Christmas in the Heart - Bob Dylan

Christmas in the Heart

Bob Dylan

Columbia Records  88697 57323 1

2009

This was my go-to record this Christmas.  When it first came out I wondered if it was some kind of put-on.  However Dylan has demonstrated his admiration for pop standards and songcraft repeatedly over the past couple of decades so I'm pretty sure he is sincere.  Anyway whatever his intentions might have been, he delivers big time.  This is among my favorite Christmas albums of all time.  It is a perfect mix of religious and secular Christmas classics featuring pleasing arrangements that are mostly faithful to the traditional interpretations.  Admittedly time has not been kind to Dylan's voice which was pretty rough to start with, but I've learned to embrace his gravelly crooning and on this record it is particularly warm and engaging.  It gives freshness to songs I've heard too many times.  "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Winter Wonderland" are delivered with a conviction that I find mind boggling.  They sound great.  Even when a song challenges Dylan's range as with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O' Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)" (Dylan sings the first verse in Latin!), "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (whoever thought Dylan would be covering Judy Garland!), "The First Noel" and "O' Little Town of Bethlehem" I still find the results charming particularly when his background singers help smooth some of Dylan's rough edges.  Songs that often annoy me like "Must Be Santa," "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Little Drummer Boy" are enjoyable to me when Dylan croaks them out in his raspy voice.  The former is especially fun since Dylan gives it a high tempo raucous Cajun/Tejano flavored interpretation that is extremely dynamic.  It is one of my favorite tracks.  I also really like his piano driven "Silver Bells" which is full of feeling.  Much to my surprise, his version of "The Christmas Song" is also one of my favorites.  It features a wonderful low key arrangement and Dylan's vocal is utterly convincing.  It is almost good enough to make me forget about Nat "King" Cole.  His performance of that other Christmas chestnut "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is nearly as good.  Like any good Christmas album there are a couple of more obscure Christmas songs among the familiar classics.  "Christmas Island" was recorded by the Andrews Sisters back in the 1940s.  It is very appealing with a tropical arrangement and stellar support from the background singers.  The other unusual track is the brilliant "The Christmas Blues" which Dean Martin recorded in the 1950s.  The song is right in Dylan's wheelhouse and he doesn't miss.  It really sends me.  Martin might have the prettier version but Dylan's is more heartfelt.  I think that's the secret to this record.  I have lots of Christmas records by people who sing more beautifully than Dylan but hardly any of them approach him in sincerity and commitment.  I feel like Dylan really loves these songs and treats them with respect and affection.  On top of all that Dylan donated his royalties for this record to charities.  It was a real Christmas gift to all of us.  Recommended to Christmas fans who dig Tom Waits.

Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall New York City, November 4, 1961 - Bob Dylan

Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall New York City, November 4, 1961
Bob Dylan
Mr. Suit Records  SUITABLE1305
2013

