If the original official release in 1975 of some songs from The Basement Tapes was the dressed-up-for-Sunday version, and the release of The Basement Tapes Complete was the crazy-drunken-Friday-night-party version, then this three-LP set, The Basement Tapes Raw, is the Saturday-night-barn-dance version — a program worked up for friends who plan to pass the hat for the entertainment.

The songs selected are loose enough to be fun but finished enough to provide several sets of remarkable and memorable music.  It immediately takes its place as one of Dylan’s greatest albums.

Own it on vinyl — if you don’t have a turntable to play it on, get a turntable to play it on.