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Recordings such as In Concert Brandeis University 1963 are the source of a charisma Bob Dylan still commands today, the likes of which continues to resonate with generations far removed from his own demographic. Originally available only as a value-added piece to The Witmark Demos, this composite of a live show documents the power of Dylan’s performances as well as his compositions of that period, just prior to his breakout beyond the folk genre he would soon redefine.
Culled from two performances in May of 1963 at a folk festival held at the Massachusetts school, this recording lay undisturbed in the archives of the late renowned music journalist Ralph Gleason until uncovered by the latter’s son. It presents Dylan very early in his career—his first album was little over a year old at this point—and only on “Masters of War” is there a hint of the visionary potential that would literally explode with the subsequent release of Freewheelin,’ at the time of this appearance, still in the process of being recorded.
Yet even in the self-righteous attitude of the latter, it’s possible to detect Dylan’s own sense of how far and wide his ambition would take him. The ominous air that permeates “Ballad of Hollis Brown” contrasts with the sardonic humor in “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues,” the talking blues style of which also appears in the four selections from the second set. Throughout, even at the most lighthearted moments, such as “Bob Dylan’s Dream,” the man radiates a sense of purpose but more palpable still, an air of expectancy that borders on impatience: it’s almost as if he knows full well that the acoustic guitar and harmonica he wield on this stage–where’s he’s billed under icons of folk at the time including Pete Seeger– will soon become obsolete as his imagination threatens to outrun his arrangements.
And, of course, it goes without saying that anyone who can’t get past the nasal tone of Dylan’s voice as he uses it on “Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance,” will inevitably miss the unconventional phrasing that (arguably) marked him as one of the greatest singers of his generation.
It may surprise that an item in such great demand as Brandeis 1963 contains none of those songs –“Blowin’ in the wind,” “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”–that turned Dylan into a star in such short order after this appearance. Nevertheless, Michael Gray’s pithy essay ever so squarely posits Bob Dylan and his rapidly evolving art in exactly the social context that was transformed by it.
