The recording of Bob Dylan's 1963 performance at the Brandeis Folk Festival begins partway through the first song, "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance," like somebody had forgotten to switch on the tape machine. This sort of cold open is fitting: the 21-year-old troubadour was a fresh face at the time. He was billed below more prominent performers like Pete Seeger and Jean Ritchie. He was not burdened by the caravan of his many personas. He was not dogged by the acute cynicism of his later years, nor was he re-inventing himself at the more or less constant pace that would define the rest of his career. He was, in accordance with his second album title, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, which he would release two weeks later. The album would become a cornerstone of modern folk music and catapult him to the heights of fame. This was the last show Dylan would perform before becoming a cultural icon, and you can hear his earnestness in this beautifully preserved time capsule.
The tapes that would become In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 were recently discovered in the basement archives of Ralph J. Gleason, the late rock critic, cofounder of Rolling Stone, and early champion of Bob Dylan. Originally released in 2010 as a bonus disc companion to The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, the recording has finally been given official release. The Witmark Demos probably give the best context to Bob Dylan circa 1963; they comprehensively document the first recordings of a blossoming poet and musician, the young folkie who would go with Phil Ochs to the local library and plunder the headlines for song subjects. However, the demos exhibit the gravity and seriousness of a contemplative writer that was largely absent in his live show at the time.
Before "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues," Dylan gives the enigmatically titled song a brief introduction. The factual core of the song highlights the difference between him and many of the folk singers of his time. Dylan is a supremely empathetic songwriter, almost to the point where he's annihilated the idea of Bob Dylan qua person. Rather than writing standard protest songs, which often place the writer at a vantage point outside the action, Dylan imagines himself deep in the melee of the picnic. On other recordings Bob Dylan sounds weary, and his dusty delivery counterbalances the pure hilarity of what he's actually saying. Here, Dylan is giddy with delight, howling, "I was blind, couldn't walk, couldn't talk, I couldn't smell, I couldn't walk, crawl, feel touch, I was bald, I was naked," before finally concluding "quite lucky to be alive though." This song showcases his amazing sense of timing, muttering lines with such comic precision that I burst into laughs at least once or twice per listen. He's singing with such energy that he appears to knock over his guitar microphone in his excitement midway through the song.
The Brandeis performance captures Dylan at the beginning of his venture into songwriting. His debut eponymous album featured only two original songs; Freewheelin' would feature entirely original compositions save two. Every song in his Brandeis set was recorded for his second album, though they did not all make the cut. "Ballad of Hollis Brown" would appear on The Times They Are a-Changin'. Though the short set excludes his more notable songs from this period, it marks the beginning of Dylan's transformation to becoming a songwriter par excellence. A few years later Dylan would be releasing shockingly idiosyncratic material at a vertiginous pace. In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 shows a man on the precipice of greatness.
Yes, this a far cry from the decrepit man we saw at the Grammys in February, but it's also more outgoing than the Bob Dylan of only a few years later, the contrarian who retreated further from the spotlight as he climbed to fame. Dylan the cynic is here too but less so, present in the dark tones of "Masters of War" or "Ballad Of Hollis Brown." Nowadays, Dylan is cast in many roles: itinerant troubadour, folk hero, '60s icon, genius songwriter. In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 offers an oft overlooked aspect of Bob Dylan --humorist and performer. His kinetic stage presence wouldn't lose steam for over a decade, however it would only be a couple of years before his concerts were marked by an air of standoffishness, before he became folks biggest turncoat and peopled yelled "Judas."