Creative process …

… First Listen: Bob Dylan, 'The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12' : NPR. ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The end results — three albums so saturated with inspiration, they loom as inescapable landmarks in popular music — have been analyzed endlessly. The Cutting Edge, which is available in several configurations geared to various degrees of Dylan obsession, doesn't burnish the legacy of those classics. Instead, it provides some backstory, hinting at the mood and methodology of the sessions. Over and over again, with a shifting cast of musicians working across a range of musical styles, Dylan tasked himself to transcend whatever was expected from him.