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This tape was recorded in the apartment of Karen Wallace in St. Paul, Minnesota
in May of 1960. It used to be a matter of controversy over whether or not
this tape was truly a young Bob Dylan, but I believe the matter has finally
been settled and the tape has been authenticated. It's easy to see why there
was doubt, though, because the singer sounds very little like the Dylan
we're familiar with. The singing sounds very affected and (dare I say it?)
phoney. Chalk it up to youth and the struggle to find a style, I guess.
Still, this tape, or what can be heard of it that is, leaves much to be
desired. Most of the songs are just fragments and the sound quality is so
abysmal that it's nearly impossible to tell what songs are actually being
sung. The number of songs listed above would indicate a much longer tape
than its 36 minutes, but that's because, as I say, it's so fragmentary.
A small portion of this tape appears in excellent sound quality on a separately
circulating "sampler" tape that Karen Wallace was using as a sales device.
According to Clinton Heylin's book, The Recording Sessions, Wallace wanted $10,000 for the original reel tape. There were no buyers
and Karen Wallace has since disappeared, along with the tape. It looks like
all we have for now is the "armpit" tape. For historical reasons, this is
a shame, but for artistic considerations it's no big loss. This tape is
only for completists.
More information on this tape from the
Bob Dylan Free Tape Library.
CDs:
- I Was So Much Younger Then [Dandelion]
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