Bob Dylan: Through the Open Window: Disc One

 There was great excitement in Dylan-world this week, as the 18th bootleg collection, covering Bob’s very early years (1956-1963) was released on Halloween. While 84-year-old Bob is touring in Europe, fans who aren’t there are probably cracking open this set.

This release came out in several formats, including CD, vinyl and streaming. Being a completist, of course I had to get the CD set, which has 8 CDs and a 123-page hardcover book by Sean Wilentz. The packaging seems great to me. The graphics and photos are excellent and everything seems sturdy. The set contains many tracks either never before officially released, or released only in very limited quantities. Some tracks have been circulating as bootlegs for years, but are of varying quality and not accessible to everyone.

But how does it sound? I decided to document my progress through these 8 CDs, with the help of Ray Padgett’s excellent, detailed Substack review: https://open.substack.com/pub/dylanlive/p/a-track-by-track-guide-to-bob-dylans?r=2cezxa&utm_medium=ios

Disc One is a collection of very early recordings. It’s fascinating to me to hear the artist we know as “Bob Dylan” develop from young Bobby Zimmerman. I loved hearing the short version of “Let the Good Times Roll” that 15-year-old Bobby and his friends recorded in a studio in St. Paul on Christmas Eve. You really can’t say that “Bob Dylan” is in evidence here, unless it’s in his obvious enthusiasm for singing and playing piano.

There are a lot of Woody Guthrie tunes and other folk songs, recorded in small clubs like the Gaslight, small concerts, and people’s living rooms. It’s fun to hear Bob joking around with the audience (where did that Bob go?). He has always had a sense of humor- “Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues” is really funny. 

We also get “Song to Woody,” which is a lot more familiar to people now after “A Complete Unknown”.  I kept thinking “Wow, Timothee really nailed it”!

Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues:

https://youtu.be/LIxNZ67oj5o?si=WKdxEOKF47m4QEbr



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