#36 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan

Right, now I have made my miniature apology/warning it is time to attend to matters at hand. Bob Dylan is one of those artists that I have had a longstanding history of ill-feeling towards. This is namely because in all the music presses he is just unable to put a foot wrong. Whenever he releases an album of new material, or a collection of B-Sides he never deemed good enough for general release until 40 years later, he is always able to garner amazing reviews and appearances on end of the year lists. So, without ever giving an album of his a proper go, I already labelled him as one of those untouchables who well established magazines have to laud with the fear of looking stupid. I think I made this rant yesterday concerning the Beatles but since Bob Dylan is still pulling this in the noughties it’s a bit more personal.

Needless to say I didn’t go into my first listen of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan with an open mind. Part of me was desperate to prove other reviewers wrong so I could point and jeer at the emperor as he took a stroll around the block wearing nothing but a guitar and his trusty harmonica. When I talked about this it was suggested that this was because I wasn’t smoking pot. While this may appear a tad flippant it isn’t entirely false. While I do not condemn or condone marijuana it is true I wasn’t in the mind set for such an album. In a day where I have listened to albums by Kanye West, Florence & The Machine and Frankmusik this just jars. So I tried to mentally reset myself into whatever setting it is that allows me to enjoy Devendra Banhart’s Rejoicing In The Hands. And what would you know, it actually worked. Suddenly, having done this, I caught myself saying “this is actually good ” whilst listening to A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.

I am not going to suddenly say that this is one of the best albums that I have ever heard though. While there is a great proportion of songs that I think are really good, there is a reason Blowin’ In The Wind is immortal, there are some that should not have made the cut. The one that instantly comes to mind is Down The Highway where nothing sounds right to me, his lyrics and his guitar strums just do not work. This is in stark contrast with Bob Dylan’s Dream which has everything flowing perfectly, I don’t even mind the harmonica interludes. The same is true with his arrangement of Corrina, Corrina which is so beautifully delicate that you forget that Bob Dylan can not sing. Fact.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is a good album, but it doesn’t grab me by the shoulder with the genius it has been attributed with and, as Bob Dylan goes, I am still far from being one of the converted.

7.0/10

Fab Four:
Blowin’ In The Wind
Masters Of War
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Bob Dylan’s Dream