Folksinger's Choice

Taken from a 1962 appearance on the Cynthia Gooding radio show, Folksinger's Choice is indeed just that: a rare sampling of a recently-discovered Bob Dylan going through a small repertoire of early folk, blues and country standards. Several of these songs, such as the original "Ballad of Emmit Till" and Hank Williams' "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle," can be heard in other incarnations on the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan Outtakes bootleg, but with the exception of "Roll On John" (released in 2001 on the Smithsonian Folkways compilation There is no Eye: Music for Photographs), none of these performances have been released to the general public. Still, serious Dylan fans would do well to have this historically important bootleg in their collection. Dylan is on top of his game on the show, playing several good -- and some great -- songs, but it is his comments to Gooding in between sets that also make the album such an entertaining listen: throughout the interview, he continuously leads the host on, telling various tall tales about his background (including a story oh his longtime stay with a traveling carnival!), which Gooding falls for (or at least pretends to fall for) at the drop of a hat. While only hardcore Dylan fans may take the time to seek this bootleg out, there are certainly enough entertaining moments here to appeal to even the casual fan. ~ Barry Weber

• Genre: Folk, World, & Country
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 01/23/2012