In 1963 he was excoriated by Newsweek magazine as a liar and a phony; fast forward 53 years and Bob Dylan is the recipient of the world’s most prestigious literary award, the Nobel Prize. Yes, he changed his name from Robert Zimmerman and fudged about his familial roots, but by 1963 Dylan was already setting the folk world ablaze with his powerful attacks on racism and the military-industrial complex (“Blowing in the Wind” and “Masters of War”). Soon hailed as a modern day prophet, he played with Dr. King at the March on Washington, but most of us didn’t yet know his voice- we knew his songs by the likes of Peter, Paul, and Mary. Then, in the summer of ’65, his voice exploded over the airwaves. “Like a Rolling Stone” – “like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind”, said Bruce Springsteen – seemed to go on forever with that intriguing story of a girl, “Miss Lonely”, who used to look down on others, but now has nowhere to hide or to go, and “how Does it feel?” It’s still recognized as one of the great all-time recordings, with its swirling organ, relentless, jangling guitar, and Dylan’s “attitude”.

         There’ve been down periods in his career (the second half of the ’80s), and too many shape shifting changes to count; some people never could take his voice- always unorthodox and nasal, now the gruff growl of an old delta bluesman- but tons of brilliant songs, done in a range of genres, along the way- “Desolation Row” (sometimes called Dylan’s “Waste Land”); “I Threw It All Away” (a country flavored lost love lament that puts the blame squarely on the singer); “Tangled Up in Blue” (a past, present, and future take on love and loss); “I Believe in You” (one of his many luminous gospel numbers); “Mississippi” (perhaps the perfect song to admire the enigmatic, but still utterly compelling lyrical content of Dylan’s work).

         Dylan may very well be America’s most accomplished songwriter; his artistic standing will, no doubt, ebb and flow in the decades to come, but for those who don’t know him, he’s worth a serious listen, starting, perhaps, with his acoustic classics, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) or Blood on the Tracks (1975); or his blues-rock masterpieces, Highway 61 Revisited (1965) or Blonde on Blonde (1966); or delve into his latter work, “Love and Theft” (2001) or Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). He’s influenced virtually everyone and, at 82, is still going.

         -Steve Williams (7/6/23) – Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #25