Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

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Manufacturer: Sony
Release Date: 2004-06-01

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Review
Dylan was virtually gushing great songs when this masterpiece arrived in the summer of 1965. From the epochal opening of "Like a Rolling Stone" through the absurdly apocalyptic closer, "Desolation Row," his command of surrealistic language was daring and amazing. As a vocalist, he was rewriting the rules of the game. Jimi Hendrix made note of Mr. Z's technically suspect pitch and decided that he too was a singer. And the backing, though ragged, is precisely right. Is this the essential Dylan album? It's certainly one of them. --Steven Stolder

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Blonde on Blonde Bringing It All Back Home The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks The Times They Are A-Changin'

Customer Reviews
Summary: "I ride on a mail train, can't buy a thrill..." Overall Rating: Comment: Love it or hate it, Highway 61 is Dylan's masterpiece, a real watershed moment in the evolution of the folk revival and the mid '60s rebirth of rock 'n' roll at the hands of Bob, the Beatles, etc. Bob probably gained as many new fans as he lost old ones (think Newport '65), and this move produced likely as much controversy in the folk world as John Lennon's "Beatles are bigger than Jesus" comment did in the world in general--'66 would prove to be a difficult year for both of these rock icons--but once Highway 61 hit the racks in August of 1965, there was no going back. The album opens with Dylan's great riches-to-rags anthem, "Like a Rolling Stone," a 6:07 single that went to #2 in the late summer of '65, prevented only from reaching the top spot by the Beatles' "Help!", which was #1 for three weeks. "Stone" was also Dylan's final production with Tom Wilson behind the mixing desk; the remainder of the album was produced by Bob Johnston, with whom Dylan would work through Nashville Skyline. Next up is "Tombstone Blues," featuring some of Dylan's most amazing psychedelic poetry and some amazing guitar soloing from the late, great Michael Bloomfield, and then the track from which this review's title is drawn, the slow blues "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry." Then, the oddly upbeat car-death rocker "From a Buick 6" and Dylan's slow, vituperative "Ballad of a Thin Man," a poison dart cast with deadly precision at Dylan's critics and detractors ("Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones?"). Side two opens, then, with "Queen Jane Approximately," honestly my least favourite track on this album, probably because it seems excessively trebly and piercing (notably Dylan's harmonica solos between the last two verses); we then have the title cut, where Dylan's harmonica has been temporarily replaced with a police whistle, and the eponymous highway becomes a staging point for human sacrifice, homeless shelter, flea market ("I got 40 red white and blue shoestrings/And a thousand telephones that don't ring/Can you tell me where I might get rid of these things?"), Oedipal commingling (the Second Mother and the Seventh Son) and even the next World War. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is more of Dylan's acid-poetry, and the album closes with the epic "Desolation Row," featuring a cast of thousands as only Dylan can write them (including Einstein Disguised as Robin Hood, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot fighting in the Captain's tower, Romeo, Cinderella, the Phantom of the Opera and Cassanova). Through it all, Dylan has the backing of Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper (in his first-ever shot at playing the organ, for which Tom Wilson laughed at his hubris), the great Harvey Brooks (still known then as Harvey Goldstein), and Russ Savakus and Charlie McCoy (who would also play on Blonde on Blonde), among others. The casual fan might wish to stick with the compilations that include "Like a Rolling Stone" among Dylan's other classics, but for the real devotee, or the collector, this is a necessary item. Summary: Not my favorite Dylan but still a masterpiece Overall Rating: Comment: I know there are others that would disagree but Dylan going electric was the greatest and probably one of the most controversial things in music history. This isn't my favorite Dylan album but with that said it's absolutely incredible and essential. So many people have great reviews about this album and their right! I couldn't pick out a favorite song on this because like any Bob album they always say something new and I always get a different feeling from it. To anybody thinking about buying, do it, no matter if its for pleasure or pure music education, it's essential. Summary: Snore Overall Rating: Comment: Yawn! Why is this album in such high regard? It's crap. It's just a commercial computer manufactured pile of flaming poo. The guy can't even play guitar! He only knows how to play two chords. I think it's about time someone showed this hack to write music- Fred Durst, perhaps? Summary: Epic Overall Rating: Comment: Well here we are. One of the most renowned and praised pieces of popular music in history. Last time we saw Bob Dylan he was proving that he was more than a simple folk singer. This time around, he's proving that he should be held in the same regard as Michaelangelo and Socrates. The most famous drum crash and organ blast ever. "Like A Rolling Stone" is the song that needs no introduction. It's the song that is continually voted as the greatest and most important song of all time, even almost 45 years later. It changed what pop music could be, it changed what could be considered a "hit" song, and as everyone from the Beatles to Springsteen to Wilco will attest to- it proved that shooting for the moon could pay off. It's the song that starts this album here and sets the table for what will follow. "Tombstone Blues" is next- it's Bob's scathing oppinion on various topics of the time- war, crime, hypocricy, religion, etc- in a vain similar to "Maggie's Farm" from his "Bringing It All Back Home" album. "It Takes A Lot To Laugh..." and "From a Buick 6" are the next two tracks, and both seemingly deal with a woman in Dylan's life. While "Buick" seems to hold in high regards the woman who takes care of Dylan and keeps him grounded and in check, "It Takes..." appears to serve almost as a warning to her- Dylan wants to be a certain way, and much else should not be expected of him. "Ballad of A Thin Man", an attack on a magazine columnist whom Dylan felt had him misunderstood comes next, and is then followed by "Queen Jane Approximately", a song that appears to be laiden with disdain for a woman Dylan once knew and loved, who is now living a glamorized, fake existence. Lyrically, a great song in which Dylan asks her to come see him again once she's gotten her head out of the clouds and her feet back on the ground. The title track (as per Dylan, inspired by blues legend Robert Johnson) and the fantastic piano driven "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"- (featuring great lyrics about temptation and things not being as they appear) are the final 2 songs before the epic Dylan masterpiece "Desolation Row". Widely considered one of the most complex and difficult Dylan songs ever written, "Row" is a nightmarish narrative that essentially is Dylan's response to a letter he receives from someone. Full of metaphors and symbolism involving many of literature's most famous characters- the song goes to show once and for all, how talented a writer Dylan really is. Angry and mean, yet passionate and emotional. Dark, complex, disturbing and brilliant. "Highway 61 Revisited" is one of the best examples of why Dylan is held in such high regard. The only thing perhaps more amazing than the quality of these compositions, is the fact that the writer was only 25 when they were created. Summary: This CD works for me, and my dog loves it too Overall Rating: Comment: This CD is a real classic. I would have given it 4 1/2 stars but the computer didn't seem to be able to give it that rating. Anyway, I love the CD and I can't believe it took me so many years to finally buy it. But it is a great CD and one everyone should have in their collection.

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