Customer Reviews

Folksinger's Choice

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This radio recording really is a gem and it's simply marvellous that it has survived intact for nearly 50 years and now, out of the blue, has been released on CD (back then, tape was routinely re-used and this recording could easily have been lost forever). The audio quality is excellent. Cynthia Gooding, who is obviously very impressed with Dylan, has managed to put him completely at ease and has him laughing and joking during the interview sessions between each song. Apart from great renditions of songs from his early repertoire, this is a truly historic recording of the young Dylan. He was 20 years old and hadn't yet released his first album. To add to its importance, the broadcast contains the only known Dylan performances of three of the songs - Smokestack Lightning, Hard Travelin' and Roll On, John. At the very end of the broadcast Gooding asks Dylan if he'll still be wearing his corduroy cap when he's rich and famous. Bob replies, "Oh, I'm never gonna become rich and famous".

If you don't buy another CD this year, buy this one.

Folksinger's Choice was a radio show on New York FM station WBAI hosted by Elektra recording artist Cynthia Gooding. This CD issues the radio performance featuring Bob Dylan from March 11th 1962 and presents Bob singing live in the studio with Cynthia interviewing him between tracks. The singing tracks and interview tracks are all numbered so the CD actually contains 21 tracks, 10 more than listed on the cover - making it slightly tricky to play a specific music track. The CD runs for just under an hour at 57:30.

The audio quality is pretty good, considering the age of the material, and is reasonably produced by Leftfield Media with an eight page booklet giving recording details and a full write-up for each track. I never heard the bootleg versions of this material so I cannot directly compare the audio quality, but this new release sounds like it is taken from a studio source tape rather than an off-air recording.

As an historic document this set stands up really well and features the twenty year old Bob just before the release of his first album. The material ranges easily from folk to blues to country with three Dylan originals to show the promise of the career to come. This CD is one all Bob's fans will enjoy and the music - if not the interviews - stand up to repeated playing. Bob's fans are in for an even bigger treat later in the year when Columbia issue the artist's first eight albums as a limited edition MONO box set. Many of the mono mixes are far superior to the stereo versions as owners of the original vinyl LP versions may well remember. Until then this Folksinger's Choice CD will have to keep Bob's fans happy!

I'd to look twice at this one. Since there is no track list up yet I'm assuming this the same cd as the bootleg I've had for about 10 years. It's got almost the same cover and exactly the same title. Originally issued by Yellow Dog in 1992 it is a pristine recording of an hour long radio show broadcast in March 1962-(Clinton Heylin reckons the actual
recording took place in mid Feb and I'm not going to argue with him..). The host on the show was Cynthia Gooding, a folksinger herself and clearly smitten by Bob's youthful charm. She interviews him between Bob singing 11 complete
songs. They are: Lonesome whistle blues, Fixin to die, Smokestack lightnin, Hard Travelin, Emmett Till, Standing on the Highway,Roll on John, Stealin, Long time man feel bad, Baby please don't go,Hard times in NY town. Some are unique in that there are no other versions of Dylan doing them,only a couple made his subsequent debut album, all are worth having. What makes the cd (my one anyway) essential is the interview itself. Dylan myths start right here. The
gushing Gooding laps up Bob's tales about running away from home as a kid,joining a carnival, etc. etc. He barely keeps from laughing throughout.
All in all this is classic early Dylan-check the tracklist against mine, some titles may have slightly different names,but if it rings at all true to the above, don't think twice its brilliant.

