A smattering of early recordings from Bob Dylan are to die for. Those seasoned fans will no doubt recognise a few of these performances, with Early Dylan serving as an unofficial compilation of unofficially released materials. From bedroom tapes to the first few New York shows, the words and work of Dylan on stage and in an apartment are of the same lyrical quality. An intensity springs through this collection of songs. Brief pieces of radio interview quality to those infamous Minnesota-based hotel tapes, Early Dylan is a neat and ambitious opportunity to hear through the influences and earliest appearances of Dylan. His carnival-like inspirations preceding Sally Girl, the song played to promote a now infamous Carnegie Hall performance, start this compilation off well.
These are monumental recordings and serve their purpose well. Exactly what it says on the cover. A decent range of early Dylan performances gives listeners new to these tapes a place to start. Much like the Fourth Time Around bootleg from Scorpio, this is an entry-level selection from a period where recording quality is all over the place. Early Dylan has some exceptionally crisp pieces within, from opener Sally Girl ripped from WNYC Radio in 1961 to the smattering of applause which opens the Carnegie Chapter Hall performance of Pretty Peggy-O. What becomes clear is the influences on Dylan of this time. Woody Guthrie is the obvious draw but the expansions Dylan makes to his sound on the back of those folk influences is delightful. Those depths of Gospel Plow and 1913 Massacre from the Carnegie Chapter Hall performance form a steady route through to deeper cuts like Fixin’ to Die.
Where the croaky tones of Candy Man may sound underwhelming at first, the quality of the recording itself is monumental. Grasping at studio recordings which are worth a listen is one thing, but to have them near to the quality we would expect of later performances or studio throwouts is a shock. It makes it all the better to listen to, naturally, because the file quality here is superior to other versions. Yes, these are easily accessible parts of the Dylan songbook but their refinement here is of a quality like no other. Early Dylan is, like many bootlegs, a passion project which displays a real love for the early form. Plenty to enjoy in this one, from the staggering Black Cross to a charmed rendition of Poor Lazarus. These are songs Dylan would rarely, if ever, play again after his boom.
Gospel and folk influences would crop up time and again in his career but nowhere does it feel more impassioned, refined in its spirit and interest in the qualities of the past, than here. Early Dylan was an amateur musician trying to make a name for himself. It is only after the fact, all those successes which followed, that we turn to these earlier moments, trying to seek out what clicked it all into place. Performances from a time when the Dylan moniker was never thought of, when the rudimentary style of Robert Zimmerman was still trying, and failing somewhat, to plant the flag of stylish new sound. Early Dylan serves as an exceptional experience because it charts those early days with a nod towards what is to come. It may feel like an inevitable wink at the future, but doing so with subtle changes and well-selected recordings is the key to any great bootleg.
