Sometimes they simply present alternate routes to the same basic end-point. Sometimes they serve a shadow function - unissued songs that, had they come out the first time around, would have fundamentally rewritten the artist's story. How much does any musician's outtakes, sanctioned for release years after the fact, enlarge our understanding of their canonical work? Depends on the artist depends on the work.
The performance was filmed for Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz. Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and The Band's Robbie Robertson (from left to right) onstage in 1976.
