"Highway 61 Revisited" Album Review

Alpha101 Bob Dylan needs no introduction. He's one of the most influential folk singers in history, has inspired many fantastic artists to pursue their dream, and is arguably the best songwriter of our time. He's came out with many, and I really do mean many, albums, but this is probably his most talked about. The cover image is recognized by almost everybody, and it contains his most popular song, which is considered by many to be one of the best in history. Now that I've given him and this album the introduction that they absolutely did not need, let's move on, shall we?

"Like a Rolling Stone" is Dylan's most popular song, and many consider it to be his best. I, personally, disagree. Sure, it is a great song, and I still consider it to probably be in his top ten, but, in my opinion, it is an overrated track. But, that aside, this is still easily one of the best songs ever written, along with many others that contain Dylan.

"Tombstone Blues" shocked me whenever I first listened to it. It has some of the best written lyrics ever, in my opinion. It's weird and whacky, and contains one of my favorite lines in the history of music. "The sun is not yellow, it's chicken!" This is among Dylan's best.

"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a good song, don't get me wrong, but it is probably my least favorite on the album. I'm sure lots of people would disagree, but I've just never been as interested in it as Dylan's other works. I like it, but it just feels a bit bland compared to a lot of the other songs on the album.

"From a Buick 6" starts off very energetic, and sounds a little bluesy to me. It's fun all the way through, though it, like the song above, doesn't quite live up to a few other songs on the album.

"Ballad of a Thin Man" was the song that made me want to pick up this album. The first time I heard it, I couldn't get enough of it. Like "Tombstone Blues," it has some excellent lyrics, and is one of Dylan's songs that fans constantly argue about what the meaning behind the song is. This is the second best song on the album, and is probably in my top five Dylan songs.

"Queen Jane Approximately" has a very nice opening, and is one of Dylan's most relatable songs. I didn't like it much at first, but it's quickly grown on me, and is now one of my favorite Dylan songs.

"Highway 61 Revisited" is another one of my favorites on the album. The first few lines are some of the best written in music. The song is catchy, memorable, and fantastic all the way through.

"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is another track I don't really pay attention to. It's far from being a bad song, but I've just never really cared for it, that's all.

"Desolation Row" is my all time favorite Bob Dylan song, and is definitely in my top ten songs of all time. If this isn't the best ending to an album ever, then I'll eat my shoe. It's eleven minutes of pure magic, and never fails to send shivers down my spine. Like I've said before in a review, if I find a song that I really like, I rarely listen to it, so that way whenever I do, I feel all of my emotions whizzing around. It's a little hard to feel that way after listening to a song five hundred times. This is a simply perfect song, and is surpassed by very few.

This is one of history's best albums, and I'm very glad that I decided to give it a chance. It will never fail to impress me, and I tend to like it more every single time that I listen to it. This album is close to being perfect, and is probably in my top fifteen, if not top ten.

9.6/10 - Great Album

Comments

Enjoyed your review. I favor 2 others ahead of this album yet still think it's great with some essential tracks - most notably Tombstone Blues and Desolation Road, but not confined to them.
I may comment again on individual tracks but I want to urge you to seek out, in general, some alternative versions of Dylan songs, on YouTube or compilation albums (Biograph), live recordings, or when you come across them. He's constantly changing them and I find I prefer some to the original album tracks and often an unappreciated song is really brought to life in another take. Something about It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry on The Concert For Bangladesh that really catches me, (but of course I love that whole album, too). - Billyv