The New Basement Tapes – Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons) – today released “Liberty Street,” a track from their forthcoming album, Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes. Written by Bob Dylan and Taylor Goldsmith and sung by Goldsmith, the track is accompanied by a new lyric video (below) featuring Dylan’s original handwritten lyrics that served as the basis for the song. “Liberty Street” is also available as an “instant grat” download with an album pre-order both at iTunes and Amazon.
The New Basement Tapes’ T Bone Burnett-produced album, Lost On the River: The New Basement Tapes, was founded on a treasure trove of recently discovered lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the period that generated the recording of his original Basement Tapes. The artists and Burnett convened in March 2014 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood to write and create music together for the long-lost lyrics, resulting in dozens of new songs and recordings. The artists swapped instrumental and vocal roles on the tracks throughout the marathon sessions. Lost On the River: The New Basement Tapes, will be released by Electromagnetic Recordings/Harvest Records on November 10.
Goldsmith says of writing and recording “Liberty Street,” “Liberty Street” was one of the last songs I put together for the record. We didn’t see the lyrics for this song until we got into the studio. Bob Dylan has a way of saying lines like ‘Six months in Kansas City down on Liberty Street’ and it having an immediate, yet sometimes ineffable, power. When I started putting these words to music, the structure of the words dictated the way the chords rolled out so it came together really fast. And the recording of it was our first take.”
“Liberty Street” follows the release of four previous tracks and lyric videos from the album:
- “Nothing To It” (co-written by Bob Dylan and Jim James, with lead vocals by James).
- “Married To My Hack” (co-written by Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello, with lead vocals by Costello).
- “When I Get My Hands On You” (co-written by Bob Dylan, Marcus Mumford and Taylor Goldsmith, with lead vocal by Mumford).
- “Spanish Mary” (co-written by Bob Dylan and Rhiannon Giddens with lead vocal by Giddens)
Additionally, the original documentary Lost Songs: The Basement Tapes Continued will premiere on SHOWTIME on Friday, November 21st at 9 P.M. ET/PT. The documentary, which is directed by Jones, will present an exclusive and intimate look at the making of Lost On The River. A rare look inside the creative process of recording an album and the discovery of long-lost Dylan lyrics, Lost Songs: The Basement Tapes Continued captures this unprecedented musical collaboration between these musicians and their producer, the 13-time Grammy winner T Bone Burnett, as they record these newly completed compositions.
Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes (Deluxe Edition) – Out November 10
1. Down On The Bottom
2. Married To My Hack
3. Kansas City
4. Spanish Mary
5. Liberty Street
6. Nothing To It
7. Golden Tom – Silver Judas*
8. When I Get My Hands On You
9. Duncan and Jimmy
10. Florida Key
11. Hidee Hidee Ho #11
12. Lost On The River #12
13. Stranger
14. Card Shark
15. Quick Like A Flash*
16. Hidee Hidee Ho #16
17. Diamond Ring*
18. The Whistle Is Blowing*
19. Six Months In Kansas City (Liberty Street)
20. Lost On The River #20
*Not available on 15-track standard edition of the album
