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by Bob Dylan
- Record Label: Legacy Recordings
- Release Date: Oct 31, 2025
- Summary: The latest in Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series features a previously unreleased recording of his October 26, 1963 concert at Carnegie Hall. The eight-disc deluxe box set includes six discs of rare and unreleased informal recordings, outtakes, alternative takes, and other live performances.
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- Record Label: Legacy Recordings
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
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Score distribution:
- Positive: 13 out of 13
- Mixed: 0 out of 13
- Negative: 0 out of 13
- Dec 31, 2025With 59 never having been previously released, and an excellent 124-page hardcover book tracks this period of Dylan’s history in meticulous detail. From a 1962 Montreal coffeehouse performance before a handful of people, to NYC club appearances and various apartment gatherings, the set brings into focus Dylan’s startling development as a songwriter and ascent among his peers.
- Oct 29, 2025There are highlights galore. .... A shiver goes through you when Dylan opens his November 1963 Carnegie Hall concert with the public debut of “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. Imagine hearing that for the first time. The entire show plays out over Discs 7 and 8. The setlist is incredible, his performance impeccable. [Dec 2025, p.38]
- Classic Rock MagazineNov 14, 2025A vivid chronicle of his rapid ascent and growth as an artist, it captures the thrill of a young man finding his voice while making an indelible mark on history. .... A whole lotta Dylan for your dollar, and it's worth every cent. [Dec 2025, p.86]
- Oct 29, 2025An argument can now be made for the significance of Through the Open Window, because it's ground zero. Although large chunks of the material have circulated previously (as, well, bootlegs), the restorative sonic care and Wilentz's chronological contextualization is invaluable.
- Oct 30, 2025It isn’t entirely comprehensive, lacking the fabled Witmark demos (which have already been collated in the Bootleg Series). What ‘Through The Open Window, 1956-1963’ supplies, though, is wonderful curatorial nous, one that gives it a palpable narrative thrust. You’re pulled through time to the streets of New York in the early 60s, and behind each door lies tantalising secrets.
- Nov 7, 2025Through the Open Window reveals an artist trying to find his voice and then convincing others to listen to it.
- Oct 29, 2025Compiled by Steve Berkowitz and Sean Wilentz, the massive box (also available in a two-disc distillation for Dylanologists on a budget) includes a certain amount of material already available on previous Bootleg Series editions and other Dylan compilations. But 48 of its cuts have never been heard by anyone other than collectors and Dylan’s gatekeepers, which lends added weight to its historic value.
