Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 18: Through The Open Window (1956-1963 Highlights) [4LP]

Through The Open Window, the next volume in the award-winning Bootleg Series tells the story of Bob Dylan’s emergence and maturation as a songwriter and performer, from Minnesota to the Greenwich Village bohemia in the early 1960s. It includes rare Columbia Records outtakes, recordings made at club dates, in tiny informal gatherings, in friends’ apartments, and at jam sessions in long-gone musicians’ hangouts. Many of the recordings are exceedingly rare; others have never been presented in any form.

The box set is a unique account of Dylan’s early years, when he honed his talent, and transformed traditional folk songs and lyric sketches into some of his greatest and most enduring songs, including “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” It concludes with a previously unreleased recording, in its entirety, of Dylan’s landmark concert at Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963. A culmination of Dylan’s exceptional early rise, that concert also marked the end of the beginning of Dylan’s long career. 

This 4LP vinyl edition was produced by Columbia Records in 2025. Includes a 24-page book and features 42 tracks, of which 18 are completely unreleased as well as 9 super-rare cuts.

TRACKLISTING:

LP1:

1. Let the Good Times Roll (Terlinde Music Shop, St. Paul, MN, 1956)
2. I Got a New Girl (Informal Recording, Hibbing, MN, 1959)
3. Jesus Christ (Informal Recording, Minneapolis, MN, 1960)
4. K.C. Moan (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
5. Bob Dylan with Danny Kalb
6. Remember Me (Informal Recording, East Orange, NJ, 1961)
7. Railroading on the Great Divide (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
8. Bob Dylan with Jim Kweskin
9. Man of Constant Sorrow (Bob Dylan Rehearsal, NYC, 1961)
10. He Was a Friend of Mine (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
11. Ramblin’ Round (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
12. Story: East Orange, New Jersey (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
13. Po’ Lazarus (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
14. Dink’s Song (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
15. I Was Young When I Left Home (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
16. Cocaine (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)

LP2:

1. Talkin’ New York (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
2. Corrina, Corrina (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
3. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
4. Rocks and Gravel (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
5. Let Me Die in My Footsteps (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
6. Tomorrow Is a Long Time (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1962)
7. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
8. The Cuckoo (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1962)
9. The Ballad of the Gliding Swan (BBC-TV, London, 1963)
10. John Brown (Broadside Ballads Album Version, NYC, 1963)
11. Dusty Old Fairgrounds (Town Hall, NYC, 1963)

LP3:

1. House of the Rising Sun (Informal Recording, NYC, 1963)
2. Seven Curses (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
3. Masters of War (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
4. Girl from the North Country (Freewheelin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
5. Liverpool Gal (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
6. Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
7. Moonshiner (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
8. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Party, Los Angeles, 1963)
9. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Informal Recording, Los Angeles, 1963)

LP4:

1. Who Killed Davey Moore? (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
2. Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
3. Blowin’ in the Wind (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
4. North Country Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
5. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
6. Talkin’ World War III Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
7. Only a Pawn in Their Game (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
8. When the Ship Comes In (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)