Bob Dylan
The Ghost Of Woody Guthrie
1961 Recordings

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01. Handsome Molly – July 29, 1961 (Riverside Church Tape)
02. Baby Please Don’t Go – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
03. Pastures Of Plenty – Early 1961 (Gleason Tape)
04. Ain’t Got No Home – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
05. Railroad Boy – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
06. 1913 Massacre – November 4, 1961 (Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall)
07. Poor Lazarus – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
08. This Train Is Bound For Glory – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
09. Gypsy Davy – Early 1961 (Gleason Tape)
10. How’d You Do – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
11. Young But Daily Growing – November 4, 1961 (Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall)
12. In The Evening – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
13. It’s Hard To Be Blind – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
14. Omie Wise – July 29, 1961 (Riverside Church Tape)
15. Railroad Bill – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
16. Talking Merchant Marine – November 4, 1961 (Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall)
17. Stealin’ – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
18. Cocaine Blues – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
19. Don’t Push Me Down – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
20. Car, Car – September 6, 1961 (Live at The Gaslight Cafe)
21. In The Pines – November 4, 1961 (Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall)
22. Remember Me – Early 1961 (Gleason Tape)

Bonus Tracks

01. Ramblin’ Round – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
02. San Francisco Bay Blues – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)
03. See The My Grave Is Kept Clean – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
04. VD City – December 22, 1961 (Minnesota Hotel Tape)
05. Backwater Blues – November 4, 1961 (Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall)
06. Death Don’t Have No Mercy – May 1961 (Minnesota Party Tape)

Notes

These recordings collectively form the best of what Bob Dylan recorded before the release of his first album. None are original songs; as the name suggests, Woody Guthrie and the music of the 1930s and 1940s hang like a specter over much of the material here.

You can really get a sense of Dylan beginning his journey towards musical stardom. While his earliest recordings here sound reasonably tentative, by the later recordings he has developed a knack for showmanship and inhabiting the songs. He even cracks a lewd joke when introducing “Talking Merchant Marine.”

As is unsurprising, the sound quality is questionable at times. While the Minnesota Hotel Tape and the Carnegie Chapter Hall recordings sound utterly remarkable, the Minnesota Party Tape and the Riverside Church Tape leave a bit to be desired. The Gleason Tape falls squarely in the middle – it has an ambience that makes up for its loud tape noise. None of the recording quality detracts significantly from the songs, and listenability was a concern, as ever, in compiling this set.

The bonus content includes a couple of songs that were on an earlier iteration of this record, and a handful of others that were interesting (especially Backwater Blues!) but that couldn’t quite fit on the proper CD. “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” represents the only representation of music present on Dylan’s debut LP, though the melody of “1913 Massacre” would be reappropriated for “Song To Woody.”

I hope you enjoy the collection, which represents a glimpse into the formative period in the performance art of Bob Dylan.

Grabbed this compilation from A Thousand Highways and converted the Apple Lossless files to FLAC. – Mat