Bob Dylan has announced ‘Bootleg Series Volume 18: Through The Open Window, 1956-1963’. Find all the details below.
The legendary singer-songwriter will release the extensive 8CD/2CD/4LP box set on Friday October 31 via Columbia/Legacy Recordings. Pre-order/pre-save here.
- READ MORE: A Complete Unknown review: don’t think twice about seeing this brilliant Bob Dylan biopic
To preview the forthcoming project, Dylan has shared the song ‘Rocks And Gravel’ – a 1962 outtake from the ‘Freewheelin” sessions in New York City.
“‘Through The Open Window’ tells the story of Dylan’s emergence and maturation as a songwriter and performer, from Minnesota to the Greenwich Village bohemia in the early 1960s,” a description reads.
“Arriving amidst a global resurgence in appreciation for Dylan, the collection 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 featured in the box set are “exceedingly rare”, while other tracks “have never been presented in any form” before.
The collection will give fans 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. These include classics like ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ and ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’.
‘Through The Open Window’ concludes with a previously unreleased full recording of Dylan’s landmark concert at NYC’s Carnegie Hall in October 1963. The show marked the end of the beginning of Dylan’s long career, following his early rise.
“Of that time and those places, this collection is just a fragment,” writes author and historian Sean Wilentz in his 125-page liner notes essay.
“Even so, as an aural record of an artist becoming himself – or in Dylan’s case, his first of many artistic selves – the collection aims to collapse time and space, not as a nostalgic reverie but as a living connection between the past and the present, the old and the new, which are never as distinct as we might think.”
The 8CD tracklist for Bob Dylan’s ‘Bootleg Series Volume 18: Through The Open Window, 1956-1963’ is:
DISC 1
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. San Francisco Bay Blues (Informal Recording, Minneapolis, MN, 1960)
4. Jesus Christ (Informal Recording, Minneapolis, MN, 1960)
5. East Virginia Blues (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
6, K.C. Moan (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
Bob Dylan with Danny Kalb
7. Hard Travelin’ (Informal Recording, Madison, WI, 1960)
Bob Dylan with Danny Kalb
8. Pastures of Plenty (Informal Recording, East Orange, NJ, 1961)
9. Remember Me (Informal Recording, East Orange, NJ, 1961)
10. Song to Woody (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1961)
11. Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues (The Gaslight Cafe, NYC, 1961)
12. Ain’t No Grave (Informal Recording, NYC, 1961)
13. I Ain’t Got No Home (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
14. Death Don’t Have No Mercy (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
15. Devilish Mary (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
16. Introduction: Riverside Church (Riverside Church, NYC, 196)
17. Handsome Molly (Riverside Church, NYC, 1961)
18. Introduction: See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961) –
19. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
20. The Girl I Left Behind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
21. Introduction: Pretty Boy Floyd (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
22. Pretty Boy Floyd (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
Bob Dylan with Jim Kweskin
23. Railroading on the Great Divide (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1961)
Bob Dylan with Jim Kweskin
24. Introduction: Fixin’ to Die (Folklore Center, NYC, 1961)
25. Fixin’ to Die (Folklore Center, NYC, 1961
Bob Dylan with Dave Van Ronk
26. I’ll Fly Away (Carolyn Hester Alternate Take, NYC, 1961)
Carolyn Hester with Bob Dylan
DISC 2
1. Introduction: In the Pines (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
2. In the Pines (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
3. Gospel Plow (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
4. Introduction: Young But Daily Growing (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
5. Young But Daily Growing (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
6. Man on the Street (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
7. This Land Is Your Land (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
8. Pretty Polly (Carnegie Chapter Hall, NYC, 1961)
9. Man of Constant Sorrow (Bob Dylan Rehearsal, NYC, 1961)
10. House Carpenter (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
11. You’re No Good (Bob Dylan Alternate Take, NYC, 1961)
12. He Was a Friend of Mine (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
13. Ramblin’ Round (Bob Dylan Outtake, NYC, 1961)
14. Story: East Orange, New Jersey (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
15. Stealin’ (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
16. Po’ Lazarus (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
17. Dink’s Song (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
18. I Was Young When I Left Home (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
19. In the Evening (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
20. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
21. Cocaine (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1961)
DISC 3
1. The Death of Emmett Till (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
2. Conversation: Folksinger’s Choice, 1 (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
3. Roll On, John (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
4. Conversation: Folksinger’s Choice, 2 (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
5. Hard Times in New York Town (WBAI-FM, NYC, 1962)
6. Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (Informal Recording, NYC, 1962)
7. Ballad of Donald White (Informal Recording, NYC, 1962)
8. Midnight Special (The Midnight Special Rehearsals, NYC, 1962)
Harry Belafonte with Bob Dylan
