Bob Dylan help please

I love music, and have a pretty eclectic taste and collection. But one omission is Dylan. Not that i don’t like him, and I do somewhere own a greatest hits compilation and also live at Budokan picked up from a petrol station at some time in the past. But I heard a radio article on him recently and need to correct the omission.

What do I need to listen to – maybe covering across the ages as opposed to chronologically? Recent stuff?

Aware this could run to about a million opinions……..

My father is a massive Dylan fan and has seen him many times live. He went to the Isle of Wight festival and saw him there when they had the real Hells Angels running security.

Best thing to do is pick up some of his greatest hits albums and what ever track you really like the sound of check what album its from and listen to that.

Blood On The Tracks is probably the most bearable Dylan album. I’m the same, love lots of music and bought the “classic” Dylan albums, but can only really listen to BOTT without getting wound up by his voice, nonsense lyrics, constant verse-repeat-verse and over-inflated song lengths. Apart from that… 🙂

Whatever’s on sale at your local supermarket.

One of them often has Blood on the Tracks, Highway 61 or Blonde on Blonde for a fiver.

Picked a few up lately.
Can’t go wrong.

I prefer later Dylan to his early stuff, which is probably heresy to proper folkies. Favourite tracks – Jokerman, Tangled up in Blue, You’re a Big Girl Now etc.

I prefer the early stuff but many of his contemporaries eg Joan Baez see/saw him as a bit of a fraud. Positively (W) 4th Street is a great track.

Bringing It All Back Home.

Just buy it.

Ok, for this, if you don’t think it’s amazing, I wouldn’t bother with Dylan.

Rolling Thunder albums
Joan Baez bad Dylan
Blood on the tracks

Before the flood, Dylan/The band

Desire – my favourite Dylan album and actually the only one I own

I confess to being a bit of a Dylan obsessive (all the studio albums, all the bootleg series, mono re-issues, hundreds of live recordings…..), but even I would concede that his voice is problematic for some.
That being said, his output is very varied from the early solo acoustic through mid-60s electric, country, gospel etc, and it’s not axiomatic that you will prefer the early stuff over some of his output from the 90s and 00s.
For what it’s worth I would suggest:
– Blonde on Blonde/Highway 61 Revisited
– Blood On The Tracks
– Before The Flood (live in 1974 with the Band; far better than the Budokan live album)
– Street Legal is to me a hugely underrated album from 1978
– The Gospel Years (1979 – 1981) are difficult. The studio albums never quite take off, but the live shows were imho amazing (I saw him at Birmingham NEC). If you can get hold of Toronto 1980, it is superb and needs an official Bootleg Series issue.
– I’m very fond of the 1986 shows with Tom Petty & Amazon are selling the Sydney show (originally a radio broadcast) for £10 which is a bargain.
– After seemingly losing his way between 1985 and 1995 (with the notable exception of Oh Mercy from 1989), Dylan suddenly hit form again with Time Out Of Mind, Love And Theft and (above all to me) Modern Times (which is as good as anything he’s ever released). It’s always fun asking people who wrote Make You Feel My Love, to which most reply “Adele”. But of course it’s Dylan off TooM.
And to be honest, that’s just scratching the surface…..

Persevere – I’m a bit obsessed myself now after years of thinking there were a few good tracks amongst many albums. Now I find virtually every album worthy of praise in some way.

I even love the Pat Garrett soundtrack – which was panned at the time but is now regarded a classic itself. Worth a listen if you just plain love to hear guitar music

In addition to above recommendations – Time out of Mind – which spawned Not Dark Yet, one of my favourite ever tracks. is a quality album.

“if you don’t think it’s amazing, I wouldn’t bother with Dylan”.

Dezb. That is amazing, fantastic track. As is subterranean homesick blues, Like a Rolling Stone to name a couple more.