This historic release of a radio show broadcast in March 1962 (but probably taped at the end of February) shortly before the long-delayed release of his debut album finds Dylan in fine form in the convivial company of interviewer Cynthia Gooding, and spinning a few autobiographical yarns along the way including the one about being a 'clean-up boy' (whatever that is) in a carnival. The interviews are illuminating, but it's the material performed by Dylan that makes this special. If he was thinking about promoting the debut album then the thought lasted the length of just one song, 'Fixin' To Die' being the only title here to feature on that record. There are just 2 truly original compositions- one of the earliest known airings of the newly composed 'Death Of Emmett Till' (which takes Gooding's breath away on hearing it- mine too!) & 'Hard Times In New York'. The latter had been in the man's repertoire since November 1961 & the Minneapolis recording from December 1961 can be found on The Bootleg Series 1-3. He also made a demo of this song for Leeds Music in January 1962, which is about to be issued on The Bootleg Series 9: The Witmark Demos (even though it was NOT a Witmark demo!). This live radio version is one of its last known performances. The rest are covers, 2 of which ('Lonesome Whistle' & 'Baby Please Don't Go') were recorded at the very first Freewheelin' session along with 'Death Of Emmett Till' but none of the tracks from that session made it on to the album. 'Standing On The Highway' was also previously recorded as a Leeds demo but whether it counts as a Dylan original is contestable since it is really a precocious rewrite of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroad Blues' with Dylan changing not much more than the odd word or phrase. 'Stealin'' was a regular performance favourite of Dylan's during this period and this is a pretty decent version. Then there 4 songs that have never been officially released in any shape or form: Woody Guthrie's 'Hard Travelin'', Howlin' Wolf's 'Smokestack Lightnin'', & 2 traditional songs, 'Roll On, John' & 'Long Time Man'. It is significant that Dylan resists Gooding's invitation to play a few more of his own songs, preferring to perform his own folk/blues versions of non-original material. This is what makes this release rather special as it provides us with an audio snapshot of Dylan barely a month before his first Freewheelin' recording session, when he was preparing for what at this point was tentatively titled 'Bob Dylan's Blues'. There were not yet enough original songs of sufficient quality to fill a whole record, so the 'blues' album was to remain a viable option for at least another 6 months. This show offers a tantalising glimpse of a 'lost' album that might well have fitted between the first and Freewheelin' had Columbia not made it plain that it was considering dropping Dylan. But Columbia didn't reckon on this guy writing a song called 'Blowin' In The Wind' only 6 weeks after his taping this show- but, to be fair, no-one else did either. One more thing: Cynthia Gooding's laughter, especially when subjecting her interviewee to some affectionate teasing about his harmonica cradle, is both warm and wonderful enough to be regarded as an unexpected bonus!! All in all, then, this is essential listening for Dylan fans.

Great to hear the young Dylan playing and singing some songs never heard before. Also great to hear the lovely comments from Cynthia Gooding. Recommended for Dylan fans.

I think I heard this on a " bootleg " tape some years ago but this is much better quality . Bob flirts with the interviewer between some very early songs of his own and old blues tunes

Sound quality is very good and is from a very early time in Bobs long time in the spotlight. Hard to purchase from reputable source in US

This remarkable document features Bob Dylan as a guest on Cynthia Gooding's WBAI radio show 'Folksinger's Choice'. It was broadcast on March 11th, 1962 eight days before the release of his debut album 'Bob Dylan'. Ms Gooding elicits some entertaining chat and tall tales from Dylan in between the 11 wide-ranging songs that appear here.
These include Hank Williams' 'I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow', Bukka White's 'Fixin' to Die', Howlin' Wolf's 'Smokestack Lightnin'', Woody Guthrie's 'Hard Travelin'', The Memphis Jug Band's 'Stealin'' & Big Joe Williams' 'Baby Please Don't Go'. Dylan contributes his early 'protest song', 'The Death of Emmett Till', 'Standing on the Highway' & 'Hard Times in New York Town'.
Sound quality is excellent and this fascinating early recording is a must for all serious Dylan fans.

Great CD! Bob is presented in his early years & the songs + the interview segments are really a joy. A rare look into Bob's past before he became a mainstream pop-star.
If you are a Dylan collector, or just a young curious new fan, this CD will add a good insight into Bob's early recording years (1960's).

Dylan is noted for his obfuscation during interviews - particularly in his early years.The interviewer on this disc manages to get sensible answers to her questions, illuminating both the man and the times in which he is speaking. A must for all true Dylan fans.