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| Popmatters |
 In all his various iterations—from folk troubadour to sunglass-clad, plugged-in contrarian to born-again Christian rocker to bluesy, plainspoken elder statesman—Bob Dylan’s artistic persona has always come across as one of clear vision. There’s no waffling in the moment, no tiny cracks of indecision or reticence. Bob Dylan picks his path—often blazing it for others to follow behind—and he doesn’t look back.The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, however, show us a new side to Dylan. They show us the Dylan who is just starting out, frantically writing songs, but still feeling for his own ground. At times, he’s as in command as ever, and in others, he feels a little green still, a little untested. Part of this comes from the fact that Dylan was a gamble for Columbia Records. Most of the Greenwich Village folk crowd ended up on smaller labels, like Folkways, and targeted smaller crowds. Dylan, though, was getting coverage in the Times as early as 1961, and John Hammond over at Columbia took a flier on him. Hammond’s flier, shared by Lou Levy at Leeds Music, the music publishing company Dylan first dealt with, yielded a humble first return with Dylan’s 1962 eponymous debut. The record, according to music historian Colin Escott (who provides fascinating liner notes here), sold only 2,500 copies, and Dylan became known as “Hammond’s Folly”. From there, Art Mogull, who worked for the company that owned M. Witmark and Sons—one of the oldest music publishers in the country—bought out Dylan’s contract, Al Grossman took over as Dylan’s manager, and Dylan the folk wunderkind began to take shape....full text |
| Themusicslut |
| Most of the recordings on The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 were made for the M. Witmark & Sons publishing company. Artists would record their songs for publishing companies so they might be heard by other artists wishing to cover their songs, or maybe for TV or movie use. Witmark had a small 6×8-foot studio, and it’s there that these songs were recorded and then transcribed into sheet music. So what you get is a fairly relaxed and young Bob Dylan playing his newest songs at the time. You hear flubs, forgotten verses, inspired playing and brilliant songs. Many of these tunes you already know, even if you’re just a casual Dylan fan. But you’ve probably never heard “Mr. Tambourine Man” on piano, or the roughly 15 songs never released in any official form. I’ve been an enormous fan of The Bootleg Series over the years, even if I only just managed to catch up and buy a copy of volume 8. The tracks streaming from NPR (not got a hold of the full thing yet!) are a great experience: Dylan’s ability as a young songwriter and performer is simply astonishing as is his growth over the first years of his career. NPR: Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos, 1962-1964 (Selected songs) Disc one 1. “Man On The Street” (Fragment) 2. “Hard Times In New York Town” 3. “Poor Boy Blues” 4. “Ballad For A Friend” 5. “Rambling, Gambling Willie” 6. “Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues” 7. “Standing On The Highway” 8. “Man On The Street” 9. “Blowin’ In The Wind” 10. “Long Ago, Far Away” 11. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” 12. “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” 13. “The Death of Emmett Till” 14. “Let Me Die In My Footsteps” 15. “Ballad Of Hollis Brown” 16. “Quit Your Low Down Ways” 17. “Baby, I’m In The Mood For You” 18. “Bound To Lose, Bound To Win” 19. “All Over You” 20. “I’d Hate To Be You On That Dreadful Day” 21. “Long Time Gone” 22. “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” 23. “Masters Of War” 24. “Oxford Town” 25. “Farewell” Disc two 1. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” 2. “Walkin’ Down The Line” 3. “I Shall Be Free” 4. “Bob Dylan’s Blues” 5. “Bob Dylan’s Dream” 6. “Boots Of Spanish Leather” 7. “Walls of Red Wing” 8. “Girl From The North Country” 9. “Seven Curses” 10. “Hero Blues” 11. “Whatcha Gonna Do?” 12. “Gypsy Lou” 13. “Ain’t Gonna Grieve” 14. “John Brown” 15. “Only A Hobo” 16. “When The Ship Comes In” 17. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” 18. “Paths Of Victory” 19. “Guess I’m Doing Fine” 20. “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” 21. “Mama, You Been On My Mind” 22. “Mr. Tambourine Man” 23. “I’ll Keep It With Mine”...full text |
| Beirutnightlife |
| The Witmark Demos features 47 Bob Dylan songs recorded by the artist – accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, harmonica and occasionally piano – for his first music publisher, Leeds Music, in January 1962, and for his second publisher, M. Witmark & Sons, between 1962 and 1964. Listening to these recordings, one can trace Dylan’s dramatic growth as a songwriter from early traditionally-styled songs like “Man On The Street” and “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie” through the social commentary of “Blowin’ In The Wind, “The Times They Are A Changin’” and “Masters Of War”, and the groundbreaking lyrical genius of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” All of these songs, and all the others on The Witmark Demos, were written – and their subsequent demos recorded – before Bob Dylan turned 24 years old. Among the many gems found on The Witmark Demos are 15 Bob Dylan songs that were recorded by the artist only for these sessions, and which have never been officially released to the public until now. These include the plaintive“Ballad For A Friend,” the civil rights era-inspired “Long Ago, Far Away” and “The Death Of Emmett Till,” and the poignant “Guess I’m Doing Fine.” The Witmark Demos also features a deluxe booklet featuring in-depth liner notes by noted music historian Colin Escott, as well as rare photographs of Bob Dylan captured during the same period as these early recordings....full text |
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