This is a good time to be a Dylan fan.  Columbia Records has been emptying its vaults providing a steady stream of archival recordings covering most of his recording career.  However they have so far not released this recording of one of the seminal events in his early career, his legendary concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall.  The recording is a little rough in spots but generally sounds good, certainly acceptable quality for an archival release.  Perhaps it is the great man himself who has chosen not to sanction a legitimate release of it, maybe he is embarrassed by it.  I think it is wonderful and I'm delighted to have a copy of it on vinyl.  This is an adequate pressing by bootleg standards, my only real complaint about it is that it omits one of the songs from the show, "This Land is Your Land."  That track appeared on Columbia's "The Bootleg Series: Vol 7" so I'm guessing its legitimate release prevented its inclusion due to whatever passes for copyright standards in Europe.  The album begins with the traditional song "Pretty Peggy-O" which appeared on Dylan's debut album with slightly different lyrics.  The song is an Americanized version of the old Scottish song "The Bonnie Lass O'Fyvie."  The song fades in and out in an annoying manner.  It might be a technical problem but it might also be a nervous Dylan drifting too far from his microphone.  This sporadically happens throughout the record.  He follows the song with a story about getting lost on his way to the concert when he got off at the wrong subway stop as well as describing how he constructed his set list by borrowing songs from other performers.  He then facetiously introduces the traditional song "In the Pines" as being about an 11 year old girl learning about life by going out a lot.  Dylan's version lacks the intensity of the classic Leadbelly versions.  He quickly launches into another song from his debut, "Gospel Plow."  There is a false start with his vocal practically inaudible.  He tries it again and performs with a lot of energy, whooping and hollering his way through the song.  While tuning his guitar he talks about spending time with Woody Guthrie when he first came to New York and then he performs Guthrie's classic protest song "1913 Massacre."  It is an earnest and respectful performance.  Side B opens with a passionate cover of Bessie Smith's "Blackwater Blues" that shows Dylan's charisma to good effect.  He follows this with "A Long Time A-Growing" which is more commonly known as "The Trees They Grow So High."  In his introduction Dylan says he recently learned the song from Liam Clancy and with winning candor describes his version as "straight imitation."  He identifies the song as an Irish song, but it is more likely of British origin.  I'm a big fan of Pentangle's version of it.  Dylan's performance sounds tentative and mild (perhaps because he just recently learned it) although I like its intimacy.  Dylan perks up again with a vigorous cover of Bukka White's "Fixin' To Die" which he also recorded for his debut album.  Side C opens with Dylan's original composition "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" which is a talking blues obviously influenced by Woody Guthrie.  Noel Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary has said that he showed a newspaper clipping of the event described in the song to Dylan in a cafe and that Dylan returned with the newly written song the next day.  Dylan recorded a studio version of the song during the sessions for "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" that eventually appeared on the first "Bootleg Series" compilation.  Dylan's live performance of the song is confident and shows his comic side.  Dylan deprecatingly introduces "Man on the Street" as his own song suggesting it might be a good time to go out for a cigarette.  The song, which was untitled at the time, was lifted from "The Strange Death of John Doe" by Millard Lampell which was recorded by the Almanac Singers in 1941.  Dylan improved the song by adding the striking imagery of the cop poking the dead homeless guy with his billy club.  Dylan recorded the song for his debut but it did not get released until the first "Bootleg Series" album.  "Talking Merchant Marine" is another Guthrie cover.  Dylan's performance is bland, he sounds like he wasn't comfortable with the song.  Given that the song is so specific to World War II, it is a curious choice for the show.  "Black Cross" was taken from a poem by Joseph S. Newman (the uncle of Paul Newman) which was recorded by Lord Buckley.  Dylan introduces the song saying he learned it from Buckley when he saw him perform it at the Casino in Portland, Oregon.  I suspect he actually learned it from Buckley's album "Way Out Humor."  Dylan recites the poem rather than singing it, while accompanying himself on guitar.  It is a poem about religious hypocrisy and racism, it is easy to see why it appealed to Dylan who gives a convincing performance.  All three of the songs on Side D appeared on Dylan's debut album.  John Lair's "Freight Train Blues" dates back to the 1930s and was covered by a bunch of artists including Red Foley, Roy Acuff, Hank Williams and the Weavers.  Dylan gives an engaging and lively performance complete with yodeling.  It is one of my favorite tracks on the record.  "Song to Woody" was Dylan's homage to his hero, Woody Guthrie, and its music was taken from "1913 Massacre" which Dylan performed earlier in the show.  It is a heartfelt performance that gets a strong reaction from the audience although the fading in and out issue that runs through the record is particularly irritating on this track.  The album ends with "Talkin' New York" which is about Dylan's experiences after he first came to New York.  I've always liked the line the coffee shop owner tells him, "you sound like a hillbilly anyway, we want folk singers here" which sums up the folk boom quite nicely.  I love this show, I wish Dylan would authorize a legitimate release of it with cleaned up sound and equalized sound levels.  Given how taciturn Dylan has become as a performer, it is a real treat to hear him chatty and effusive, performing with enthusiasm and an eagerness to please.  The performance is a bit raw, Dylan was obviously still learning and developing, but the material is terrific and I find the record fascinating.  Recommended to Dylan fans who wish he never went electric.

