Bob Dylan
Unravelled Tales

THE REVIEW

Carnegie Hall, New York, October 26, 1963

I challenge anyone, and I mean anyone, to say that this Live is not a masterpiece. Dylan is brilliant, inspired, moving. Incredibly electric even before plugging in. This Live represents spontaneous perfection not sought. The most complex naturalness ever (Yes, when it comes to Dylan it is possible).

You're probably thinking that I am a fanatic, a Dylan junkie up to my ears. Think it if you will.

Before talking about the concert itself, it's necessary to talk about the origin of the recording:

In 2005, Columbia Records released, more than 40 years after the recording, a 6-track live album: "Live at Carnegie Hall 1963". This official release is absolutely unsatisfactory and lacking if we consider that the songs actually performed during the concert are 19. As far as I know, there is quite a difference between 6 and 19. And as if that weren't enough, the choice of tracks is, in my opinion, very questionable.

The concert was recorded, way back in 1963, with a view to a possible official release and it would have been Dylan's first live album. But the project was set aside and never spoken of again. The reasons can be various:

it's necessary to say that Dylan at that time was a rushing river, a restless soul in continuous evolution both personally and compositionally; he was evolving so fast that there wasn't time to plan the album release. He surpassed himself with incredible speed and that crazy race that would lead him to burnout in 1966 had begun.

The death of Kennedy, a month after the concert, shook the whole of America. And Dylan too was shaken by turmoil and fears. Friends remember him as upset and frightened; even worried for his own life. But probably not even he knows exactly what went through his mind in those moments of confusion and panic.

As if that weren't enough, Dylan has always changed his mind at the last moment regarding the release of albums and the choice of songs contained within them. He always has, and he has every right to.

For these and who knows what other reasons, the Live was never released.

So it's important to say that "Unravelled Tales" is not an official album. Instead, it is a pirate release, a Bootleg released in June 2008. A wonderful release that greatly surpasses the official one from 2005. In comparison, the Columbia Records disc seems like a mockery.

After this introduction, I can finally tell you about the concert itself.

The evening was a triumph. It was a sell-out and consecrated him a music Star. It seems as if you could see him. Dylan is incandescent and prophetic. Moving and ironic. Between songs, he talks, narrates, entertains. He proves to be a true stage monster and the audience is enchanted by the almost magical figure that moves untamable on the stage. The words flow smoothly through lips cracked from constant cigarettes. Words that linger almost suspended in the air after being spoken, then slowly move aside for the next ones, and settle upon the hypnotized audience.

It's one of the greatest concerts of all time. I can't add anything else. I could talk to you about the songs. I could recount them one by one. I could list the highest moments of the concert; but it would be useless. I can't describe beauty in words. Much less describe the beauty of words. I can't, and it would be ridiculous to try.

Tracklist:

Disc one
The Times (1)
Ballad Of Hollis Brown
Who Killed Davey Moore?
Boots Of Spanish Leather
Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues
Lay Down Your Weary Tune
Blowin' In The Wind
Percy's Song
Seven Curses
Walls Of Red Wing
 

Disc two
North Country Blues
A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall
Talking World War III Blues
Don't Think Twice It's All Right
With God On Our Side
Only A Pawn In Their Game
Masters Of War
Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
When The Ship Comes In