A 10” acetate with an unreleased version of Bob Dylan’s cover of the Gordon Lightfoot classic “Early Morning Rain,” previously owned by Dylan and used during the making of his 1970 album Self Portrait.  This version, without overdubs, has only Dylan on guitar and harmonica, Al Kooper on piano, and David Bromberg on guitar; it was recorded at Columbia Studio B in New York on March 4, 1970.  Later in March producer Bob Johnston took the acoustic tapes this group recorded to Nashville, where he overdubbed other instruments–in this case, Kenneth Buttery on drums and Charlie Daniels on bass. This acetate has the same take as the released version, but without the bass and drum overdubs, and sounds fantastic.

The acetate was part of a collection of Dylan acetates discovered this year in a five story brownstone at 124 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village.  From approximately 1969 through 1972, Dylan rented the ground  floor of the building for use as a studio (at the time, he lived two blocks away at 94 McDougal St.)  When the owner of the building died in January 2014, her executor found the acetates in two boxes labeled “Old Records,” in a a loft closet above the bedroom.  The discovery of these acetates by Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold received extensive media coverage in publications including The New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Rolling Stone, and Billboard (read the complete story and see more photos on the Recordmecca blog.)
The Houston St. Studios Acetates originally belonged to Bob Dylan, who either discarded them or left them when he moved out of the building in the early 1970’s. For more than 40 years, they were carefully stored by the building’s owner, and only discovered by chance by before the building was put up for sale earlier this  year.  This acetate is in Near Mint- condition, probably played no more than once or twice, but with some light inaudible pressure marks.  It sounds fantastic and a digital transfer on CDR is included.  With a copy of a letter of authenticity from the estate’s executor detailing how he discovered the acetates, and a letter of authenticity and written lifetime guarantee from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, an internationally recognized Dylan authority.  A remarkable Dylan artifact formerly owned by Dylan himself. (Inventory #107.)