Music From Big Pink - The Band

Music From Big Pink
The Band
Capitol ST 2995
1968

I was watching Bob Dylan's show down in Irvine last year which was part of his Americana Tour and got to thinking that there was probably no more anonymous job in music than playing in Dylan's back-up band.  Bashful Bob keeps the lights down low when he plays and refuses to allow cameras to broadcast his set.  He has his boys all in matching outfits and doesn't bother to introduce them to the audience.  I could have run into any of them in the parking lot and would not have had a clue I'd been watching them on stage.  I guess playing with Dylan is its own reward.  I'd happily do it if I were good enough.  Near the end of his set, Dylan brought out Jim James and Jeff Tweedy and they all launched into a moving cover of the Band's "The Weight" which reminded me that there was at least one Dylan back-up band that wasn't anonymous at all.  The Band was widely revered in the Bay Area when I was growing up there and that was where they chose to end their career as documented in the film "The Last Waltz."  I remember all the hoopla about that show which puzzled me at the time.  I did not understand all the fuss about the group, I thought they were kind of boring.  The group was celebrated as being a return to the roots of rock when they came out with this album in 1968, a reaction against the excesses and pretensions of the psychedelic era.  I on the other hand adored the psychedelic era and disliked the unadorned simplicity of this music.  Although I still prefer psychedelic music to roots rock, I've come to admire this album as I've gotten older particularly after I became a fan of country and folk music which informs so much of their sound.  My copy of the record is a British import because I have a collector's fetish thing for imports.  I should have bought the domestic version though because that is a gatefold cover that has pictures of the band and the pink house that inspired the title of the record.  One of these days I'll pick up one.  This is my favorite album by the Band.  It opens brilliantly with "Tears of Rage" by Dylan and Richard Manuel (uncredited on my copy of the record.)  I love the version Dylan cut with the Band on "The Basement Tapes" but this is the definitive version of the song.  Manuel's tortured vocal is so powerful as he expresses the "King Lear" inspired lyrics of parent-child discord, so resonant of the generational conflicts that helped fuel the fires of the 1960s.  The Band somberly plays the tune like they are performing at a funeral, yet still imbue the music with passion.  They pick up the pace for Robbie Robertson's "To Kingdom Come" which features some sizzling guitar work from Robertson.  The lyrics feature the Biblical influence that permeates the imagery of the album but the song is largely a secular tale of moral ambiguity and karma.  Manuel's "In a Station" is a keyboard driven oblique love song.  I have no idea what Robertson's "Caledonia Mission" is about but is sounds pretty nice, a countryish tune with a forceful chorus.  Side One concludes with one of the Band's best known songs, Robertson's "The Weight."  I have to confess I disliked the tune as a teen.  I did not understand what they trying to say in the song and I was repelled by the roughness of the vocals.  I'm still not really sure what it is about, but I've come to admire the song as much as most people do.  The song offers a series of vignettes of small town Southern life liberally sprinkled with Biblical references that make the song seem deeper than it really is.  The powerful Gospel influenced music adds to the gravity of the song as well.  It is a great performance, but my favorite version of the song is the one by Aretha Franklin on "This Girl's in Love with You."  Side two opens with Manuel's "We Can Talk" which features Manuel, Danko and Levon Helms sharing the vocal.  The song sounds silly to me but it does benefit from a strong rhythm and blues style melody.  "Long Black Veil" was originally a hit for Lefty Frizzell who has my favorite version of it.  I'm not a big fan of the song, I think it is maudlin and contrived.  It is sung from the point of view of a dead guy who preferred to be executed rather than reveal that he'd been making love to his best friend's wife at the time of the murder he was convicted of.  The Band solemnly play the song at a lethargic pace that makes it even more oppressive to listen to.  Robertson's "Chest Fever" opens with a fancy organ solo that sounds like prog rock but fortunately that leads into a heavy riff that drives one of the hardest rocking songs on the album.  The song is about a guy with woman trouble.  The energy level plummets with Manuel's "Lonesome Suzie" which is a glacially slow ballad about an unhappy woman who needs a friend.  Manuel's plaintive vocal is the only thing I like about the song.  There are lots of covers of "This Wheel's on Fire" (listed as "Wheels on Fire" on the sleeve of my album) but this one is my favorite.  The song was written by Dylan and Rick Danko (who is uncredited on my record) and dates back to "The Basement Tapes" sessions.  Danko's vocal gives the song a feeling of urgency supported by the group's robust playing.  The lyrics are typically full of the evocative language and imagery of Dylan in the 1960s.  The record concludes with Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" which in the hands of the Band sounds like a gospel song.  Manuel's high quavery vocal is very effective and it gives the album an emotional finish.  In retrospect it was not a good omen for the future of the Band that three of the four best songs on the record were written by Bob Dylan.  I feel like they did their best work collaborating with Dylan.  On their own, their songwriting was their weakness.  They could play and sing great, but aside from their follow-up album "The Band," their albums were hampered by pedestrian songwriting, especially as Manuel's output diminished.  However on this album, the group is terrific.  The record is loaded with good songs and strong performances.  This album has aged very well, it still sounds like a classic album, heartfelt, authentic and full of integrity.  Recommended to fans of Wilco and Ryan Adams.

