Bob Dylan - LIVE Brandeis University (320k MP3)

Bob Dylan
In Concert ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ Brandeis University 1963

[320k MP3]

May 10, 1963 found a 21-year-old Bob DylanΓΓé¼Γäós name buried on the posters for a weekend folk festival at Waltham, MAΓΓé¼Γäós Brandeis University. Folks like Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, and Jean Redpath were the headliners ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ the Dylan kid was one of the second-tier acts, with a chance to play two short solo sets.

At that point, DylanΓΓé¼Γäós debut album had been out a little over a year and hadnΓΓé¼Γäót done a whole lot commercially. His sophomore effort ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ The FreewheelinΓΓé¼Γäó Bob Dylan ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ was still a couple of weeks away from being released when Dylan took the stage with his guitar, harmonicas, and neck rack. He didnΓΓé¼Γäót have a name or a reputation to coast on ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ he was just another folk singer trying to make it. Dylan had to stand flat-footed and either win or lose the crowd on the merits of his performances that night.

In a move that would horrify most PR people nowadays, the songs Dylan doled out during his two sets had nothing to do with the album that was in the stores. Nor did he play many of the potential ΓΓé¼┼ôhitsΓΓé¼┬¥ on the record about to be released. Anthems-to-be such as ΓΓé¼┼ôA Hard RainΓΓé¼Γäós A-Gonna FallΓΓé¼┬¥, ΓΓé¼┼ôDonΓΓé¼Γäót Think TwiceΓΓé¼┬¥, or ΓΓé¼┼ôBlowinΓΓé¼Γäó In The WindΓΓé¼┬¥ were held back in favor of a mix of humor-laced talking blues and some mood-driven pieces. (ΓΓé¼┼ôMasters of WarΓΓé¼┬¥ is the only song on this recording that would remain a staple in the Dylan catalog in the decades to come.) You could say that young Bob Dylan was about as commercially driven then as he is now ΓΓ鼪 maybe even less so. The songs he played at Brandeis were songs he wanted to play; wanted to lay on the audience ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ not songs that would help promote his records.

And he played them well.

Luckily for us, someone was rolling tape that evening and captured Bob Dylan in action.

In Concert ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ Brandeis University 1963 includes seven songs taken from the eveningΓΓé¼Γäós two sets. We join the album-opening ΓΓé¼┼ôHoney, Just Allow Me One More ChanceΓΓé¼┬¥ already in progress as it lopes and chugs along; ΓΓé¼┼ôTalkinΓΓé¼Γäó Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre BluesΓΓé¼┬¥ closes things down with a blast of the young BobΓΓé¼Γäós dry wit, clever social commentary, dead-on timing and delivery. By the time he gets to the end of his tale of an innocent outing that went badly awry, the crowd is eating up every word; listening for the next one-liner tossed off between verses and roaring with laughter. In short, Dylan had them ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ they were totally his by the time he left the stage.

The hardest-hitting song of the eveningΓΓé¼Γäós performances was ΓΓé¼┼ôBallad of Hollis BrownΓΓé¼┬¥, documenting the despair and eventual mental breakdown of an impoverished South Dakota farmer. The guitar work is simple; the delivery is ominous and direct. DylanΓΓé¼Γäós lyrics make their case ΓΓ鼪 and in the end, there seems to be no other way out than to reach for the shotgun:

ThereΓΓé¼Γäós seven people dead on a South Dakota farm,
ThereΓΓé¼Γäós seven people dead on a South Dakota farm,
Somewhere in the distance thereΓΓé¼Γäós seven new people born

33 years later, Wilco would chronicle a characterΓΓé¼Γäós gradual mental breakdown in ΓΓé¼┼ôMisunderstoodΓΓé¼┬¥, letting the tension build throughout the song as waves of chaotic sound are used to good effect. In this performance of ΓΓé¼┼ôHollis BrownΓΓé¼┬¥ Dylan accomplishes the same with nothing but the starkness of his voice and guitar.

Ah, that Dylan kid ΓΓ鼪 he was good, wasnΓΓé¼Γäót he? In Concert ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ Brandeis University 1963 is evidence of such.

1 Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance [incomplete] 1:58
2 Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues 4:40
3 Ballad Of Hollis Brown 7:10
4 Masters Of War 6:28
5 Talkin' World War III Blues 6:24
6 Bob Dylan's Dream 5:57
7 Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues 5:45