As is subterranean homesick blues

Also on Bringing It All Back Home. You know what to do, jonv 🙂

Jate I know it is often said he lost his way 1985 -1995 until the totally stunning Time out of Mind album but I personally really like his two covers albums from that period – ‘good as I been to you’ and ‘world gone wrong’. Strange to hear one of the greatest 20th (and 21st) century songwriters do two covers albums just on his acoustic guitar but they are superb in my opinion and totally underrated!

I generally prefer early Dylan. I really like his first album ‘Bob Dylan’, other favourites of mine are ‘The times they are a-changin’, ‘Highway 61 revisited’, Blonde on Blonde, Desire, Blood on the Tracks.

Just checked and the best of album I have only covers to 1967. So I’ve got a bit of work to do…..

If I had to whittle it down to essentials it would probably look something like this:
Freewheeling
Bringing It All Back Home
Highway 61*
Blonde on Blonde
Blood On The Tracks*
Desire
Oh Mercy*
Time Out of Mind*
Modern Times
If I had to whittle it down further I’d take those with the *’s.
The Biograph box set covers a lot of ground, and you might want to have a look at the 1966 Live and No Direction Home sets from the ongoing Bootleg series. The Scorsese film is excellent, as is DA Pennebakers Don’t Look Back.

Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned but in addition to those already mentioned ID add Nashville Skyline. Worth it for Girl From The North Country alone.

+1 for Desire. The first Dylan album I really appreciated. Hurricane and Mozambique are brilliant.

I used to think he was a bit “meh” – well he is Marmite incarnate I suppose. But the more I heard of Dylan covers the more I realised what a brilliant writer he is, then going back to listen to the originals, well, they are brilliant too.

Bit brilliant really.

Yeah Desire is the one . Not really fussed about the rest. Mozambique and Isis have been played a lot in our house. . Oh and one more cup of coffee ( white stripes do a good cover of that )

DezB – Member
Bringing It All Back Home.

Just buy it.

Wot he said.

And add to that Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.

The finest trilogy of creation.

Nuff said.

Right:

ordered Highway 61 Revisited
Blood on the Tracks
Bringing it all Back Home
Modern Times (Jate’s recommendation)

might have to get Time out of Mind as well but 4 CD’s is enough for now

Thanks all.

Dunno if you have amazon prime, but they just added a load to prime music. Personally, I’d suggest you just buy everything from his debut up to desire, they’re all great 🙂
Edit: you’ve chosen well.

Just get Melanie doing Lay Lady Lay, better than Dylan for that one.

Yeah, Melanie was under-rated in my view. Ruby Tuesday too (I know, not Dylan).

Most of his early stuff and his seventies stuff for me. Infidels was a great album too. I don’t like his live stuff.

Another vote for Desire – just love that album

Am I the only one who really rates John Wesley Harding?

Dylan is essential listening for me all the obvious hits are great but I have a big soft spot for Streat Legal, I think my dad had it on 8 track so it was on a lot in the car when I was a kid. Modern Times was a welcome addition and his Christmas album especially must be santa was a bonus

Another +1 for Desire.

Only Dylan album I’ve got (had it for just under 40 years) !

The Pinkster – Member
Am I the only one who really rates John Wesley Harding?

Nope. I love that Frankie Lee and Judas Priest track.

No one has mentioned “freewheeling” yet have a spin of that.

Desire is one of my favourites. Also like “live at the Budokan”

Nashville Skyline. Worth it for Girl From The North Country alone.

+1
Love the album, love that track. With a bit of J.Cash thrown in for a bonus!

No one has mentioned “freewheeling'” yet have a spin of that.

Another great album that I love (ahem, it’s ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ Ashley). A lot of people think Bob is really boring and dull but he has so much humour in so many of his songs.

And Freewheelin’ goes the whole range from super serious (Blowin’ in the Wind/Masters of War) to funny like ‘I Shall be Free’ which I love but can’t find the studio version on youtube and ‘Talkin’ World War III Blues’ which is pretty funny for a song about the nuclear holocaust 8)

My fave album is Desire but that’s prob cos they don’t sound like Bob Dylan rofl