I’ve worn out my vinyl copy of The Basement Tapes. I never bothered to upgrade to CD.
I still remember the trip my family took to Tower Records in Manhattan where I bought it. I had a list of albums that I couldn’t find in the record stores in the malls of Western New Jersey. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café and sat under the guitar that Robbie Robertson played The Weight on at The Last Waltz.
After graduating from college, I somehow convinced my friends to move to Pittsburgh to start a band. We lived in a yellowish/pink house on South Neville Street that had a perfect basement for band rehearsals. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” was always on The Blackwell’s set list.
Mostly I've played The Basement Tapes on Sunday nights. It would sooth me against the dread of the upcoming week. Listening to The Basement Tapes took me to another world. My happy place. Friends getting together to play music in a completely relaxed atmosphere.
After my initial jealousy of not having thought of it first, I’ve really enjoyed listening to Chet Vincent and Famous Horse do their take on The Basement Tapes - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere The Basement Tapes Recorded in Quarantine. I salute their efforts. They capture the vibe. I don’t know how they pulled it off in quarantine, but they did. I’m having a much better quarantine this past week because of it.