Bob Dylan — or as my dad says, “Bobby Dye-lan” — The little white wonder Volume 1 – my copy says it was licensed in 1973, but I feel like these songs were recorded a while before that. the sound quality of the recordings are definitely pre-1970s. Dylan clears his throat several times on a few tracks, which suggests they were done in one take. I hypothesize that Dylan didn’t have the money for retakes when these tracks were recorded, so they might have been done earlier in his career or at a low point.
In any case, here are the tracks:
Side A
- Who You Really Are
- Candy Man
- The Death of Emmett Till
- California
- Only a Hobo
Side B
- Baby Please Don’t Go
- Man of Constant Sorrow
- I Ain’t Got No Home
- Fairwell Angelina
- Poor Lazarus
Dylan is an alarming, acoustic, acquired taste. The mixing on these tracks is muddy, but that is common Dylan-style recording. This music is far from easy listening; if you can decipher (or look up) the lyrics, then their is great meaning there. It is not quite folksy, not quite country, not quite rock. When I listen to Bob Dylan, I really sit back and listen; this is not multi-tasking music. I think that the acoustic sound and muddy mixing lends to that; you have to listen, really listen to understand it. Casual listeners will probably not be Dylan fans, and that’s ok. But, if you want music that seriously asks a lot of you, and you run across this record, pick it up!
Vinyl and Velvet 