Dylan Fans Rejoice: 'Basement Tapes' Being Released

Bob Dylan once said that a rough collection of 138 songs he recorded with the Band at his home in 1967 should probably be destroyed. But the "Basement Tapes" are the stuff of legend and obsession for devoted Dylan fans, and now, every song has been remastered, arranged in the original playing order, and will be released on a six-disc collection. "The stuff that people haven't heard justifies, in every way, shape, and form, all the hype, hubris, and myth that surrounds these tapes," one musician tells Rolling Stone.

The tapes were recorded at Dylan's home Hi Lo Ha in upstate New York, the basement/garage of a nearby house dubbed Big Pink, and the Woodstock home of the Band's bassist and drummer. "We were playing with absolute freedom. We weren't doing anything we thought anyone else would ever hear, as long as we lived," says guitarist Robbie Robertson. RollingStone.com has a complete track listing and a sample track. The collection will be released Nov. 4. (More Bob Dylan stories.)