9. Midnight Special (The Midnight Special Alternate Take, NYC, 1962)
Harry Belafonte with Bob Dylan
10. Wichita (Three Kings and the Queen Album Version, NYC, 1962)
Big Joe Williams with Bob Dylan
11. It’s Dangerous (Kings and the Queen, Volume Two Album Version, NYC, 1962)
Victoria Spivey with Bob Dylan and Big Joe Williams
12. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
13. Talkin’ New York (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
14. Corrina, Corrina (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
15, Deep Ellum Blues (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
16. Introduction: Blowin’ in the Wind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962) – 0:00:19
17. Blowin’ in the Wind (Gerdes Folk City, NYC, 1962)
18. Rambling, Gambling Willie (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
19. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962) – 0:02:06
20. Rocks and Gravel (Freewheelin’ Outtake, NYC, 1962)
21.Paths of Victory (Broadside Office, NYC, 1962)
22. Train A-Travelin’ (Broadside Reunion Album Version, NYC, 1962)
23. Hiram Hubbard (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
24. Quit Your Low Down Ways (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
25. Let Me Die in My Footsteps (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
26. Ramblin’ on My Mind (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
27. Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues) (The Finjan, Montreal, 1962)
DISC 4
DISC 6
1. Introduction by Cordell Reagon (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
2. Only a Pawn in Their Game (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
3. Blowin’ in the Wind (SNCC Rally, Greenwood, MS, 1963)
4. Eternal Circle (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
5. Liverpool Gal (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
6. West Memphis (Party, Minneapolis, MN, 1963)
Bob Dylan with Tony Glover
7. North Country Blues (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)
8. With God on Our Side (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)8
Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
9. Playboys and Playgirls (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)
Bob Dylan with Pete Seeger
10. Blowin’ in the Wind (Newport Folk Festival, RI, 1963)
Bob Dylan with with Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Freedom Singers, Pete Seeger
11. Slate: Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Sessions, NYC, 1963)
12. Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
13. Seven Curses (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
14. Farewell (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
15. Bob Dylan’s New Orleans Rag (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
16. Moonshiner (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
17. Introduction by Joan Baez (Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, NYC, 1963)
18. Troubled and I Don’t Know Why (Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, NYC, 1963)
Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
19. Introduction by Ossie Davis (March on Washington, Washington, D.C., 1963)
20. When the Ship Comes In (March on Washington, Washington, D.C., 1963)
Bob Dylan with Joan Baez
21. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Party, Los Angeles, 1963)
22. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Informal Recording, Los Angeles, 1963)
23. One Too Many Mornings (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Alternate Take, NYC, 1963)
24. Key to the Highway (The Times They Are A-Changin’ Outtake, NYC, 1963)
DISC 7
1. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
2. Ballad of Hollis Brown (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
3. Introduction: Who Killed Davey Moore? (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
4. Who Killed Davey Moore? (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
5. Boots of Spanish Leather (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
6. Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
7. Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
8. Introduction: Blowin’ in the Wind (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
9. Blowin’ in the Wind (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
10. Introduction: Percy’s Song (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
11. Percy’s Song (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
12. Seven Curses (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
13. Walls of Red Wing (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
14. Introduction: North Country Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
15, North Country Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
16. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
DISC 8
1. Talkin’ World War III Blues (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
3. Story: Hootenanny Hoot (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
4. With God on Our Side (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
5. Only a Pawn in Their Game (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
6. Introduction: Masters of War (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
7. Masters of War (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
8. Introduction: The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
10. Introduction: When the Ship Comes In (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
11. When the Ship Comes In (Carnegie Hall, NYC, 1963)
Back in January, Dylan’s early years – spanning 1961-’65 – were explored in the multi-Oscar-nominated biopic A Complete Unknown, which stars Timothée Chalamet in the lead role. The movie was later listed as one of NME‘s best films of 2025 so far.
Dylan is set to return to the UK and Ireland this November for his ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ tour. Find any remaining tickets here.
Last month, it was reported that Dylan had been working on new music with “members of his band” in Albany, New York.