HOW TO LISTEN TO DYLAN - GETTING DEEPER

Now that the listener has come to experience Dylan’s most accessible albums, it’s time to open up and let the diversity in. The following are records that require a little more understanding and open-mindedness than the previous ones. These albums are still great in their own right but each has a unique style that needs to be appreciated if one is to like the entire album. Still, there’s nothing offensive or “off-putting” about these albums. They’re just a bit narrower than the first 4 we highlighted.

5. Blonde on Blonde (1966)

Obviously, the seasoned Dylan fan might be a little ticked that we put this at #5 on our list. Many consider this to be one of his best if at least not in his top 3. That may be true...but remember, we’re trying to rank albums in order of their accessibility and like-ability to the non-Dylan fan. Blonde on Blonde has some killer tunes like “I Want You,” “Just Like a Woman” and the stoner’s anthem “Rainy Day Women #12 and #35.” There’s a lot of 60’s jangly rock on this album which is way cool. But, there are also some long, monotonous songs which might turn off a brand new listener (i.e. “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, “Temporary Like Achilles”). There’s also the lack of a truly short but sweet ballad that can keep ADD listeners interested. The closest thing to a ballad is “Fourth Time Around,” which is a great song but might take a little more work to appreciate than “You Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” from Blood on the Tracks. All in all still a great album but it’s length and duds (see below) keeps it out of our top tier.

• Studs: I Want You, Visions of Johanna, Just Like a Woman
• Duds: Pledging My Time, Temporary Like Achilles, Obviously Five Believers

6. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)

This is the master’s second album and begins with one of his most famous songs: “Blowin’ in the Wind.” This album has a sweet, early-60’s folky charm that is unsurpassed. We put it at #6 because if you start with this album and you don’t like folk you’ll never listen to Bobby D. again. Those who haven’t learned to appreciate Dylan yet, can often be dismissive of his pre-electric albums. Freewheelin’ doesn’t have the wide range of styles that exist on Bringing It All Back Home and Highway. Some of the songs on this record though are just fantastic. “Girl From the North Country”, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” are among his best penned tunes ever. If nothing else, this album can be appreciated by the non-folk loving Dylan fan for it’s great lyrics and sporadic harmonica solos which make Bobby so unique.

• Studs: Blowin’ in the Wind, Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right, Masters of War
• Duds: Down the Highway, Corrina-Corrina (not written by Dylan)

6. Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)

The first song on this album, “All I Really Want to Do”, is as captivating as it is goofy. Dylan audibly laughs in mid-verse …how can you not like that kind of raw vulnerability. From start to finish this album is all acoustic guitar, harmonica and all Dylan. There are some Dylan classics on here like “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “My Back Pages” that the newer fan will appreciate for their lyrical content if nothing else. At this point in the game, the listener should be enthralled enough with Dylan to overlook arguably his greatest flaw—his voice. Dylan’s voice “quirks” are more obvious on this album than FreeWheelin’. He doesn’t try too hard to hit the notes perfectly or hide his nasally delivery. The songs however outshine his voice so much that we hardly notice it anymore when listening. Hopefully that will prove true for the now sophomore Dylan as well.

• Studs: It Ain’t Me Babe, All I Really Want to Do, To Ramona, Chimes of Freedom
• Duds: Black Crowe Blues, I Shall Be Free No. 10

8. The Times They Are-a-Changin' (1964)

This album requires an honest admiration of Dylan before it can truly be appreciated. The Times They Are-a-Changin’ is a pretty dark album and features almost nothing but minor chords and harmonica. Gone are the light-hearted songs that appear on Freewheelin’ and Another Side. This album is not the “feel good album” of the century and thus can be overlooked as boring and depressing by non-Dylan fans. However, if the new listener has listened to the 7 previous albums we recommended, they’re bound to see the genius in this album. The “love gone wrong” songs are some of the best Dylan has ever written: “Boots of Spanish Leather” and “One Too Many Mornings” are both classics. This album also contains quite a few political songs too(title track, “Only A Pawn in Their Game” and “When the Ship Comes In”). These songs made Dylan famous at the time they were released but might not translate well to the modern listener.

