Bob Dylan – Live at Brandeis University 1963 Review

Clear turning points can be heard in the live recordings of the early 1960s for Bob Dylan. He is a folk artist on the cusp of something which captures the global mood – and you can hear it spluttering away at this live performance. In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 takes the bubbling paranoia of a growing Cold War and the dissatisfaction in a post-war world and compartmentalises it. An incomplete slice of Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance offers listeners a way in to the middle of the set. Stumble in halfway through the song, and experience the life of those who are late to gigs because an extra glass of wine and a sly Guinness is an unfortunate requirement portrayed as a quick treat. No chance.  

Linger on in the back of the room and listen in well. Paranoia is shot through on first proper track Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues, the neat rabble of anti-Communist lingo stuffed full of satire and delivered to an audience who are – like many during this period – rather quiet. It gives a chance for those decades later to pick apart the performances, so there is a silver lining to this silence. What strikes so magnificently for Ballad of Hollis Brown is the acoustic fury toward the end of the track, the intake of applause for an early slice of Dylan’s acerbic wit and charm for writing these folksy numbers. It is a theme carried over to the essential, slightly slower rendition of Masters of War. The early years for any artist should be mired by worry, but Dylan’s confident approach to the six-minute masterclass, the intensity he provides Masters of War, is veteran-like. 

There is a sense of true venom and adrenalin coursing through this rendition, and long may it reign as the finest of live performances from this period. It ends with advice to those in the crowd to sit in front of the curtains to improve the audio quality – ironic as Talkin’ World War III Blues has a horribly tinny quality to it. Rare cut Bob Dylan’s Dream which later appeared on The Witmark Demos makes for a nice break before Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. This is of course a period where the word “blues” was overused and the hopes of slamming it into the title of nearly every track on here does not spoil the effect, it just marks the obvious intent of folk at the time.  

A neat ramble from Dylan on the opening of Talking Bear Mountain gives a recollection of what inspired him, the Noel Stookey cutting which kindled the song. Fist fights at the picnic park are great early years material for Dylan, the spoken word-like take has plenty of humour rolling through it. One of his better efforts was channelling the charming, light material which would soon fade out and make way for observations on the world around him. You can hear all those cogs clicking away on Brandeis University 1963, the final recordings of a man before stardom. It is stunning to hear how confident he sounds, and how ready he was for the maddening explosion of interest in The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.