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Bob Dylan - The Gaslight Tape (1962)

Track listing:
  1. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall 6:40
  2. Hezekiah Jones 3:09
  3. No More Auction Block 3:59
  4. Rocks and Gravel 2:53
  5. Don't Think Twice It's Alright 4:58
  6. Barbara Allen 7:13
  7. Moonshine Blues 4:05
  8. Motherless Children 3:10
  9. Handsome Molly 2:45
  10. John Brown 5:54
  11. Ballad of Hollis Brown 5:42
  12. Kindhearted Woman Blues 2:30
  13. See That My Grave is Kept Clean 3:24
  14. Ain't No More Cane 1:58
  15. Cocaine Blues 2:56
  16. Cuckoo Is A Pretty Bird 2:17
  17. West Texas (excerpt) 5:35

Notes

This bootleg of Bob Dylan performing at the Gaslight in New York City is well worth seeking out for fans of the artist's folk years, as it proves to be a fascinating sampling of a young genius still finding his own voice in a live setting. Though a few originals are here (including an early live performance of "John Brown"), Dylan sticks mostly to traditionals, as was the norm in the early years of the folk wave. The funny thing is, Dylan plays his covers with such conviction that they actually almost eclipse his originals; while the performances of "Hard Rain" and "Don't Think Twice" seem to imply that Dylan was still unsure of his talents as a songwriter, he sounds strong and fierce in his renditions of "The Coo Coo Bird," "Handsome Molly," and "Motherless Children Have a Hard Time" — arguably the greatest track on the whole collection. The quality of the sound is surprisingly very good, especially considering it was taken directly from an early-'60s soundboard. Fans and scholars take note — this is inarguably one of the most historically important Dylan bootlegs out there, and it is definitely worth taking the time to find.The Famous 'Gaslight' tapes have traded among collectors since the 60's, and individual songs have been available on various bootleg recordings since the early 70's. The Origins, dates, and performance orders have been obscured over the years. To my knowledge, there is no one bootleg package that contains the complete shows in proper song order. The longtime belief among collectors is that there were two Gaslight recordings. After much thought and investigation, it is now believed that there were actually three performances at the Gaslight. It has also been suggested that the final two shows might have occurred on the same day, or within a day or so of each other. Thanks to the cooperation of the club owners, and the management skills of Dave Van Ronk's wife, Terri Thal; songs from the various venues were professionally recorded on reel tape from a patch of the house PA. This resulted in incredible sound quality that can stand proudly alongside recordings produced by today's digital equipment. The songs from all venues have been combined on various bootleg releases. The performance orders have been all but abandoned. The songs from the July 2nd, 1962 Montreal show at 'The Finjan Club', and the songs of the second gaslight tape were in wide circulation under the title 'Canadian Party Tape'. With all of this confusion, we have created this section in an attempt to show the proper performances.