I remember when The Basement Tapes was released Dylan was riding high ....he had the comeback tour with the Band after his first number 1 album (Planet Waves - of all albums, can you believe that - plus they knocked it off in three days !) had released Blood On The Tracks 6 months before (also hit number 1) and all the critics and public were proclaiming Dylan was back. Columbia wisely assembled this as there was a renewed resurgence in his life and the mystery of what he did with The Band when he was holed up in Woodstock after his motorcycle accident in 1967. It hit Top 10 for what was essentially a double album of outtakes and demos recorded originally on a cassette recorder. You could practically hear the bottles of beer and booze being opened on the recordings.
I think there’s some gems on this (Down in The Flood, Going To Acapulco), but it’s more of a historical document showing he could have fun. By the way, 6 months after this he released Desire, another change of sound that also hit number 1. All this by an artist that the general consensus was his time in the sun was gone two years earlier........