(last night i finally got my sacd player to work. i put in blood on the tracks; it was like hearing the album for the first time. "if you see her, say hello" is one of my favorite songs. i must admit that i never really noticed its inexorable pace; in this mix, the percussion slaps you across the face & ends in double-time, like an expression of impatience, someone tired of hearing your story.

will oldham's wrenching cover of david allan coe's "in my mind" (listen), as lovely as it is rare, is like a late-night early draft of "if you see her ...," country cousin to dylan's second take of the song in new york (listen), ragged & exhausted. (lapse of time & change of scenery turned despair into resignation for dylan.) it sounds like he's sharing a basement flat w/ poor ol' toussaint mccall & between the two of them, they can't find a way of keeping the cold out. "if you see her ... " is music for looking at the stars; w/ "in my mind," well, you can't see nothing for all the tears. instead, you close your eyes & struggle to call to mind an image of someone you used to know, peering past the patina, wading through the fog.)