‘That Wild Mercury Sound’

In November, Legacy Records released “The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12,” featuring demos and outtakes from the recording sessions for three of Bob Dylan’s most groundbreaking albums: “Bringing It All Back Home,” “Highway 61 Revisited,” and “Blonde on Blonde.” The set was issued in both two and six-disc iterations, as well as a limited-edition 18-disc set that includes every take of every song from the three albums. 

“It’s really for scholars,” observed Michael Weiskopf, a musician who both records his own music and fronts the Complete Unknowns, a band celebrating Mr. Dylan’s music and comprising many South Fork musicians. “You listen to the evolution of these songs — some of them are brilliant on the first take, and some they played a bunch of different ways. ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ is legendary,” he said of the artist’s scathing, six-plus-minute song that was in many ways revolutionary, “because it started out as a one-and-a-half-minute waltz.” 

A common denominator in the three albums is Bob Johnston, the music producer who was also known for his work with Johnny Cash, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, and Hoyt Axton. Johnston had a knack for drawing iconic, once-in-a-lifetime performances from recording artists. Mr. Dylan described his collaborations with Johnston as “that thin wild mercury sound,” which Mr. Weiskopf, who lives in East Hampton and Manhattan, described as onomatopoeia. “You couldn’t come up with a better description of that kind of quicksilver, rock sound,” he said. “I don’t think anybody duplicated it.” 

The Complete Unknowns will take that thin, wild mercury sound of Mr. Dylan’s 1965 and ’66 albums as the inspiration for their performance next Thursday at 8 p.m. at Guild Hall in East Hampton. “We thought that would be a great theme,” Mr. Weiskopf said. “Our whole thing about this band is the music needs to be played live, and to try to replicate that sound is pretty ambitious. We’re going to do some of these,” from the “Cutting Edge” compilation, and “things Dylan either hasn’t played in many years or never played live at all.” 

Johnston, who died last year, “was a giant,” Mr. Weiskopf said. “For anybody remotely interested in the recording process, we’re really lucky to have this,” he said of the “Cutting Edge” set, on which the producer and artist are heard discussing the songs as they form, morph, and change direction. Still, “you can hear that Dylan was very much in command. He was not shy about his will. You can hear him very much directing the process.” 

For the Complete Unknowns, which includes Klyph Black and Randolph Hudson III on guitars, Taka Shimizu on bass, and James Benard on drums, “it’s inspiring, looking at the different ways to approach these songs. We pride ourselves on the fact that we have our own approach, but will try to blend it all in here.” 

Dan Koontz will join the Unknowns on keyboards for this show. Also joining the band next Thursday will be Sara Conway, a vocalist, and Bonnie Grice, a D.J. on WPPB Peconic Public Broadcasting, who will serve as the evening’s M.C. and provide vocal accompaniment. 

In his own music, Mr. Weiskopf blends multiple genres under the “Americana” rubric, and like Mr. Dylan he is unafraid to confront political charlatans or social injustice. His 2014 album “Suffering Fools” included a commentary on firearms and mass shootings called “Guns Don’t Kill” and a playful ode to a would-be president called “Thank You, Canada (the Ted Cruz Song)” a video for which has been viewed more than 4,000 times on YouTube. “Just Like Johnny Cash,” from Mr. Weiskopf’s 2012 release “Insomnia,” recalls Johnston’s productions with that artist as well as Mr. Dylan. 

Points East, an acoustic quartet based in Southold, will open next Thursday’s show, which Mr. Weiskopf said will provide “a nice juxtaposition to what we’re going to do.” 

Mr. Weiskopf and members of the Complete Unknowns will also deliver a preview of their Guild Hall show on Saturday at 7 p.m. on the intimate stage of Innersleeve Records in Amagansett. 

Tickets for next Thursday’s Guild Hall show at 8 p.m. are $27 and $40, $25 and $38 for members.