Regardless of artist – this is history. It just so happens the first great bootleg rock record was of Bob Dylan. Great White Wonder is a monumental experience beyond its songs. Live recordings from The Johnny Cash Show, buried and beloved pieces from the early years of Dylan – these are what devoted fans live for, and it is clear to hear why. Candy Man opens well over an hour of these collected pieces, rarer now than ever given the elusive nature of tracks lost to the internet. Scratchy record recordings posted to YouTube are the best you can get when sitting at home for Christmas and without the usual tools of finding buried albums across the globe. Still, it shall do, because what better way is there to start the new year than with a hard-to-find bit of history?
Bloody spades and deep vocal intonations from Dylan bring out the folk twang which would later guide his heyday – yet it sounds so different here. He channels a far different voice on this bootleg piece, it goes against the grain of what he would officially release. Death of Emmett Till, an ode to the disgusting murder of a young boy from Mississippi, is a powerful protest piece recalling the recent horrors of the time. It hits through similarly to Hurricane and the tale of Rubin Carter. These are the softer flourishes of a folk protestor, still channelling those great intentions from years gone by. Keep an ear out for the likes of I Shall Be Released, the moments of sincerity and startling quality heard through the crackle of an aged record uploaded and ripped to digital files.
Beyond the likes of The Mighty Quinn and an exceptional second take of Tears of Rage are the influences which would soon rock the world. Tthe Masked Marauders and the bait-and-switch of telling Rolling Stone readers of a supergroup would never be possible now, nor would it have been without the Great White Wonder. Little flickers of differing vocal styles can be heard rippling through here – the likes of Open the Door, Homer, are exceptional odes which no doubt influenced the deeper swings of Randy Newman. Make no mistake, Great White Wonder is a priceless piece of history – and hearing it in any form is good enough. It kickstarted far more than first thought.
The Beatles can be cited as the band which brought progress to any form of music. All roads lead to The Beatles – and the intersection takes you to Bob Dylan too. He is just a short way down the road with these influential pieces, even in their crackly bootleg form, which are a monumental listen. Every extra take is an essential listen, thankfully revived and responsive as ever on all the Bootleg Tapes of official release. Still, even then, the constant stream of Dylan content would take a lifetime to get through. The master at work on Great White Wonder is still the same impressive and articulate musician he is now. Listen to Nothing Was Delivered, an utterly perfect first track tucked away here. Dylan has enough quality in his albums and backlog to prevent these tracks from official release, though why would he?
