There remains some speculation as to why original copies were almost immediately recalled and other tracks added/substituted. Some cite the controversy around "Talking John Birch Blues" not being performed on the CBS-owned Ed Sullivan Show, or the fact that the songs Dylan wrote and recorded after the original sessions included two of his future classics, "Masters of War" and "Girl from the North Country" and were too good not to be issued.

Few of the original pressings have survived and include these four tracks: "Rocks and Gravel/Let Me Die In My Footsteps/Gamblin’ Willie’s Dead Man’s Hand/Talkin’ John Birch Blues." (Only the stereo issue actually lists these tracks on the label, the mono version does not, but original copies have the matrix numbers on both sides ending in 1A as here).