4 Legendary Rock Bootlegs That Are True Collector’s Items for Real Music Lovers

Bootlegs aren’t really a thing anymore. For youngsters who may have never heard the term, a “bootleg” was a live or studio recording that managed to get leaked to the public outside of a band’s record company. Some bootlegs were hoaxes, and others were legitimate. Things are quite different now in the age of streaming; but back then, bootleg recordings were like little collector’s items. And these four records were some of the best rock bootlegs of all time!

1. ‘Great White Wonder’ by Bob Dylan

When it comes to the best rock bootlegs of all time, Bob Dylan’s Great White Wonder started the trend. Bootlegs definitely existed before this one, but this particular bootleg was the first to get a ton of attention.

This bootleg is full of outtakes and not-so-formal sessions that the broader range of Dylan fans would hear on his 1975 record The Basement Tapes. The bootleg is more or less a rougher, poorer-quality version of that album.

2. ‘Dark Side Of The Moo’ by Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd’s releases in the UK and the US were notably different from each other. That’s just kind of how record production was back in the day. Lots of Pink Floyd fans in the US didn’t get versions of their favorite albums that represented the true sound of the band. 

Dark Side Of The Moo was a bootleg that sought to fix that issue. It featured tracks like “Point Me To The Sky” and “Astronomy Dopamine”, which were unreleased in the US at the time. This particular bootleg likely encouraged record labels to stop messing around with different countries’ versions of the same album.

3. ‘Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be’ by The Rolling Stones

This bootleg became so overwhelmingly popular among Rolling Stones fans that the band had to respond to it. In 1969, the Stones performed in California and played a few new cuts including “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Gimme Shelter”. Someone snuck in a mic and a tape recorder, and eventually released this famous bootleg. Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be was so huge that it managed to get a gold certification via the RIAA. 

4. ‘Golden Eggs’ by The Yardbirds

You’ll be hard-pressed to find evidence of this bootleg by The Yardbirds anywhere on the internet, though it’s definitely floating around there somewhere. Trademark Of Quality was the distributor behind this bootleg, as well as famous releases from everyone from David Bowie to Jimi Hendrix. 

This release featured some songs that were out of print across the pond and unavailable to American listeners. It also happens to feature some early Jimmy Page cuts and instrumentals from Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives

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