Part two of the grail series from Hollow Horn! At least that's what this year is establishing for the label. This October '63 gig was THE showcase performance for young Bob and it is unbelievable to listen to this pristine, complete tape of the Carnegie show and compare to the April Town Hall show where Bob just sounds 'young'. Here it's much more polished and professional but all the good things from that earlier, important, New York concert intact. Like the personality and wit. Brilliant.
To baseline the importance, this is the first time the complete Carnegie Hall show has been available - in any form. Lucky us to now have a beautiful stereo soundboard of the event. Incredible string of scores for whomever leveraged the tapes at Hollow Horn, and thank you. A batch of the songs from this show have previously surfaced on one level or another over the years. A handful of tracks on bootleg CD over the last 20 years: "Seven Curses", "Lay Down Your Weary Tune", "Who Killed Davey Moore?" & "Percy's Song" - 1988's Talking Too Much from World Productions which was trumped by Wild Wolf Label in 1997 with In Concert - both were presenting the tape from acetate of the Unreleased CBS Live Album. Two tracks from the Carnegie show were included on the initial, official, 3CD Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 from CBS in 1991: Again, "Who Killed Davey Moore?", and "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues". I believe there was an EP to include a couple of tracks awhile back too (Bobphiles chime in here)...anyway, it is rumored that this very Carnegie Hall tape is up for consideration to be the next in the Bootleg Series from CBS - perhaps as early as late 2008. We'll see. Until then, we already have a superb presentation of the show right here!
The performance here is like I said, quite a bit more polished and a validation of the young folk singers' readiness assessment for the next level as a professional performer. I find this review of the tape a fascinating exercise, and have over the last month. It's the wit and charm that we hang on to at this juncture. We don't get these much in concert from serious Bob anymore. He is focused and gracious now, and that's OK but I do miss his humor injected into the moment - any moment. The most memorable exerpt for me, and you'll key in on it too, is the story Bob shares of visiting a friend who was attending college in upstate New York and how this friend had a college professor who confessed he didn't understand what the meaning of "Blowin' In The Wind" was. This intro to the tune is really one of those priceless moments that make bootlegged tapes essential to the career and story of an artist. We should at least give kudos to CBS for actually seeing that the official Bootleg Series is an ongoing commitment and they absolutely NEED to get this tape out. Another bit of evidence of the young performer coming of age and the following he had secured in New York at this time, is the intro to "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues" and the loud, roaring reception it gets by the crowd.
The packaging replicates the same standard of infused devotion to related photography and artifacts, along with a booklet that provides a quick history of the Carnegie Hall, from inception as an idea in 1891, to it's near demolishing fate in 1960 - and of course the details around the effort to save it and subsequent designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Interesting also is the inclusion of two Dylan narratives: Izzy Young's Bomb Book circa 1962, and Hootenany Magazine from 1963. Not sure about the stories behind these or where they came from but they read just like young Bob is 'singing' 'em and you can almost hear the strumming and harmonica accompaniment as you move through the phrases. Bizarre? Yes. But still effective as supportive pieces to this incredibly important performance tape and package. What really frames up the audio artifacts enclosed though are the photographs that Hollow Horn selects for each of these titles. The period imagery sometimes seems re-purposed but the label is keen on utlilizing variances on the session/period photos. The wonderful black and white back shot of Bob onstage at the Carnegie soundcheck really brings this one home for me. Again, all nice touches but I would add that it isn't quite as cohesive as the remarkably 'complete' Stolen Moments set from earlier this Spring with the Town Hall '63 show. Not a complaint, just a validation against the standard the label itself has set! Obviously this is a must-have and if you've been paying attention, you already have.