Words and Music by Bob Dylan - The Hollies

Words and Music by Bob Dylan
The Hollies
Epic BN 26447
1969

This was the album that helped drive Graham Nash out of the Hollies and into the welcoming arms of Stephen Stills and David Crosby.  I can see why Nash was pissed, after the adventurous psych-pop of the previous two Hollies albums "Evolution" and "Butterfly" this album was a huge step backwards.  It has a terrible reputation which is not undeserved I suppose, but I still like it.  I do think it is the worst Hollies album of the 1960s though and Dylan is poorly served by it as well.  The songs get a poppy treatment and Allan Clarke frivolously sings the lyrics like he is still singing about Carrie Anne or bus stop romances.  The group's ludicrous lounge-style performance of "Blowin' In The Wind" is the most egregious example of this, although considering the myriad covers of this song back in the 1960s I give the Hollies points for trying something different.  This album would be better and more useful if the Hollies had attempted some more obscure Dylan songs.  All the songs are very well-known aside from "Quit Your Lowdown Ways" and there is not a single song on here that has not been done better by Dylan himself or others who have covered him.  The Byrds trounce them on "My Back Pages" and "All I Really Want To Do" (the Hollies' version features a steel drum solo!)  Peter, Paul and Mary had better versions of "Quit Your Lowdown Ways," "When The Ship Comes In," and "Blowin' In The Wind" - at least you know they cared about the words.  Dylan and Linda Ronstadt had better (and sexier) versions of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."  Even Julie Driscoll had a better cover of "This Wheel's On Fire" as did the Band and Ian and Sylvia.  Manfred Mann had the definitive version of "The Mighty Quinn," as did the Band with "I Shall Be Released."  Dylan's own versions of "I Want You," "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "Just Like a Woman" are infinitely preferable to the Hollies' covers.  Numerous 1960s folk-pop acts from the Silkie to the Seekers to Jackie DeShannon, did Dylan better than the Hollies.  So why do I like this album?  I like it because it sounds like a Hollies album.  As a Dylan record it is a travesty, but it is nonetheless full of the pop bliss the Hollies brought to the lightweight ditties they normally performed.  The elaborate arrangements and enchanting vocal harmonies that were their trademark are prevalent throughout the album.  For all their faults, the Hollies were masters at creating catchy pop music that sounded wonderful.  I don't blame Graham Nash for leaving them, their commercial attitude stifled his artistic growth, but I'm not convinced that his subsequent career was any better than his work with the Hollies.  "Crosby, Stills & Nash" is a far superior record from an artistic standpoint, but this album gives me more pleasure.  Recommended to people who find Bob Dylan hard to listen to. 

