Bob Dylan fans have been scouring their local record stores this past week to get their hands on a collection of studio outtakes from 1973 recently released by the legendary musician. Didn’t know anything about it? Don’t worry—you are not the only one.
As it turns out, Dylan secretly released the collection, titled 50th Anniversary Collection 1973, by sending a limited number of copies to record stores across Europe. It features 28 tracks taken from recording sessions for the soundtrack of 1973’s western flick Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.
The word about the release quickly spread among Dylan enthusiasts, who embarked on a quest to find a copy of the collection. Those who are unwilling to do the hard work can pick one on the secondary market, where they are priced out as much as $500.
The most likely reason why Bob Dylan released the 50th Anniversary Collection 1973 the way he did is a European copyright law that sends all recordings into the public domain if they are unreleased 50 years after being made.
Dylan previously did the same for the outtakes from his first three “electric albums,” Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde. They were released as a box set and also distributed to record stores in Europe in a limited capacity to fulfill the requirement.