• Studs: The Times They Are-a-Changin’, One Too Many Mornings, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
• Duds: North Country Blues, Ballad of Hollis Brown

9. Oh Mercy (1989)

OK, now that the new listener has heard some of Dylan’s best rock and folk, we think they are ready for the modern Dylan—bring on Oh Mercy. Arguably, this is Dylan’s greatest album from the decade that betrayed him-- the 80s. Produced by Daniel Lanois, there’s not much not to like on this album sonically. A modern, relaxed vibe exists throughout. Dylan’s voice shows some age but Lanois uses that to his advantage by placing it securely within the ethereal instrumentation. This album has some great songs on it no matter who sings them and we think the newer listener will realize that. It even spawned a minor radio hit and MTV video single with “Political World.” This album is close to being as good as Time Out of Mind but not quite. Either way, it was refreshing when it was released and helped salvage a bit of the decade that saw Dylan’s worst albums.

• Studs: Everything Is Broken, Ring Them Bells, Man in the Long Black Coat
• Duds: Where Teardrops Fall, Shooting Star

Just when you think he’s done…he’s not. Bob’s latest effort offers some tasty listening for the old and new Dylan fan alike. It’s certainly not his best and could easily turn off the chaste Dylan listener. However, we think it’s a winsome effort rounding out the top 10 for those learning how to listen to Dylan. At 65-years-old Dylan delivers a complete record that has something for everyone from the opener, “Thunder on the Mountain”, to the last song, “Ain’t Talkin’”. In between, you’ll cool blues covers (“The Levee’s Gonna Break”, “Rollin’ and Tumblin’”), melodic rock and roll (“Spirit on The Water”, “Someday Baby”) and thought-provoking ballads like “Nettie Moore” and “When the Deal Goes Down.” There was a lot of hype about this record when it came out. We put it at #10 on our list because we’re afraid the frailty and raggedness of his voice would turn off the listener who hasn’t already come to admire Dylan. That being said, if you take away his “older-sounding” voice and the slick production quality, this record could easily fit in with some of his best 60’s-era records.

• Studs: Thunder on the Mountain, When the Deal Goes Down, Ain’t Talkin’
• Duds: Someday Baby, Beyond the Horizon

11. Desire (1976)

Desire is somewhat of a concept album with a unique style and “fiddle driven” instrumentation. If you’re not into that type of thing this album could easily send you running to the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin. If you are into it, you’ll love Desire. We’re betting if you’ve made it this far though you’ll be willing to give Desire a chance and soon realize it’s subtle genius. The first song, “Hurricane”, is a long story of the wrongly accused boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. There are several verses in this epic song each ending with a flurry of violin improvisation. Dylan’s legal facts, or lack thereof, have since hurt this song’s credibility. But, musically it’s certainly a compelling piece. This album contains some great songs all fitting within the same basic acoustic guitar, fiddle-flared alternative country genre. “One More Cup of Coffee” and “Oh, Sister” are two of the stronger tunes on an album that some argue make-up Dylan’s comeback album of the 70s. We rated this album below where others might put it because we don’t think there’s enough personal, captivating material to lure in the new listener. There’s not a lot of feeling in this album to get you hooked. You need to be into Dylan before you can put up with tracks like “Joey” and “Black Diamond Bay.” It’s tough to feel a true connection to these songs.

• Studs: Hurricane, Oh, Sister, Sara, One More Cup of Coffee
• Duds: Joey, Black Diamond Bay, Mozambique

12. Love and Theft (2001)

So, here it is! The last of what we consider to be the most listenable and accessible of Bob Dylan’s records. After this, we head to the second level of Dylan albums and eventually, downhill altogether…more on that later. Love and Theft has a wide range of musical styles and there’s something for everyone…rock (“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum”), blues (“Summer Days”), folk ballads (“Highwater”) and jazzy numbers (“Po’ Boy”). True Dylan fans were very excited about this album not “sucking” after Time out of Mind. People were holding their breath to see if he could put out two good albums in a row and he delivered. But, in our opinion, Love and Theft is good not great. His voice is pretty rugged and there doesn’t seem to be the angst and swagger that exists on the other two albums from this era—Time Out of Mind and Modern Times. Nevertheless, it rounds out our top 12 for the new listener based on its style variety, songwriting and production.

• Studs: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Mississippi, High Water (For Charley Patton)
• Duds: Summer Days, Lonesome Day Blues