SPRING/SUMMER 2013 No. 101 - Devon Folk

Reviews
FOLK SINGER HUMDINGER
Bob Dylan
Now here’s something that really takes me back
to my initiation into the world of folk song - a
double album of Bob Dylan’ s original recordings
from 1961 & 1962. It’s one from the series,
‘As Good As It Gets’, re-issues of classic folk,
pop, jazz and skife recordings from that era,
produced by Smith & Co, a company based in the
Netherlands.
By the time I got into folk music, Bob Dylan
was already an iconic gure and his songs such
as Don’t Think Twice and A Hard Rain’s Gonna
Fall were already standards in many a folk club
evening. At the time, while appreciating his songs,
I never really took to Dylan as a singer, preferring
the smoother sound of Peter, Paul & Mary or the
crystal clear voice of Joan Baez.
Listening to the songs on this album some fty
years later the raw talent, drive and passion of the
young Bob Dylan strikes me as never before. The
diversity of his material, too, with inuences and
inspiration from country singer Hank Williams,
blues singer Rev Gary Davis, and the legendary
Woody Guthrie, is something that I’d never really
been aware of before. And there are quite a few
traditonal songs to boot, such as Pretty Peggy O
and The Cuckoo.
I passed the album on to my friend, Susie
Golightly, knowing that she is a Dylan fan.
She told me that the albums revealed to her an
unknown side of Dylan with some very sensitive
and beautiful songs. She also commented that his
work deserves to be heard and what better way
than to release this album to give the youth of
today a chance to enjoy his talent.
With 44 tracks over the two CDs one can easily
ip through to one’s favourite songs or listen
to songs one had almost forgotten, or, for me,
probably never heard before.
Dave Travis, who put together this amazing
collection, also provides extensive and
informative sleeve notes, including his own
personal introduction to the music of Dylan
and his contemporaries. It seems appropriate to
reproduce here some of his biographical details
of Dylan’s early background.
Bob Dylan ws born Robert Zimmerman in
Duluth, Minnesota, on 24th May, 1941. He
had a consuming passion for reading books
not on his school curriculum and a deeply ingrained
wanderlust. Despite growing up in the
Rock’n’Roll era, he developed a passion for the
music of Woody Guthrie, and he learnt to play
guitar and harmonica to sing Woody’s songs.
At the same time he also soaked up the sounds
of rural Country, Blues and Hillbilly music.
Arriving in New york, as Bob Dylan, late in 1961
he gravitated towards Greenwich Village and
soon became freinds with Village leadings lights,
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Dave Van Ronk. Dylan
played oor spots at many of the Village venues,
and, through the help of folklorist Israel Young,
played his rst concert at the Carnegie Chapter
Hall on Nov . 4th, 1961. Though the concert was
poorly attended, high praise in reviews helped
to pave the way for the musical force he would
become. Bob Dylan had already been signed up,
in October 1961, to record for Columbia, a major
recording label that rarely featured folk singers.
For the rest of the biography, notes on the songs
and full discography, I recommend you purchase
the album. And to enjoy the songs, of course !
Colin Andrews
www.smithco.nl Proper Distribution Ltd 0870 444
0799. www.properdistribution.com
John Tarling
Calling
to recorded or live music
Beginners to experienced
Family dances a speciality
Up to one hour’s drive from Axminster
Tel. 01297 34804
dancefolk.john-t@virgin.net
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