Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) should need no introduction. He’s one of the greats in the history of popular music, a masterful songwriter—indeed, the only rock musician ever to earn a Nobel prize for literature (and the first American to win since Toni Morrison in 1993).
Yet when I was growing up a classic-rock-listening teen, Dylan was mostly just a name I’d heard, nothing more. They hardly played his music on classic rock radio—or on any radio, for that matter. He is perhaps often admired in public in general ignorance of his actual work.
Well, music fans, here’s your chance to get to know Dylan a little better.
The playlists that follow offer a pretty deep dive into Dylan. If you’re looking for something shorter, I’m sure you can find something elsewhere. But he’s damned well worth a closer look.
I might note that I am typically a music-first, lyrics-second listener. With Dylan, it’s really the lyrics that make the song. That said, there are a more than a few fan and critical favorites that I don’t really dig ‘cause I just can’t get into the tune for some reason. Regardless, there’s plenty here to get lost in.
Playlist 1 – Folk Archetypes (1961-1963)
Playlists 1-3 chronicle Dylan’s folk period, from 1961-1965. As I began listening to the music of this period collectively, the songs started grouping themselves naturally into categories—from archetypal to political to personal—which I have tried to duplicate in the playlists that follow. Of course, the richness of Dylan’s best albums—The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, for example—comes with the interweaving of these themes from track to track, but I’ve separated them here. Outside of the masterful Freewheelin’, many of my favorite tracks from this period come from the 3CD set The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased). (With outtakes and rarities, I’ve tended to place them according to when they were recorded, not when they were ultimately released.)
Dylan’s earliest work still shows the heavy imprint of his folk roots. Playlist 1 features many covers of folk and country blues standards, plus some originals in the same vein. Lots of ramblers and gamblers and drinkers; and death awaits behind every corner. I continue to be amazed at how brilliant many of these tracks are.
Playlist 2 – The Political Sphere (1962-1964)
After his debut album, Dylan’s own voice begins to develop, with archetypal folk myths developing into more directly political and topical songs, and more personal songs, too. Some surreal and absurd lyrics begin to emerge. Playlist 2 contains some of the most powerful political songs ever written—the spine-tingling “Masters of War,” for example.
Playlist 3 – The Personal (1962-1965)
Dylan raised personal songwriting to a new level of candor and insight. Rarely had a pop singer exposed and explored sentiment and relationships with such acuity.
Playlist 4 – Electric Period (1965)
Dylan alienated most of his folk-rock fan base in 1965 when he incorporated rock instrumentation. Far from abrasive by today’s earsplitting standards, back then he was derided as if he were Judas. In truth, the music is pretty strident compared to contemporaneous releases by the Beatles, Beach Boys, and the like. And the lyrics are on another stratosphere, leaping from the personal to political to allegorical with the ease with which the rest of us walk down the street.
Playlist 4 contains many of my favorites of Dylan’s electric period, taken from probably my two favorite Dylan albums, Bringing it All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited. Brilliant stuff.
Playlist 5 –Electric Period (1965-1966)
Playlist 5 contains more from Highway 61, plus a lengthy sampling from the classic double-LP Blonde on Blonde, another career highlight, and a few extras. “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Positively 4th Street,” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” are among his most well-known songs.
Playlist 6 – A Retreat from the Public Eye (1967)
Dylan had a motorcycle accident in July of 1966 that proved to be a pivotal moment in his career. He retreated from the limelight; he returned with the gentler, country-folk album John Wesley Harding. His recordings with the Band from around the same time—not released until 1975 on The Basement Tapes—show a commitment to more straightforward, realistic songwriting.
Playlist 7 – Adrift (1968-1974)
Dylan entered an inconsistent period in his career, which nevertheless has some of his most well-known songs. The LP-length Playlist 7 contains highlights from this period.
Playlist 8 – Rebirth (1975-1976)
Dylan experienced a rebirth in 1975 through 1976 with one great studio album, Blood on the Tracks; the release of his 1967 recordings with the Band, The Basement Tapes; a free-spirited tour he named the Rolling Thunder Revue, whose reputation has only grown over time; and another very good studio album, Desire. Blood on the Tracks and Desire are chronicled here.
More Bob Dylan
Dylan, of course, had had many other important releases. It seems at least once a decade he drops a near-masterpiece. I’ve also skipped over his live recordings completely here. But eight playlists are enough, for now. I’ll get to more of them some other time.
Cover Art:
- Blonde on Blonde: Source, Discogs.com, Fair use.
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