Lost Songs: The Basement Tapes Continued

This Showtime-aired documentary chronicles the making of 2014's T-Bone Burnett-produced Lost on the River, an album featuring songs built from unfinished lyrics that Bob Dylan wrote while recording The Basement Tapes with the Band in 1967 (Columbia would not release the heavily-bootlegged set until 1975). The artists include Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford (Mumford and Sons), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), all of whom sing and bring their instrumental expertise to the two-week recording session at Los Angeles's Capitol Studios. Director Sam Jones interweaves rehearsal performances with dramatically-recreated archival footage and audio recollections from those who worked on or wrote about The Basement Tapes, including Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin, critic Greil Marcus, and Band bassist Rick Danko (although photos might have worked better than the convincingly grainy but extraneous re-creations). This almost plays like two documentaries in one, although there's often a relationship, since some of the featured artists have a connection to Dylan, such as James, who performed “Goin' to Acapulco” in Todd Haynes's kaleidoscopic bio-pic I'm Not There. Although Dylan himself never appears, Johnny Depp drops by to join Mumford for “Kansas City” on which he plays guitar. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include six bonus tracks. Sure to appeal to fans of all things Dylan, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)