Although an album of outtakes from Self-Portrait (all covers) was certainly considered by most to be the worst idea imaginable, it didn’t anger die-hard Dylan fans as much as Self-Portrait simply because, they knew Bob wasn’t to blame for this. Dylan was in fact released apparently by Columbia without Bob’s permission as a form of revenge for (temporarily) signing with David Geffen’s Asylum label. There wasn’t that question of “what was Bob thinking?” hanging over this album, making it much more forgivable and much less interesting. In fact, since this is the only album in the oeuvre that Bob hasn’t officially released on CD (although it’s still available on cassette), it’s often considered fairly apocryphal to the official canon. However it clearly wasn’t enough of a thorn in Dylan’s side to keep him from returning to Columbia, where he remains to this day. It is also, despite sounding very similar in tone and (non)authorship, most of these track are not from the Self-Portrait sessions. Just compare the la-la-la’s on “The Man In Me” and it’s impossible to deny that these songs were recorded during New Morning. While Dylan has denied that the all-original New Morning was recorded as a response to the critical hammering that Self-Portrait took (and the fact that he recorded most of New Morning before Self-Portrait’s release does bear this out), the fact that he pulled all of the covers songs that were going to make up a large portion of that album may have been an indication that he was listening to what his fans wanted instead of trusting his own instinct. (And the fact he didn't stand behind Self-Portrait by following it up with more of the same hurt its reputation as much as anything else). Because Dylan isn’t bad. It’s not great. It’s not even as good as Self-Portrait, but it’s pretty good. It takes a lot of guts to cover not one but two Elvis songs (“A Fool Such As I” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love”) – especially if one isn’t known as a vocalist and interpreter of other people’s material. It is kind of odd that he chose to re-write the one line from which Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” in which the title actually appears. He had no problem singing from or even writing from the woman’s point of view before (“House Of The Rising Sun”, “North Country Blues”). I guess singing that you had an “old man” doesn’t necessarily mean one is female. The version of “Spanish Is the Loving Tongue” is often derided for being cheesy and lounge-like. Its worst crime seems to be failing to be the solo piano version that appeared as the B-side to “Watching The River Flow”. Personally, while it may not be as intimate, it’s far more cohesive, interesting and fun to listen here. Overall, it’s a fun weird goofy album, even if “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” drags on a bit too long. It definitely deserves to be released on CD, although it appears unlikely (at least until after Dylan croaks).