Bob Dylan
- The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 review
A
Sacrilegious Lullaby in D Minor
Even
for those of us fortunate enough to already own a copy of Bob
Dylan’s 10/31/64, performance from Philharmonic Hall in New York,
its official release was still an extremely exciting occasion.
My copy was just fine, only a few technical anomalies, but certainly
not anything to warrant paying for a new one. But you
know what, I still did; I had to. This is Bob Dylan at his
best. From the first time I heard this show, it has remained
my favorite Dylan.
Dylan
never wanted to be anything other than Bob Dylan. He didn’t
want us to hold him up as an example, or to look to him for answers.
He just wanted his words to be heard for what they were. But
what they were meant everything. To refer to Bob Dylan as a
musician would be just as shortsighted as only remembering Thelonius
Monk as a good dancer. In his early years of musical
development (< 1962) Dylan performed many standard folk and blues
songs in the spirit of his idol Woody Guthrie, amongst others.
But by 1963, Dylan was releasing his second album (Freewheelin’),
which included almost all original compositions. Just as much
poetry, social observation, and political commentary as it was
music, it was a beautiful album. It was to be matched twice
over by his next two albums, The Times They Are A-Changin’
& Another Side of Bob Dylan. Between these three,
Dylan had an arsenal of words & music that many artists could
spend several lifetimes cultivating.
On
the night of Halloween, 1964, Dylan ambled on stage at the
Philharmonic Hall in New York City to treat those in attendance with
several selections from these albums, plus a few that had yet to be
released. Equipped only with an acoustic guitar and a
harmonica, what he gave them was his soul. The song selection
and performances included a little of everything from Dylan’s
first five albums (except his eponymous LP). Taking the advice
of Woody Guthrie, Dylan has clearly learned how to “Take it
easy,….but take it.” Dylan switched from the serious, to
the satirical, to the humorous, and back to intense with grace and
ease. He kept things rolling, and in a very jovial
disposition. He is heard several times throughout the
performance joking with the audience. He seems to be enjoying
himself quite a bit, and the people are certainly enjoying him.
Even
non-Dylan fans may find this show to be enjoyable in that Dylan’s
voice is in peak form; melodic, soothing, intense, and completely
intelligible. Every word is articulated to insure optimal
chances in following along with the barrage of word imagery that
Dylan slings at his listeners. “I would forever
talk to you, but soon my words they would turn into a meaningless
rain…” The concert never turns into the meaningless rain
that Dylan predicts, but it certainly gives the listener an
education that should come with a degree just for having heard it.
A brilliant social observer, Dylan’s songs "Who Killed Davey
Moore?," "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,"
& "Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues" (of
which Dylan intended to perform on Ed Sullivan, until he was told he
couldn’t perform it, to which Dylan left without performing at
all) are enough to turn the listener into a misanthrope. But
that would be missing his point, as Dylan had no intention of
convincing you to hate the human race, just to question it. He
quickly reminds you that “even the President of the United States
sometimes must have to stand naked.”
One
of my favorite moments of the performance is when Dylan himself
actually shows difficulty in remembering the plethora of words
involved in his songs. He makes a minor mistake during "It’s
Alright Ma," and then, on the very next song, "I Don’t
Believe You," Dylan can’t for the life of him remember how to
start the song. In a set of headphones, you can hear him
mumbling the lines to the second verse, searching for clues, only to
come up empty. He finally decides to bite the bullet and ask
the audience if anyone remembers how to start the song, of which had
only been available to the general public for three months.
And without missing a beat a voice comes out of the audience… “I
can’t understand!!!”
The
second half of the show includes three duets with, and one song sung
completely by, Joan Baez, including a Dylan-esque recapitulation of
American history called "With God on Our Side" that forces
the listener to reevaluate the American attribution bias, and
reminds you once again that he “can’t think for you.” He
had been laying issues on the table all night for the audience to
take home and digest. It wasn’t just a concert, it was a
cognitive therapy session whose only hope was that you wouldn’t
leave empty-headed.
All
the songs performed that night remain my favorite versions of those
songs. Although he did perform three songs from the upcoming Bringing
It All Back Home album, it would have been a little premature
for "Desolation Row," which would have been enough to put
me over the edge. (Much of Dylan’s audience was about to be
put over the edge in a few months when Dylan would start performing
with electric instruments.) Dylan is a master at never playing
his songs the same way twice, so a performance like this was not to
be heard again. “For the times they are a-changin’.”
With
this official release, the concert now comes in a sonically enhanced
format, and includes a 55-page booklet with linear notes from Sean
Wilentz who was in attendance that night, at age 13. More than
worth the money required to purchase this gem, I can’t say enough
that it will never leave rotation at my house and in my head.
“And
if my thought-dreams could be seen, they’d probably put my head in
a guillotine. But it’s alright ma’, it’s life and life
only.”
Brian
“Reggie” Anderson ©
River Falls, Wisconsin
