They might as well call it The History of Bob Dylan 101. Lots of
Dylan CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays are tumbling down the pike in celebration of the
Bard’s 70th birthday. Monumental stuff indeed, especially when you consider
the historical ramifications behind the man and his music. D.A. Pennebaker’s
Don’t Look Back, and Murray Lerner’s The Other
Side Of The Mirror – Bob Dylan Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965
soak up Dylan’s mercurial style without reservation. And a singular performance
of a 21-year-old Bob Dylan at the Brandeis First Annual Folk Festival in Waltham,
Massachusetts on May 10, 1963 fills the CD comprising Bob Dylan In Concert
– Brandeis University 1963. Brought together, these releases celebrate
a turbulent, game-changing period when Bob Dylan had his thumb, index finger
and (undoubtedly) middle finger on the pulse of popular culture.
Don’t Look Back (see previous
review), which follows Dylan through England in 1965, is now available on
Blu-ray and includes a brand new and exclusive interview with Pennebaker and
critic Greil Marcus. The Blu-ray also has bonus material from the 2007 DVD release:
Highway 65 Revisited, additional uncut audio tracks, commentary from Pennebaker
and Dylan sidekick Bob Neuwirth, an alternate version of the “Subterranean
Homesick Blues” cue card bit and the film’s original theatrical
trailer.
The Other Side Of The Mirror – Bob Dylan Live At The Newport Folk Festival
1963-1965, also on Blu-ray for the first time, traces the evolution
of the singer — from a smarmy farm boy with an acoustic guitar and a raspy
voice to an ultra-cool hipster, dark shades, polka dot shirts and — gasp!
— electric guitars. “You know him…he’s yours…Bob
Dylan…” is how it starts and it’s 1965. A short wade through
the yodeling vocalizations of “All I Really Want To Do” and no one’s
the wiser. If only they knew what was coming later that day. Until that pivotal
moment, Lerner shifts back to 1963, when Dylan was still freshly scrubbed and
sang regularly with Joan Baez. The “Blowin In The Wind” finale with
Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary more or less summed up the mood of the festival.
Come 1964, Dylan slovenly swaggered through “Mr. Tambourine Man”
— with a shit-ringing grin, a bona fide endorsement from Johnny Cash,
and a spot-on Dylan impression from Baez. At this point, she takes over the
film, dueting with Dylan and espousing her views on the fans. Dylan began his
appearance 1965 Newport Folk Festival on a windy afternoon by workshopping “If
You Gotta Go, Go Now” and “Love Minus Zero/No Limit.” But
then the rehearsals become intense with multiple musicians and the next day,
July 25, 1965 to be exact, the atmosphere dramatically changed. That’s
when guitarist Mike Bloomfield and others from his band joined Dylan for the
first “plugged “performances of the singer’s career. The blazing
versions of “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like A Rolling Stone”
were not well received and the folkies were not amused. Of course, when Dylan
was in England filming Don’t Look Back, a fan called him “Judas”
for going electric.
Bob Dylan In Concert – Brandeis University 1963 is the kind
of all-acoustic, pure folk performance the devoted preferred. The tape was discovered
in the archives of noted music writer and Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph Gleason
and hatched upon the public. It is as raw and natural as Dylan could have been
in 1963. If “Talkin’ World War III Blues” doesn’t put
a smile on your face, then something’s amiss. This is Bob Dylan, sounding
as wise and weathered as a man twice his age. But he was only 21, playing in
front of a supportive audience two weeks prior to the release of The
Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Previously available the new Columbia/Legacy
edition features liner notes written by noted Bob Dylan scholar Michael Gray.
“This is the last live performance we have of Bob Dylan,” Gray writes,
“before he becomes a star…” Who would have guessed that almost
50 years later, Dylan, at 70, is still a star, still on the road, still croaking
out his songs and still making waves. We’ll save the rest for The
History of Bob Dylan – The 2000s.
~ Shawn Perry
