LIVE 1964 released: March 30, 2004 BUY

This famous concert, recorded Halloween night 1964 at Philharmonic Hall, has been much bootlegged but never heard in its entirety or in such crisp and present sound. This set presents Dylan on the cusp between his folksy days and his new-found land of imagist poetry, the borderline claimed and explored on Another Side of Bob Dylan, which had just been released two months before. His voice was strong and confident, even cocky. The program included "topical" songs like "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" and "With God On Our Side," featured here in a duet with Joan Baez, who joined him for four tunes, including a great, playful version of "Mama, You Been On My Mind." Also showcased are the kinds of visionary work that was about to show up on Bringing It All Back Home - "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." Throughout he is relaxed, funny, and charming, able to switch from self-deprecating humor to intense lyric focus on a dime. This was Dylan at the top of his game as solo artist, a role he would play for another eight months or so, until he upset everybody's apple cart at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by appearing with the electric Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The Times They Are A-Changin'  | listen | Spanish Harlem Incident  | listen | Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues  | listen | To Ramona  | listen | Who Killed Davey Moore?  | listen | Gates Of Eden  | listen | If You Gotta Go, Go Now  | listen | It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)  | listen | I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)  | listen | Mr. Tambourine Man  | listen | A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall  | listen | Talkin' World War III Blues  | listen | Don't Think Twice, It's All Right  | listen | The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll  | listen | Mama, You Been On My Mind  | listen | Silver Dagger  | listen | With God On Our Side  | listen | It Ain't Me, Babe  | listen | All I Really Want To Do  | listen |