Recordings ripped from radio stations are an interesting beast. These are moments in time meant for an occasion or day but for little more than that. Early recordings from Bob Dylan taped for broadcast, such as Radio Session Chicago 1963, provide an insight into the feeling of a day or, in this instance, a year. Those little flickers of cultural reactivity, of influences from the studio and people there, can and do impact the performance of the day. Just take a listen to opener A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall. Tremendous work, and because it was recorded for broadcast, the crisp and clear recordings to come from this session are a marvel. Some of the earliest works from Dylan outside of the studio which are on a level of professional recording. Crank that volume up, do not wince when the harmonica comes into play, for it is not echoed through the rest of the track. Thank you, Chicago.
But this is not just a chance to hear some crisp recordings of now rare songs like John Brown or Who Killed Davey Moore but a moment to hear Dylan speak of his influences, to talk surprisingly openly about what he sees in his work and where it may head. Blowin’ in the Wind is a tremendous piece here, a performance where the tempo is guided solely by those familiar acoustic notes but a slightly higher octave is taken, noticeable only to those who spend their mornings seeking out different performances of a perfect song. What a joy it is to stumble on them, to discover pieces like Radio Session Chicago 1963. This hour-long performance hosted by Studs Terkel is tremendous, there is no getting around it.
Where Who Killed Davey Moore may be a tad flat, the interjections from Terkel and the interviews to follow this performance are fascinating. Head straight for Dylan chatting about the writing of his songs and you can hear a similar sort of disinterest, a fundamental fascination and degree of removal from his words as was heard in the 60 Minutes interview decades later. He does not know what led him to write this way, and we may never know. The act of writing is something the writer can so often find themselves removed from and, as a result, the mystique is built. Dylan, while young here, comes across as affable and when under the spotlight is not afraid to say he has no answer. He is a musician, not a prophet. We would do well to remember this when searching for solace or moments of clarity in his music.
Because the fact is, there is very little of clear influence in his work. Just take the performances on this Radio Session Chicago 1963. Doing the programme “on the fly,” as Terkel calls it before John Brown is performed, is how Dylan always performed and wrote. He is the freewheeling artist, after all. But beyond that throwaway understanding of Dylan, there is truth in how Terkel speaks of his work and to the artist. Brief bolts of clarity pour through the interview section and when pieced into the right spots before and after the musical performances, which is unfortunately not done for the official upload to Dylan’s YouTube channel, it all comes together. Radio Session Chicago 1963 is the very epitome of why we continue searching for those ragged recordings. We may just find gold in there, as we can on this release.
