Notes

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New York City, New York

6 Dave van Ronk (guitar, backup vocal).

The First Gaslight Tape.

Mono PA recording

In 1961 Dylan began playing a series of gigs at the Gaslight Cafe in New York City. This is the earliest known recording of his appearances at that club and the sound is quite good. Early versions of this tape were poor, but it seems that a better quality tape has been in circulation for some time now and this material appears in very good quality on at least one vinyl boot that I've heard. At any rate, I would say this short tape (approximately 25 minutes) is absolutely essential. Of special interest is the appearance of four original songs. The first three have only recently been officially released on The Bootleg Series in their original studio versions, but these live performances are far better. Dylan seems to take his time singing them and really seems to connect with what he's singing. Song To Woody is especially riveting. It seems somehow sad in spite of the uplifting nature of the lyrics. There is a weariness to this performance that gives the impression of a singer much older than his years. I guess he really was so much older then!

The other two songs, Pretty Polly and Car Car, fare less successfully, but Pretty Polly has the distinction of having same melody as Hollis Brown.