With the popularity of ‘A Complete Unknown’ culminating in multiple Oscar nominations, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro has created a new fanbase for one of music’s most celebrated artists. Does anyone else now slip into a mumbling, mid-western musical madman whilst on the daily visit to Tesco Discovery Heights? Just me?
Folk music always has had a very special place in my heart. Nick Drake, Joan Baez, Kate Rusby and Ralph McTell were all passed down to me by my parents, but I never could really get Bob Dylan. Although not a complete unknown to me, I had never had the realisation that many of our generation are still yet to: being that he is just incomparable. For sure, the film opened me up again to the music, but The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan as a collective album sealed what my mother always told me: there is none better.
1. Blowin’ in the Wind
When assembling an all time greatest hits for Bob Dylan, there are few better places to begin than Blowin’ in the Wind’. A simple song with a clear message: when will we see the suffering right in front of us? An anti-war song that feels particularly relevant today, the track captures the pointlessness of conflict, hate and division.
“How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind”
The gentle vocals remind me of a teacher explaining the same lesson over and over, until they are almost in defeat. Soft, saddened but still trying. This accompanied with a sprinkle of folk licks in the strumming adds depth to the song, a trait Dylan is spot on with time after time. It is a sad indictment of the world today that the song is still so important because clearly we
have not seen the answer that is so clearly blowin’ in the wind, 60 years later.
2. Girl from the North Country
One of my personal favourites, Girl from the North Country, not to be hyperbolic, but one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Other contenders from Dylan alone would be Boots of
Spanish Leather or Make you Feel my Love (yes, the one that Adele covered). What is so incredible about this track is the storytelling. You are taken, wrapped up and transported to a
cold, wintery landscape where you feel the sadness in Dylan’s words. You feel the plea and
hopeful remembrance that you know won’t end in a happy ever after.
“Im-a wondering if she remembers me at all
Many times, I’ve often prayed
In the darkness of my night
In the brightness of my day”
There is something so painfully relatable about wandering what someone you used to love
may think of you if anything at all. It isn’t just the lyrics that makes my heart drop, but the
gentle finger picking of each string. This is not the song you strum along too looking to cheer
anyone up. The harmonica breaks don’t feel grating or take you away from the moment, rather it allows a moment to feel you are missing something that you can’t quite place. You
may not remember it at all.
3. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
You would be mistaken into thinking this may be a review of the best of Dylan’s work, however this album really does just feature classic after classic. This was the first song that
made me think this Bob Dylan guy might be worth a go, and for good reason. Who doesn’t
love a punchy, sarcastic song that focuses on taking digs at an ex? There are too many
quotable quips that show Dylan’s wordplay to be levels above other artists especially of the
day.
“I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better, but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my, precious time
But don’t think twice it’s all right”
Sometimes lyrics can scratch your brain in the perfect way, and the rhyming of all four lines
does that for me. The passive aggressive nature makes me smile every time I listen. Who hurt
you Bob?! Given the rest of the album’s focus on anti-war and politics, a good breakup song
feels perfect to "break up" the album and give you something else to think about. Musically, the folk guitar is infectious. It is another where his guitar playing ability shines, crafting a wonderfully bouncy rhythm which only gets amplified with harmonica breaks that make you want to splash the cash and learn how to play yourself. However, unfortunately for Dylan, there is one who makes this song even better. Joan Baez (worthy of a review in her own right) takes this track and makes it into a gorgeous piece of magic that everyone needs to hear.
4. Corrina, Corrina
My favourite thing about this song is the sway of the rhythm that makes feels almost like a lullaby. The layering is masterful. A steady drumbeat, harmonica, beautifully simplistic lead and Dylan’s voice combine to make an irresistible quick-fire ‘feels’ moment. The song talks about what he has but how lost he is without Corrina, who has left him. I love the oxymoronic nature of a swing song that makes you sway without thinking, whilst simultaneously singing about how sad your lover leaving has made you.
“Corrina, Corrina
Gal, you’re on my mind
Im’a sittin’ down thinking of you
I just can’t stop crying”
Maybe I have just got Bob Dylan on my mind all the time after seeing the film, however there is something about his music that feels like it just could be the soundtrack in your own movie. Walking along, listening to the swinging guitar and drums missing the love who left you, maybe smoking a cigarette and drinking a lukewarm takeaway coffee. That is exactly what comes into my mind when I hear Corrina Corrina.
5. I Shall Be Free
What is so charming about this track is the absurdity of it. Dylan submerges you in a strange but somehow relatable drunk venture in which a phone call with the president asking how to fix the country makes complete sense. Perhaps poking fun of politics in general, much of the song appears as incoherent anecdotes scrambled together in a classic repetitive folk pattern. No bridge, no change up in key, just words that can be changed for the next folk singer to add their own piece to. The songs origins go back to the 40s and Dylan’s idol Woody Guthrie, showcasing the power of folk. Any story can be told with the same chords, it is up to you to write the story.
“Well, my telephone rang it would not stop
It’s President Kennedy callin’ me up
He said, my friend Bob, what do we need to make the country grow?
I said my friend, John, Bridget Bardot”
The song reminds us how humorous Dylan’s lyrics can be, and yet throughout the song remains to be political and poke fun at government. His vocals steal the show with the famously gruff voice adding a unique charm to the intoxicated tales told in the track. What is so good about The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is how varied the themes of songs are as well as the sheer quality. The imagery in some songs is so clear, you can really feel the cold New York vibe in songs like Girl From the North Country, but also walking through a busy street drunk and absent to the world around you like I Shall be Free. The influence of this album may be overshadowed by Dylan’s decision to go electric in 1965 – causing the folk music community to feel betrayed – the contribution to modern folk in this album is unmatched. There is something in it for every listener. It's perfect if you’re beginning a Bob Dylan journey, or on (Highway 51) revisiting his discography.
Album Rating: 10/10
Image courtesy of The Telegraph.
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