Does Bob think that the presidential election is this year? Dylan ’07 is the name of a website, actually set up a few months ago but only now properly launching with significant content. It was not designed to boost Bob’s political career, however. As we learned officially today, it exists to promote an album release in October of 2007. It is to be a “51 track ‘best of’ collection.”

A career-spanning, three-CD retrospective of Bob Dylan’s music - DYLAN - will be released worldwide on October 1 by Columbia Records. This definitive Bob Dylan collection chronicles the artist’s four decades of groundbreaking studio recordings, as well as his unparalleled influence on popular music and culture.

According to Sony BMG Commercial Music Group President John Ingrassia, “Each new generation eventually discovers what millions of people the world over have known for decades: That Bob Dylan is a singular artist whose songs and recordings represent the very best that music has to offer. This DYLAN set will provide a comprehensive introduction to an important body of work that continues to impact our culture and attract multitudes of new fans each year.”

Song selection for this comprehensive set is still being determined, and will be greatly influenced by impassioned fan lobbying on website dylan07.com. This site, which went live in February for fans to share thoughts on Bob Dylan’s music, swap stories about first hearing the artist’s songs and seeing him in concert, and more, has been updated today with the DYLAN artwork, a promotional trailer for the album, as well as the ability for fans to vote on the DYLAN track listing.

As referred to there, the site has a promotional trailer, which, frankly, made me laugh, with its breathless voiceover:

“Over two thousand concerts … six hundred songs … forty-four albums … five decades … one artist.”

They make Dylan sound like some kind of blockbusting steam roller, churning out product and demolishing all the competition. Oh well.

I don’t get the idea of the new collection. I mean, collections will always sell to some extent, but their marketing for this one seems aimed at dedicated fans — enlisting them to vote for their favorite songs, and submit stories (1200 character maximum). Yet, the one thing a dedicated fan doesn’t need is a “best of” collection. If you’re into Dylan, you’ve probably got it all already, and if you don’t have it now, you’ll be getting the original albums eventually. Why fork out dough for a redundant collection — liner notes and photos notwithstanding?

I guess they may well put a few previously unreleased things on to tempt the completists, but in the wired world of today, I’m not sure how well that strategy will work.

Columbia has so much great stuff in the vault, as we know — just think of all the live stuff alone — that they could be releasing further volumes of the Bootleg Series every three months, and have enough to last a century. They could put out a double-cd’s worth of highlights from each and every tour Dylan has ever done, for starters. Beginning about 1979, I suppose, since the earlier ones are relatively well covered.

Plus there’s that badly needed remix and remaster of Saved — the album Columbia tried to bury.

But I guess that would actually be listening to the fans, as opposed to trying to rope them into a mega-hype job for a “best of” collection that no one really needs.

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