Carolyn Hester - Carolyn Hester

Carolyn Hester
Carolyn Hester
Columbia CS 8596
1962

Carolyn Hester's third album and her debut album for Columbia Records.  In my post on "Joan Baez in Concert Part 1" I mentioned that I've never understood Baez's immense popularity during the folk boom.  As a corollary to that, I understand even less why Baez became a big star and Carolyn Hester did not.  Hester seemingly had it all.  She had a terrific voice, more relaxed and expressive than Baez and equally polished and powerful.  She was a good guitarist.  She had better taste in material, earthier and less corny.  She was just as attractive as Baez, perhaps even more so.  Bob Dylan was smitten with her, he called her "double barrel beautiful" in his memoir "Chronicles Volume One."  In his book he discussed the circumstances that led to him playing harmonica on three cuts on this album and gave her credit for introducing him to the album's producer John Hammond and thus launching his own career on Columbia Records.  Dylan also expressed envy towards Richard Fariña for being married to Hester.  Prior to marrying Mimi Baez, Fariña was indeed married to Hester and in David Hajdu's book "Positively 4th Street" he paints an unflattering picture of Fariña using Hester to launch his own music career.  Hajdu claims it was Fariña's idea for Dylan to play on this album but Hester disputes this.  However it happened, Dylan did make his recording debut on this record, which is largely why this record is hard to find and rather pricey.  Dylan's presence on this record overshadows Hester practically, which is a shame because this is a wonderful record in its own right.  Besides Dylan, Hester is also accompanied by guitarist Bruce Langhorne and bassist Bill Lee for much of the album.  The album opens with Albert E. Brumley's classic gospel song "I'll Fly Away" which features Dylan, Langhorne and Lee adding instrumental support to Hester's robust vocal.  It is one of my favorite tracks on the album.  Dylan makes the most of his opportunity blowing up a storm.  The religious theme continues with "When Jesus Lived in Galilee" which was popularized by John Jacob Niles who collected the song in Kentucky. "Los Biblicos" is derived from "Los Bilbilicos" an old song in Ladino, the Jewish language derived from medieval Spanish.  Hester sings the lyrics popularized by Theodore Bikel which are considerably different from traditional versions although the imagery of the songs are similar featuring unhappy lovers listening to nightingales sing.  This hauntingly beautiful music has an exotic Middle Eastern flavor that reflects its Sephardic origin and the interplay of the guitars is exquisite.  If you don't believe that Hester could sing as well as Baez, check out her gorgeous vocal on this song.  "Yarrow" is a ballad of Scottish origin collected by Francis Child that is generally known by the title "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow."  It is a stirring tale of a ploughboy vying with 9 gentlemen for the love of a lady, who is attacked by the gentlemen.  He defeats them all and then is treacherously stabbed in the back by the lady's brother.  It is another one of my favorite tracks on the album.  Pushed along by the two guitarists playing fast-paced runs, Hester's passionate vocal brings the old song to life.  "Dink's Song" will be familiar to those who have seen the Coen Brothers' film "Inside Llewyn Davis" where it is heard several times.  The bluesy song was first documented by John Lomax in Texas in the early 1900s.  It was also part of Dylan's early repertoire and appears on the bootlegs identified as the "Minneapolis Hotel Tape" recorded in 1961 (you can hear its first legitimate release on "The Bootleg Series Vol. 7.")  Hester's vocal really sends me, she sings it with such feeling.  "Swing and Turn Jubilee" is a lively dance song made popular by Jean Ritchie who collected it in Kentucky.  She is joined again by Dylan, Langhorne (on fiddle) and Lee who provide considerable propulsion for the tune.  "Once I Had A Sweetheart" is a folk song that was popular in the Appalachians although it is apparently of English or Scottish origin given its resemblance to the traditional ballads "As Sylvie Was Walking" and "Green Grow the Lilacs."  I first heard it on Pentangle's version on "Basket of Light" and it remains one of my favorite Pentangle songs, but Hester's performance is equally wonderful.  Her stunning vocal gives me chills and for me it is the best track on the album.  According to Hajdu, Dylan taught Hester "Come Back, Baby" because she wanted to learn a blues song for her album.  The song was written by Walter Davis and was recorded many times, my favorite version being Ray Charles' performance on "Ray Charles," his debut album for Atlantic. Hester sings it convincingly, her Texas background serves her well on this tune.  Dylan's harmonica adds some color to the song although his solo is practically just a single sustained note.  "Dear Companion" is another Appalachian song popularized by Jean Ritchie.  It features a broken hearted girl singing about an unfaithful lover and Hester sings it with much tenderness.  It is one of her best vocals on the album, it cuts right through me.  "Galway Shawl" is an Irish folk song that Hester sings a cappella.  It is another excellent performance.  "Pobre De Mi" is more commonly known as "Por Un Amor" a Mexican Ranchera style song by Gilberto Parra.  I remember hearing it on my father's mariachi records when I was a kid and Linda Ronstadt also did a version of it on "Canciones de mi Padre."  Hester sings it capably in Spanish demonstrating her range and versatility.  Langhorne's playing adds a lot to the song as well, some of his best work on the record.  "Virgin Mary" is an African-American spiritual song that is also known as "Pretty Little Baby."  It is a Christmas song about the birth of Jesus.  Hester sings it beautifully but it is my least favorite track.  It reminds me of Joan Baez, who had it in her early repertoire.  I just love this record, it is one of my favorite folk records of the 1960s.  Hester is magnificent but some credit should also go to Bruce Langhorne whose tasteful accompaniment does a lot to enhance the atmosphere and dynamic quality of Hester's sound.  This did not go unnoticed by Richard Fariña who would later employ Langhorne for a similar effect on his own records.  If there was any justice in this universe, this record would have made Hester a big star like Baez.  I guess she did get the last laugh though, because many of her records are now pricey collectables and you can find Baez albums in the bargain bin.  For the typical price of a nice first pressing of this album in a used record store, you can buy just about every album Joan Baez ever recorded.  I was fortunate enough to find a good quality first pressing for about the price of 4 or 5 used Joan Baez albums which I consider one of my best scores ever.  I don't usually endorse pricey collectables especially when there is a reasonably priced CD alternative, but this record is just about worth the price.  Hester's voice was made for vinyl, this is a great sounding record.  Recommended to fans of early Sandy Denny.

Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963
Bob Dylan
Columbia 88697-84743-1
2011

I took my kid to see Bob Dylan at the Hollywood Bowl last fall.  I say "see" but it was more like "hear" since Dylan refused to allow the Bowl's cameras to be trained on him for the the big screen projections on the side of the stage.  Unless you were in the pit, you could barely see him especially since Dylan also kept the stage lights dim so all you could see was a shadowy figure scurrying back and forth from the piano to the front of the stage.  The music was terrific but Dylan barely said a word to the crowd and when he did you could hardly understand his hasty mumbles.  There was a time when Bob wasn't so bashful.  I enjoy hearing his early concerts where he actually deigned to acknowledge his audience and even tell a few stories.  This show was discovered in the collection of the critic Ralph J. Gleason.  It dates from a folk festival at Brandeis University on May 10, 1963 just a few weeks before the release of his breakthrough album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan."  Side one starts with a song from that album, "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance."  The recording starts in the middle of the song.  It is a charming folk blues derived from a 1920s recording by Henry Thomas.  It is followed by "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues," the first of three talking blues songs on the album, which is two too many for me.  This is my favorite of the three.  It presents the viewpoint of a paranoid right-wing fanatic with considerable humor.  It was supposed to appear on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" but was yanked by record company weasels following the controversy that surrounded Dylan's attempt to perform it on "The Ed Sullivan Show" which was vetoed by CBS television weasels.  You can hear the studio version on the first "Bootleg Series" collection.  Next up is "Ballad of Hollis Brown" which appeared on his third album, "The Times They Are a-Changin'," and which I think is one of the best of his early songs.  It tells the grim tale of a South Dakota farmer who kills himself and his family over despair about his hopeless poverty.  The incessant guitar riff and the apocalyptic imagery of the song foreshadow Dylan's classic "All Along the Watchtower."  The side closes with a powerful performance of "Masters Of War" which also appeared on "Freewheelin.'"  I find many of Dylan's protest songs to be heavy-handed and dated, but this one holds up really well, unfortunately it is still very relevant.  I really dig its venomous tone.  It deservedly gets a rousing response from the audience at this show.  Side two opens with another "Freewheelin'" song, "Talkin' World War III Blues."  The song is a humorous look at a post-nuclear apocalypse.  "Bob Dylan's Dream" is yet another tune from "Freewheelin'" and is set to the melody of a traditional English folk song.  Its poignant and autobiographical tone sets it apart from a lot of Dylan's early songs and it is one of my favorite songs from that era.  Dylan sings it with a lot of feeling in this performance.  The album concludes with "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" which was an outtake from the "Freewheelin'" sessions which eventually appeared on the first "Bootleg Series" collection.  It is the oldest song on the album dating back to 1961.  Dylan introduces the song by telling the story of the failed picnic that inspired the song.  The song has some humor, but it is pretty slight.  He had so many other better songs by this point, I'm surprised that he still included it in his performance repertoire.  The audience seems to like it though.  I'm really happy with this record.  I dig the retro art work and the high quality pressing.  The sound quality of the original recording is excellent and the performance has a lot of feeling and intimacy.  It is just Dylan with a harmonica and an acoustic guitar but it still sounds rich and satisfying.  It is a very worthy addition to his amazing catalog.  Columbia keeps cranking out these archival Dylan recordings and I've yet to hear one that wasn't really worthwhile.  I hope there are many more still to come.  Recommended to people who love "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan."

