How does the Bob Dylan sound with the E Street Band?
First of all, I’m a huge Bob Dylan fan, but I don’t call myself a hardcore fan that knows everything about Bob Dylan, or everything the man has ever recorded. I’m not sure, if I’m a typical Dylan fan, but I enjoy the Bootleg series a whole lot, and spend most of the time listening those recordings. There is just some more magic on those raw recordings. Same goes with Bruce Springsteen. Pretty much nothing but outtakes, and live recordings. Anyways…
When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky
I was walking to a grocery store during a winter storm, because our car broke down, and what is a better company than listen to some tunes by the uncle Bob. One of the tracks that randomly got played on the Spotify Free (poor me) was Bob Dylan’s Empire Burlesque outtake called “When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky” (released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 Rare & Unreleased 1961–1991) and I thought to myself that this song reminds a whole lot of Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band.
Such a long title, but I managed to remember it all the way back home. After some Google research, there was indeed a huge Springsteen influence on this track. Actually more than that! “When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky” features two members from the E Street Band! Little Steven Van Zandtand Roy Bittan. Originally recorded on the famous Power Station recording studio in New York.
Even Bob Dylan itself said it’s sounds like Springsteen (Article mentions Max Weinberg on drums, but it’s actually Sly Dunbar. Info confirmed by Little Steven on Twitter). Reminds me something like a mix of I’m a Rocker (played slower) and Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own or any other River era outtake. Also this track made me think that Little Steven should occasionally play this track live. Fits perfectly for his vocal range, and his singing style is pretty similar to Bob’s.
Judge the song yourself. Track is available on music streaming sites like Spotify:
It’s not available on Youtube. Trust me, I tried to find a link. Youtube only has the final Empire Burlesque release, which is not as good (IMHO), and the final release doesn’t feature E Street Band. Like with many Bob Dylan tracks, outtakes tend to be better. :)
If this track would be released today, I’m sure I would have spotted it on Bruce Springsteen message boards or on social media sites. Back in 1991 there wasn’t many music sources outside of record stores and music magazines, and the whole Internet was totally unheard (outside of a geek community).
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not on youtube but on Vimeo there is
https://vimeo.com/254798773
Thanks!