(Columbia)
There is something special about an entertainer who can take an acoustic guitar and a microphone and have an entire concert hall hanging on every word and harmonica squeal. Dylan does just that on
The show begins with a piercing harmonica that cuts the air like a diner bell calling the listener in for an auditory feast, starting with \The Times They Are A-Changing"" as the appetizer. Soon he plays the unreleased and sarcastic as can be ""Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues,"" which is a funny topical song whose message about the John Birch Society and witchhunts wouldn't seem out of date today.
With jokes and banter between songs and Dylan convincingly delivering some of the funniest lines and most heart-wrenching songs, this show has the feel of Johnny Cash's live prison recordings. He is able to switch from comedian to social commentator, to love balladeer without missing a step and often improving many of the songs with new melodies, inflictions and improvised lyrics.
On ""If You Gotta Go, Go Now,"" Dylan has the audience in stitches and it sounds more like a comedy album. But knowing the audience is right where he wants them, Dylan drops his darkest album epic, introducing ""It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"" with ""yes, this is a very funny song."" It is a captivating version and the audience responds well, but a little bewildered.
During ""To Ramona"" he weaves lyrical passages that are so complex and original that they would produce instant betrothal from whomever the woman is that the song is directed to. His love songs like ""To Ramona,"" makes other rock lyrics of this time look like a junior high school kid's first forays into poetry.
He starts off his second set to an ecstatic audience response to?? ""Talking World War 3 Blues."" He changes some of the more familiar punch lines to breathe new life into the song. Next, Joan Baez joins for four songs, and they really only get in complete sync for ""With God On Our Side."" Their songs lack the spontaneity because she sings every word along with him, as though it were a campfire sing along.??
This revelatory performance can make one realize why there was the outrage and tsunami effect that Dylan's switch to electric caused. His solo acoustic performances were so powerful and engaging that people felt betrayed enough to call him Judas and it didn't seem crazy and reactionary. This recording ranks right up there with the previous bootlegs and offers a moment frozen in time that is perfect just when Dylan was at a crossroads about to leave behind the folk music he had taken to a logical conclusion and perfected.
-Eric Van Vleet
