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Review: Bob Dylan / Through The Open Window: Bootleg Series Vol 18, 1956-1963

8CD box set out this Friday

By Sean Hannam

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Review: Bob Dylan / Through The Open Window - The Bootleg Series Vol 18 1956-1963
Photo by Sandy Speiser

“Through The Open Window is an essential set for diehard Dylan fans”

Last year’s acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, starts in the winter of 1961, with the 19-year-old musician, played by Timothée Chalamet, hitchhiking his way to New York, but Through The Open Window – Volume 18 in the long-running Bootleg Series – goes back even further to the roots of the legendary singer-songwriter.

Covering the years 1956 –1963, over the course of this 8CD box set, we are taken on a fascinating journey from Dylan’s beginnings in Minnesota to his late teenage years on the college coffee shop circuit in Dinkytown, Minneapolis and becoming part of the Greenwich Village bohemia of the early 1960s.

As history professor and Dylan author, Sean Wilentz, writes in his extensive and excellent sleeve notes that are included in the 125-page hardback book which accompanies the 139-track collection – the 2CD and 4LP ‘highlights’ editions include 42 tracks – there are “unreleased concert performances and uncirculated studio outtakes… rarities of Dylan performing in friends’ apartments, on radio broadcasts, in the office of the left-wing folk revival magazine, Broadside, and in long-gone folk clubs and musicians’ hangouts”.

Featuring 48 never-before released performances and 38 ‘super-rare cuts’, the compilation culminates with the previously unreleased complete recording of Dylan’s landmark show at New York’s Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963 – the concert is spread over discs 7 and 8.

Tantalisingly, the collection begins with what is likely to be Dylan’s first ever recording – we hear a snippet of him as a 15-year-old, singing and playing piano in a high school trio called the Jokers, laying down a rough and ready but enthusiastic version of the R & B song, ‘Let The Good Times Roll’, on a DIY 78rpm acetate at the Terlinde Music Shop in St. Paul, Minnesota on Christmas Eve, 1956. This is followed by one of Dylan’s early self-penned songs – a derivative doo-wop-style number called ‘I Got A New Girl’, that was taped at the Hibbing home of a friend, Ric Kangas, in May 1959. 

The young Dylan idolised US folk singer, Woody Guthrie – in 1960, he became obsessed with him after reading his autobiography, Bound For Glory – and before he discovered his own sound, Dylan was essentially a Guthrie impersonator, and on Disc 1 of this set there’s an amateur recording of him playing Guthrie’s ‘Jesus Christ’ that was taped by 15-year-old folk enthusiast, Clive Pettersen, during a gathering at Dylan’s apartment in Minneapolis, during September 1960.

But it’s not until we hear tracks recorded on a reel-to-reel Wollensak tape machine in Madison, Wisconsin in late 1960 that we truly get a glimpse of what Dylan would sound like when he arrived in New York a few weeks later, in the winter of ’61. On the spirited ‘East Virginia Blues’ – a traditional song first recorded by the Carter Family – there are early signs of Dylan moving away from copying Guthrie and beginning to develop his own style. After it finishes, Dylan tells us that he heard the song “down South from some old guy”.

‘Song to Woody’ – Dylan’s paean to his songwriting hero – would appear on his 1962 self-titled debut album, but on CD1 of this set we are treated to a wonderfully intimate live recording of it, captured at New York’s Gaslight Café – a hub for folk musicians – in Greenwich Village, during the September of the year before.

Recorded at the same gig, there’s a version of the amusing and satirical ‘Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues’, which gets a good reaction from the crowd, who laugh when Dylan introduces it.

In September ’61, Dylan did his first commercial recording session at Columbia Studios, playing harmonica for US folk singer-songwriter, Carolyn Hester. The last track on CD1 is an alternate take of the rousing, ‘I’ll Fly Away’, a song which ended up on Hester’s self-titled third album from 1962. Dylan plays on three tracks on the record. 

He went back to the same studio in November ’61 to record his debut album – one of the highlights on CD2 is a compelling version of the old Anglo-American ballad, ‘House Carpenter’, which was laid down on the second day of the sessions, but, frustratingly, the song didn’t make it onto the record. 

Also included from the same sessions is an alternate take of Jesse Fuller’s ‘You’re No Good’ – a song that did end up on Dylan’s debut. This previously unreleased version includes a spoken introduction by Dylan explaining how he first heard the song, but he has to restart the performance after making a mistake. 

CD3 opens with the first recording of ‘The Death of Emmett Till’ – taken from a WBAI radio broadcast in 1962, Dylan wrote the protest song about the murder of a 14-year-old African American boy. The host of the radio show, Cynthia Gooding, tells Dylan that it’s one of the greatest contemporary ballads she’s ever heard. 

The same disc features six songs from a 20-minute set Dylan performed for a Monday night hootenanny at Gerdes’s Folk City in New York on April 16, 1962 – a month after the release of his first album. Opening with an upbeat brand-new song, ‘Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance’, the concert is notable for featuring the first ever public performance of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ – which, at that point in time, was only two verses long.

‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ would become one of Dylan’s most well-known protest songs and it was the opening track on his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan – a record which also included his almost seven-minute, apocalyptic epic, ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall‘.

On CD4, as well as several outtakes from Freewheelin’, including an alternate take of the riotous ‘Mixed-Up Confusion’, recorded with an electric band, we get to hear an early live performance of ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ – one of four songs recorded at a private, after-hours gathering at the Gaslight in October ’62.

Also in the set, there’s a still-evolving ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright‘, a spellbinding ‘Barbara Allen’, which clocks in at eight minutes, and a superb bluesy and hypnotic version of the traditional folk-ballad ‘Cuckoo’.

There are yet more Freewheelin’ outtakes on CD5 – an alternate version of ‘Masters of War’, a dark, accusatory and politically-charged song which found its way into Dylan’s tour setlist this summer for the first time in almost 10 years – and the gentle love song, ‘Girl From the North Country’. 

The same disc has six tracks from a 1963 Dylan show at New York’s Town Hall, plus the only known version of his own composition, ‘I Rode Out One Morning’ taken from a private recording made at the home of Mac and Eve McKenzie in New York.

An interesting rarity on CD6 is a performance of ‘Liverpool Gal’ – recorded in the summer of ’63 during a party at the home of his friend, Tony Glover, in Minneapolis, it’s a Dylan original, and was inspired by a girl he met while visiting London, but it’s based on the tragic romantic ballad, ‘Lily of the West’ – a song Dylan would revisit a few years later. 

Four tracks from Dylan’s first appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, in July ’63, are also featured on CD6, including the moody ‘North Country Blues’ – a tale of hard life in a mining community – and a stirring version of ‘With God On Our Side’, on which he duets with Joan Baez. There are also outtakes from the recording sessions for his third album, the following year’s The Times They Are A-Changin.’

Discs 7 and 8 are given over to the sold-out concert the 22-year-old Dylan performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963. Songs from this show have been released on previous compilations, including The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 and 2005’s The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack, but this is the first time the concert has been presented in its entirety – all 19 songs from the set.

In just under two years, Dylan had graduated from performing on a side stage at Carnegie Hall in November 1961 to the venue’s main stage. Made up of songs he’d performed at New York’s Town Hall earlier that year, and newer material written in the months leading up to the big Carnegie Hall gig, the concert is a treat, with Dylan on fine form.

Opening with the prophetic ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’– the first concert performance of the song – there are comic asides, such as when he prefaces ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ with a stand-up routine, and darker, more intense moments, with powerful renditions of ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’, ‘Masters of War’ and ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’.

There’s been plenty written about Dylan’s early life, including his own account in the candid and intriguing 2004 memoir, Chronicles Volume One, but, as Wilentz says in the introduction to his sleeve notes, Through The Open Window is different because it tells the story entirely through recordings made in those formative years. 

Compiled chronologically, it’s an essential set for diehard Dylan fans, and, with most of the songs being previously unreleased, a real treasure trove – Dylan’s management and label, Columbia Records / Legacy Recordings have been working on the project for years, tracking down rarities.

The collection ends in late October 1963 – the following year, Dylan would release two albums, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Another Side of Bob Dylan and become the spokesperson for a generation. Next, in ’65, he would shock the music world by ‘going electric,’ but that’s a story for another day…

Review by Sean Hannam for SDE. Through The Open Window: Bootleg Series Vol 18, 1956-1963 is released this Friday, 31 October 2025, via Sony Music.

Tracklisting

Through The Open Window Bob Dylan /

    • CD 1
      1. Let the Good Times Roll (Terlinde Music Shop, St. Paul, MN, 1956)
      2. I Got a New Girl (Informal Recording, Hibbing, MN, 1959)
      3. San Francisco Bay Blues (Informal Recording, Minneapolis, MN, 1960)
      4. Jesus Christ (Informal Recording, Minneapolis, MN, 1960
      5. East Virginia Blues (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
      6. C. Moan (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
      7. Bob Dylan with Danny Kalb
      8. Hard Travelin’ (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
      9. Bob Dylan with Danny Kalb
      10. Pastures of Plenty (Informal Recording, East Orange, NJ, 1961)
      11. Remember Me (Informal Recording, East Orange, NJ, 1961)
      12. Song to Woody (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1961)
      13. Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1961)
      14. Ain’t No Grave (Informal Recording, NYC, 1961)
      15. I Ain’t Got No Home (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      16. Death Don’t Have No Mercy (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      17. Devilish Mary (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      18. Introduction: Riverside Church (Riverside Church, NYC, 196)
      19. Handsome Molly (Riverside Church, NYC, 1961)
      20. Introduction: See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961) –
      21. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
      22. The Girl I Left Behind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
      23. Introduction: Pretty Boy Floyd (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
      24. Pretty Boy Floyd (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
      25. Bob Dylan with Jim Kweskin
      26. Railroading on the Great Divide (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
      27. Bob Dylan with Jim Kweskin
      28. Introduction: Fixin’ to Die (Folklore Center, NYC, 1961)
      29. Fixin’ to Die (Folklore Center, NYC, 1961
      30. Bob Dylan with Dave Van Ronk
      31. I’ll Fly Away (Carolyn Hester Alternate Take, NYC, 1961)
      32. Carolyn Hester with Bob Dylan
    • CD 2
      1. Introduction: In the Pines (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      2. In the Pines (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      3. Gospel Plow (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      4. Introduction: Young But Daily Growing (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      5. Young But Daily Growing (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      6. Man on the Street (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      7. This Land Is Your Land (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      8. Pretty Polly (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
      9. Man of Constant Sorrow (Bob Dylan Rehearsal, NYC, 1961)
      10. House Carpenter (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
      11. You’re No Good (Bob Dylan Alternate Take, NYC, 1961)
      12. He Was a Friend of Mine (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
      13. Ramblin’ Round (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
      14. Story: East Orange, New Jersey (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      15. Stealin’ (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      16. Po’ Lazarus (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      17. Dink’s Song (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      18. I Was Young When I Left Home (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      19. In the Evening (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      20. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
      21. Cocaine (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
    • CD 3
      1. The Death of Emmett Till (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
      2. Conversation: Folksinger’s Choice, 1 (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
      3. Roll On, John (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
      4. Conversation: Folksinger’s Choice, 2 (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
      5. Hard Times in New York Town (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
      6. Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (Informal Recording, NYC, 1962)
      7. Ballad of Donald White (Informal Recording, NYC, 1962)
      8. Midnight Special (The Midnight Special Rehearsals, NYC, 1962)
      9. Harry Belafonte with Bob Dylan
      10. Midnight Special (The Midnight Special Alternate Take, NYC, 1962)
      11. Harry Belafonte with Bob Dylan
      12. Wichita (Three Kings and the Queen Album Version, NYC, 1962)
      13. Big Joe Williams with Bob Dylan
      14. It’s Dangerous (Kings and the Queen, Volume Two Album Version, NYC, 1962)
      15. Victoria Spivey with Bob Dylan and Big Joe Williams
      16. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
      17. Talkin’ New York (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
      18. Corrina, Corrina (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
      19. Deep Ellum Blues (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
      20. Introduction: Blowin’ in the Wind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962) – 0:00:19
      21. Blowin’ in the Wind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
      22. Rambling, Gambling Willie (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      23. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962) – 0:02:06
      24. Rocks and Gravel (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      25. Paths of Victory (Broadside Office, NYC, 1962)
      26. Train A-Travelin’ (Broadside Reunion Album Version, NYC, 1962)
      27. Hiram Hubbard (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
      28. Quit Your Low Down Ways (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
      29. Let Me Die in My Footsteps (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
      30. Ramblin’ on My Mind (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
      31. Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues) (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
    • CD 4
      1. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      2. Worried Blues (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      3. Baby, I’m in the Mood for You (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      4. Bob Dylan’s Blues (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1962)
      5. Introduction: Tomorrow Is a Long Time (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1962)
      6. Tomorrow Is a Long Time (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1962)
      7. This Land Is Your Land – The Last Verses (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1962) – 0:01:44
      8. Long Time Gone (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1962)
      9. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
      10. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
      11. Barbara Allen (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
      12. The Cuckoo (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
      13. That’s All Right (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      14. Mixed-Up Confusion (Single Alternate Take, NYC, 1962)
      15. Ballad of Hollis Brown (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      16. Kingsport Town (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      17. Whatcha Gonna Do? (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      18. Hero Blues (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
      19. I Shall Be Free (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1962)
    • CD 5
      1. The Ballad of the Gliding Swan (BBC-TV, London, 1963)
      2. Only a Hobo (Broadside Ballads Album Version, NYC, 1963)
      3. John Brown (Broadside Ballads Album Version, NYC, 1963)
      4. All Over You (Informal Recording, NYC, 1963) Bob Dylan with Happy Traum and Gil Turner
      5. Oxford Town (Witmark Demo, NYC, 1963)
      6. Bob Dylan’s Dream (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      7. Introduction: Walls of Red Wing (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      8. Walls of Red Wing (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      9. Introduction: Tomorrow Is a Long Time (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      10. Tomorrow Is a Long Time (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      11. Dusty Old Fairgrounds (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      12. Introduction: Pretty Peggy-O (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      13. Pretty Peggy-O (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      14. Who Killed Davey Moore? (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      15. Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)
      16. James Alley Blues (Informal Recording, NYC, 1963)
      17. I Rode Out One Morning (Informal Recording, NYC, 1963)
      18. House of the Rising Sun (Informal Recording, NYC, 1963)
      19. Talkin’ World War III Blues (Club 47, Cambridge, MA, 1963)
      20. Masters of War (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
      21. Girl from the North Country (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
    • CD 6
      1. Introduction by Cordell Reagon (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
      2. Only a Pawn in Their Game (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
      3. Blowin’ in the Wind (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
      4. Eternal Circle (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
      5. Liverpool Gal (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
      6. West Memphis (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963) Bob Dylan with Tony Glover
      7. North Country Blues (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)
      8. With God on Our Side (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963) Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
      9. Playboys and Playgirls (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)

      Bob Dylan with Pete Seeger

      1. Blowin’ in the Wind (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963) Bob Dylan with with Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Freedom Singers, Pete Seeger
      2. Slate: Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Sessions, NYC, 1963)
      3. Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
      4. Seven Curses (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
      5. Farewell (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
      6. Bob Dylan’s New Orleans Rag (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
      7. Moonshiner (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
      8. Introduction by Joan Baez (Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, NYC, 1963)
      9. Troubled and I Don’t Know Why (Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, NYC, 1963) Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
      10. Introduction by Ossie Davis (March on Washington, Washington, D.C., 1963)
      11. When the Ship Comes In (March on Washington, Washington, D.C., 1963) Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
      12. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Party, Los Angeles, 1963)
      13. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Informal Recording, Los Angeles, 1963)
      14. One Too Many Mornings (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
      15. Key to the Highway (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
    • CD 7
      1. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      2. Ballad of Hollis Brown (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      3. Introduction: Who Killed Davey Moore? (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      4. Who Killed Davey Moore? (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      5. Boots of Spanish Leather (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      6. Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      7. Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      8. Introduction: Blowin’ in the Wind (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      9. Blowin’ in the Wind (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      10. Introduction: Percy’s Song (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      11. Percy’s Song (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      12. Seven Curses (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      13. Walls of Red Wing (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      14. Introduction: North Country Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      15. North Country Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      16. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
    • CD 8
      1. Talkin’ World War III Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      3. Story: Hootenanny Hoot (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      4. With God on Our Side (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      5. Only a Pawn in Their Game (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      6. Introduction: Masters of War (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      7. Masters of War (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      8. Introduction: The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      10. Introduction: When the Ship Comes In (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
      11. When the Ship Comes In (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)

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