Edge of the Ocean - Basement Tapes

Make no mistake about the Basement Tapes Complete, this is a historical document, not an "album." Others have done what I'm about to do, with more effect, better research, and with better quality writing, but I want to also try it with a little more (less?) detail. Here are the Basement Tapes, broken down, song by song. This may take a while as I'm doing it one at a time.

I am not a musician and don't pretend to be one. Comments on history and music will seem amateur, because they are.

"Edge of the Ocean"

We start off, surprisingly perhaps, with a Dylan original. I figured they'd mess around with some tried and true oldies to test the recording devices, and they do, but not yet.

Opens, endearingly, with them fiddling with the equipment. Spoken by Bob, "Once you shut it off, now, see how it's recording."

It's a nice composition to start, with some electric piano and some nice bass and accompanying guitar. The tambourine is a little out of place, and it sounds like someone is banging on the piano in lieu of a bass drum. The music almost fits the ocean theme of the song, like Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay does.

Many of the lyrics are indecipherable (at least by me), but on the surface it seems to be a little tune about seagulls and living next to the ocean. But some of the lyrics you CAN understand shoot this down for me. The last lines he sings seem to be, "...whatever will give no warning, well [___] your head to the ground. Well [let me tell?] you, brother, it's coming when the seagulls cross over town." This seems like a warning. But of what? Other lyrics seem to point to the ocean being something foreboding disaster, but I can't get enough out of it to confirm.

3 out of 5 stars. It's a good start and would be an interesting song if finished perhaps with a darker tone and, obviously, clearer lyrics.