[Cyclone]

So I thought I might pick up a CD by Bob Dylan this month and I was looking around I realized how many damn albums this guy wrote!!

I really have no idea where to begin. Any recommendations of his best work?

PS: Some of my favorite songs of his are Hurricane, It's Alright Ma, Buckets of Rain, Girl From the North Country
Some of my least favorite songs of his are... ummm let me get back to you guys on that.

 

[Wmcmanus]

I'm sure you'll get a million responses, but Dylan is a hard one to give recommendations for. Most of his albulms are excellent in their own ways, but I'd say that in general, I like the earlier stuff better. The best sellers, I think, during his career have been Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks. I've got just about everything he's ever done (about 30 or so) including the Bootleg Series, and these two are among the best of the best. (Actually, the Bootleg Vol 1-3 set is a lot of fun too, and would be a great place to start).

Another suggestion would be to get the Greatest Hits, Volumes I, II and III. These I don't actually have, but together they span most of his career, save the last 10 years or so.

If you have an SACD player (and if you ever become a 'serious' Dylan fan) I can highly recommend the 15 disc box set. Any and all of those 15 albumns are worth while in their redbook counterparts, but the SACD versions are all well done and bring you closer to the sense of baing there. I've noticed on eBay and Amazon that the box sets have been going for around $120 or so, which is a lot less than I paid when it first came out.

 

[thrawn86]

"PS: Some of my favorite songs of his are Hurricane, It's Alright Ma, Buckets of Rain, Girl From the North Country
Some of my least favorite songs of his are... ummm let me get back to you guys on that."

you're missing a lot of the great ones!

just get the greatest hits and go from there, thats what I did

 

[acs236]

Maybe start with Blonde on Blonde.

 

[Bunnyears]

If you don't want a greatest hits album, then you really need to get at least three to five of his albums in order to get a taste of all of his periods. For early Dylan (accoustic-folk) Bob Dylan, Free Wheeling Bob Dylan and The Times They are A-Changin' ; I believe most have been remastered. For Rocker Dylan, then you need Highway 61 Revisited Blonde on Blonde and John Wesley Harding and or Nashville Skyline at the least. Actually, this will get very expensive, so I suggest getting good boxed sets, or the complete works, especially this one:

Bob Dylan: The Limited Edition Hybrid SACD Set

 

[Stevtt]

If you just want a taste and don't want to spend a lot of money "The essential Bob Dylan" otherwise I agree with the above recommendations.

 

[markl]

Get the hybrid SACDs, they have the best sound, even the CD layer is extremely well done. Try Blonde On Blonde, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 from his early period. Blood On The Tracks and Planet Waves from his middle period. His most recent album, Love and Theft is also one of the best things he's done. Buying one Dylan is gona make you want to seek them all out, though, they all have some worth-while stuff.

 

[The Actual]

For awhile you should be safe just buying the more famous stuff, but Bob Dylan did make some albums that are not very good.

I think that the rule I read was some thing like: Everything until self-portrait is great, and then Desire and Blood on the Tracks are good, and then Time Out of Mind and Love & Theft are good.

Good luck. I am glad that you like Bob Dylan; He is my all-time favorite musician.

 

[Cyclone]

Yes, not spending a lot of money is key here since I dont have my summer job yet. So "The Essential Bob Dylan" is my best bet? Im looking at the first "Best of" volume and I already have alot of those songs, same with "The Essential", but I dont have hardly anything off of "Blood on the Tracks" or "Blone on Blonde". Out of the two which do you think is a better?

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclone I dont have hardly anything off of "Blood on the Tracks" or "Blone on Blonde". Out of the two which do you think is a better?

Even if you have to beg, borrow, or steal, try to get them both! As Markl said, the SACD hybrid version is definitely the way to go, even for the CD layer. I just CAN'T bring myself to picking one over the other when it gets down to these two. It's painful enough to reduce it down that far...

 

[The Actual]

I would personally recommend against getting the essential collection.

To me having the overall flow of the album is very important, and you cannot get that on a greatest hits collection. Also, if you think that you like Bob Dylan enough to want more than just the greatest hits (which really does not cover alot of his better stuff), then after buying the albums separately you will have "wasted" thirty dollars.

As for Blonde on Blonde versus Blood on the Tracks, I am a big fan of his acoustic stuff, so I would go with Blood on the Tracks in a second, but both are excellent.

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus Even if you have to ... steal ... get them both

Point well taken, see you soon Tower Records.

 

[DJ Mauler]

hmm bob dylan is the man.

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Mauler hmm bob dylan is the man.

Did anybody here see the 60 minutes (yes, a high schooler who watches 60 minutes) interview he did about 3 months ago? I was wriggling in my seat watching him claim that he wasnt that good, not too many people like him, etc. Modesty is an understatement and a half for how he was acting.

 

[DJ Mauler]

i think i saw a few mins of that not sure tho.

but ya he is great.