(Columbia Records)
On April 24,1963, Bob Dylan returned to Columbia Recording Studio A in New York City after a four-and-a-half month break, to record some new material for his second LP, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. It was the eighth, and final, session for the album. According to Clinton Heylin, this was the first session produced by Tom Wilson, even though only John Hammond is listed on the album cover.
For decades, it was assumed that the reason Dylan recorded new songs on this day was to replace the controversial "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", which Dylan was not allowed to sing on The Ed Sullivan Show. This session, however, took place weeks before that scheduled television appearance.
Dylan recorded five new compositions on this date. Four made the final cut: "Girl From The North Country", "Masters Of War", "Talkin' World War III Blues", and "Bob Dylan's Dream". A version of "Walls Of Red Wing" was included on The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1, credited to April 24, 1963. However, according to Heylin, it seems that version is from the sessions for The Times, They Are A-Changin'.
The next day, Dylan was in Chicago to perform at a new club called The Bear, which was partially owned by Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. A half-hour recording survived, and has been traded among collectors for years. Here's what has been preserved:
1. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (above)
2. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
3. Bob Dylan's Dream (below)
4. Ballad Of Hollis Brown
5. Talkin' World War III Blues
6. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
7. With God On Our Side (incomplete)
You can now experience part of that show by listening to the two embedded clips.
After the gig, Dylan jammed with blues guitarist Michael Bloomfield, who would play a major role when Dylan went "electric" in 1965.
(Note : Michael Krogsgaard dates this concert as May 2, 1963)
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Comments
any idea where this club was?
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