead of swaying my head to the dulcet tones of "Please Read the Letter" I found myself wedged in the middle seat on an overbooked flight for eight hours as we waited out delays due to East Coast storms.

All was not lost however, as I did receive a nice tidbit of Bob Dylan trivia via my brother "Super" Dave Walsh, who attended the show and purchased the tour program.

According to the program, Raising Sand producer and occasional Dylan sideman T-Bone Burnett suggested in an August 27, 2006 letter Plant & Krauss that they record an unreleased Bob Dylan song from the 1997 Time Out of Mind sessions called "Red River Shore."


"This is a powerful and soulful song that I would think Robert could find his way into with Alison singing harmony as a duet," said the T-mail. "The phrasing is abstract so it would require some study. It is important to Bob (Dylan) that we keep this recording strictly between us."

Rock Turtleneck honors and respects Dylan's privacy as well, but if it's in the tourbook, then the cat is out of the bag, babe. No word on whether the song was actually recorded or whether it was just tossed around.

Nevertheless, the knowledge of an unreleased Dylan gem is always tantalizing, whether played by Dylan himself or by two master interpreters like Plant & Krauss. Perhaps "Red River Shore" will shore up on the rumoured upcoming Bootleg Series 8, which supposedly features leftovers from the last 20 years or so.

Anyone out there know anything about "Red River Shore"?

While we wait, here's a slow-burn version of Led Zep's cock-rock manifesto "Black Dog" by Plant & Krauss. Then Dylan and T-Bone jamming together in the most unlikely of venues: an episode of Dharma & Greg from right around the time of Time Out of Mind. Jenna Elfman is kinda cute but she's no Levon Helm.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Black Dog" CMT's Crossroads


Bob Dylan & T-Bone Burnett, "The Ballad of Dharma & Greg"


Part II: