At the risk of sounding redundo: It all starts here. And everything you have ever heard or seen of and by the young folkie from the iron mountains of Minnesota is absolutely, positively, without challenge. . . freakin’ true. Dylan was a major cultural force. A major historical force. Any doubts are put to rest within the living, breathing, startling narrative told on the eight CDs of Through the Open Window – The Bootleg Series Volume 18.
Are there bones to pick? Sure. Very few things twixt heaven, hell, and here are perfect, and in that sense, Dylan and his chroniclers (historian Sean Wilentz and producer Seth Berkowitz) are no exception. For one, there are close to thirty tracks included here that have been previously released on past Dylan-specific releases (ie, Biograph, No Direction Home, The Witmark Demos, etc). Then there are approximately two dozen previously released tracks from Dylan adjacent releases (ie, recordings by Victoria Spivey, Carolyn Hester, Harry Belafonte, the Newport Festivals, etc)
That is a whole lot of previously explored territory for a guy who rambled round and wandered far and wide both physically (Hibbing to Greenwich Village) and in his head (remember he was telling tall tales of life in a carny and learning the blues in the New Mexican desert) . . .But it is the account and chronology that matters most on Through the Open Window, and very few stories twixt here, heaven, and hell are told and evidenced as fully and truthfully as this one.
It starts on an out-of-tune, out-of-key Christmas Eve 1956 with a yowling snippet of “Let the Good Times Roll” by the young Zimmerman and friends and ends on the grand stage of Carnegie Hall in October 1963. From ersatz rock n’ roller to punky Guthrie acolyte to master songwriter and performer. It is like a barely contained Big Bang if you can wrap your head around that one.
Considering that Dylan played primarily acoustic for little more than five years, the music here and the creative progression on display is staggering. And that ain’t, I repeat, ain’t hyperbole. It isn’t blind Dylan propaganda or Bob love. Just the growth exhibited from tracks 8 and 9 Disc 1 from February 1961 (“Pastures of Plenty,” “Remember Me”) to tracks 10 and 11 Disc 1
(“Song to Woody,” “Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues”) from the Gaslight Cafe September ’61 will make you dizzy. And if you don’t, then remember: the future now will later be past.
Through the Open Window also makes a very strong and persuasive argument that, as a live performer deep into seven decades of commanding the stage, Dylan would never again do many of these songs as potently and memorably as presented here. Carnegie Hall ’63 sets the high standard: “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “The Ballad of Hollis Brown,” “Seven Curses,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “With God On Our Side.” But there is also “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” and “Walls of Red Wing” Town Hall ’63. “Let Me Die In My Footsteps,” The Finjan Club, summer ’62. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” from The Gaslight, October ’62. . . A blazingly confident, first time performance of “When The Ship Comes In” with Baez at the March On Washington, August ’63. . . is there more out there, yes. Deeper dives into private tapes from Minnesota and New York,’61-’63. Where is Studs Turkel’s Wax Museum radio broadcast from Chicago, April ’63? The Indian Neck Folk Festival of ’61? We know it is out there.
In closing, let me quote noted Hudson Valley Bob-o-phile Robert Fino who succinctly and authoritatively says “No one has done in five years what Dylan accomplished.”
Amen.
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Mike Jurkovic's recent literary forays include a book of haiku: Monet's Bamboo. He is currently the Poet Laureate of Ulster County, NY.
Mike Jurkovic publishes globally with little reportable income. His full length books include Buckshot Reckoning, mooncussers, AmericanMental, (Luchador Press 2023, 2022, 2020). Blue Fan Whirring (Nirala Press, 2018) and is a 2016 Pushcart nominee. President of Calling All Poets, now celebrating its 25th year. Reviews appear at All About Jazz & lightwoodpress.com.
He hosts New Jazz Excursions,Mondays, 9-10am, WVKR-91.3FM Vassar College. The Rock n Roll Curmudgeon appeared in Rhythm and News Magazine, 1996-2003. He loves Emily most of all.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaBbZUXlzmQ0lj2DCg3ydg/videos
Mike is a frequent contributor to Lightwood as a poet, music critic and creative writer. He is one of the creators of CALLING ALL POETS, a small press and reading series (live and zoom) in the Hudson Valley.
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