Maybe Someday: The edit you’ve never, ever heard before.

By Paul Thompson and Tony Attwood

Paul: Hi Tony.  I’ve been enjoying your Dylan website. I just read your entry on the song “Maybe Someday,” where you wrote this:

“If I could be given something impossible, just once, I would ask for the studio tape of “Maybe Someday”, and the opportunity to remix it. Maybe it is just me, but this is a stunning masterpiece, spoiled (only slightly) by the mix. Oh how I would love to deal with the female chorus. Who did that to the instrumental break? Being first up against the wall when the revolution comes is too good for them.”

Paul: There’s a music editing program that’s been around for about a year called Spleeter. One can use it fairly easily to split a song into various instruments, such as vocals, drums, bass, and so on. I just used it on “Maybe Someday” to remove the backing vocals through the instrumental break, as well as the end.

“I have to agree it sounds a lot better that way. I also lowered the drums and bass, since 1980s production tends to have too much of that.”

So here it is the unique Untold Dylan mix of “Maybe Someday”

Paul: Furthermore, consider the possibilities a program like this opens up! Are there other Dylan songs where you think the production needs improvement? Let me know and I may be able to do it. Or you can get this free program and try tinkering yourself. It’s fairly easy to use.

Tony: Sorry for the delay in replying, I’ve just had to call out the medics to restore me after I collapsed.  I mean this is crazy.  I wrote that original review about nine years ago, and updated it a while later without any thought that it could ever be possible to cut out those singers.

Of course now that has been done I know why the producer (be it Bob or someone else) put the singers over the guitar solo, because it hides some uninspired playing at that point, but even so I’d still sooner have my version.

And the possibilities now are endless.  Find a song and tweak it!

Of course I do appreciate that lots of people might well say this is sacrilege but in fact isn’t this what Bob, and indeed all the cover artists do all the time – they modify the music.  That is a major part of the attraction of Bob’s work.  It is so powerful and varied that it is possible to do something else with the music.  And now it turns out we can do it ourselves.

Paul: And here’s another edit I made today. I think this was due to something I read somewhere on your website, where it was pointed out the Bootleg Series version of “Long Black Veil” went on way too long, due to the fact that the take of the song is basically two versions of it, back to back. So I cut out the first half. I like it better now.

Tony: I think the possibilities here are endless, and I really hope we can follow through on this.  Of course I am sure there are people who much prefer the original – and anyway who are we to mess around with what Dylan feels like releasing?  And for such people I would say fine, don’t listen.

I’ll try and find some other songs I would like to be re-edited.  But if anyone else has suggestions, please either work on the song yourself and send me (Tony@schools.co.uk) the results for publication here, or if you are not technically minded just make the suggestion and maybe Paul will have a go (if he has time!).

But for now this is a unique Dylan recording – on Untold!

I also suggest you do take a look at Paul’s website. It is utterly amazing

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/