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - The Silkie

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
The Silkie
Fontana  MGF 27548
1965 

Another souvenir from my trip to Boulder.  It has more ringwear than I normally deem acceptable, but the vinyl was pristine, it was cheap and I really wanted to hear it so I went ahead and bought it.  I was not disappointed.  Folk-pop is a guilty pleasure for me.  I know it is phony and commercial but I still enjoy it.  I'm a fan of the Seekers and this sounds quite a bit like them.  The main reason I bought this album was because three of the Beatles worked on the title track - only Ringo was missing, George provided the percussion.  It does not differ significantly from the Beatles version aside from the multi-part harmonies added on this record.  I really like Sylvia Tatler's voice, she sounds like the young Marianne Faithfull only more muted.  Her vocal on "[Bob] Dylan's Dream" really sends me.  This album is loaded with Dylan covers - eight of them in fact and they include most of his most famous early compositions.  I would like this record better if they had chosen more obscure covers, by 1965 who really wanted to hear another version of "Blowin' in the Wind"?  The Silkie add little to the Dylan originals aside from the groups' pretty vocals and more elaborate vocal arrangements.  If you like Peter, Paul and Mary's Dylan covers you will probably like these too.  "Close The Door Gently" is one of my favorite songs on the record, but it has no songwriting credit.  I find it hard to believe that it is a traditional song.  Whoever wrote it, it is one of the better break-up songs I've ever heard.  The group provides two original songs to the album which are essentially generic folk songs.  Even though they are derivative, they are pleasant to listen to and at least I haven't heard them a hundred times like the Dylan covers.  Recommended for people who like Bob Dylan's songs but hate his voice.

Sings Where It's At - Dick Campbell

Sings Where It's At
Dick Campbell
Mercury MG 21060
1966

This record became a quasi-collectors item because of its shameless imitation of Bob Dylan from around the period of "Highway 61 Revisited."  It features some of the same musicians from the Dylan sessions including nearly the entire Paul Butterfield Blues Band and borrows a lot of Dylan's musical stylings.  The big difference is that Dylan is a genius and Campbell was a dimwit who could barely sing.  Nothing on this record comes close to the quality of even the worst Dylan songs from the period, heck nothing even comes close to the quality of "A Public Execution" by Mouse and the Traps which is the best Dylan copy I've ever heard.  Campbell's lyric writing is atrocious, it is so pretentious, sexist and self-righteous that I almost suspected it was a joke.  Could anyone be so clueless, such a cliche of a folk singer?  However judging from the earnestness of the liner notes I do believe that Campbell was the real thing, the worst folk-rocker ever.  Even Jan and Dean made better folk-rock than this.  The liner notes in which Campbell analyzes his "poems" on the record are amazing.  Most of them are addressed to his unfortunate girlfriend Sandi who is advised not to play hard to get or to try and tell him what to do.  Regarding the song "Sandi" Campbell writes: "Sandi tends to think in two dimensions instead of three.  If she was told something, then, that's what it was at face value.  No reading between the lines.  Nothing was symbolically phrased.  Example: Sandi (would say) 'the person loves me so things are o.k.'  Whereas, I might say, 'If affection filled the tranquil sea, then my ship of life would sail upon her love for me.'  Viva la defference (sic), N'cest (sic) pas?  However, through my songs and by the way I teach her to think clearly, she is 'escaping the treacherous bite' of a boring non knowledgeable existence."  Reading crap like that just makes me want to smash the record to pieces.  You can imagine the quality of the "symbolic" lyrics that flow from such a mind.  The sad thing is that if you could erase the singing, this would be a pretty decent record.  "Highway 61 Revisited" is one of my favorite albums of all time and I'm a big fan of the original Butterfield Band and Mike Bloomfield who contribute some fine playing for Campbell's "poems."  Musically this record has something to offer, it is derivative but still enjoyable.  But that singing, those words, ugh.  Even when I put it on in the background and try not to focus on the words, I'm irresistibly drawn to their awfulness.  This record isn't easy to find and it isn't worth whatever you'll have to pay for it, but I guess if you are into Dylan, you will probably be amused by it.  Recommended for people who think Dylan is a bad singer or who think his lyrics are too hard to understand - one spin of this and you'll never put down Bob again.