The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Important? Sure. Historical? Yes. Fun to listen to? No.

[strums guitar gently, starts singing] “How many Bob Dylan albums must a man endure, before he’s free of this god forsaken list? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.” [abruptly stops strumming] …wait, no it’s not. Seven. The answer, my friend, is seven.

No. No Bob Dylan. I can't stand the sound of his voice, I can't stand the fawning hero worship, I can't stand his terrible paintings. I flatly refuse to even entertain the suggestion of listening to this. No.

i don't care if i sound shallow but this is one of the best albums of all time sure his lyrics are dense and it's kinda pompous but u just gotta roll wit it

Not my favourite Dylan album, but holds a lot of magic. So self-assured and pure. Hard Rain has been a huge influence. Don't Think Twice is one of my favourite love songs ever.

Another Dylan master class for his second album more blues and less folk, less biblical and some really profound lyrics when everyone else was singing about taking girls to discos. For a point of reference 1963 was the same year Cliff Richard released “summer holiday”. This is why Bobby D was a groundbreaking artist, maybe not the most technically gifted musician but his lyrics are more like poetry and will go down in history as great feats of English literature. In my opinion this album goes beyond music.

I honestly don't get the big deal with Bob Dylan. Bored the balls off me.

Really up my alley, don't know why I hadn't jumped into Bob Dylan's discography. That guitar strumming, that lyricism. His voice is full of emotion and carries the words so well. BUT? He sounds nasally as FUCK. An acquired taste that I have not entirely acquired.

Not my favorite of Dylan’s early all acoustic stuff (that would be The Times They Are A-Changin’) and a tad inconsistent, but “Blowin In The Wind,” “Girl From The North Country,” “Masters Of War,” “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall,” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” are among the greatest songs ever written.

Bob turns up proper on his second album. Finger pointing protesting love/hate songs. This album sounds like it's going to be friendly with the finger picking acoustic and down home folky couple on the front, but it picks you up by the ear and kicks you in the balls. After that, if you still don't like it it means you haven't been paying attention. Best Tracks: Girl From The North Country; Don't Think Twice It's All Right; Talkin' World War 3 Blues

I can respect him as an artist. I think that Bob Dylan was a trailblazer for folk music, but personally it is not for me.

This is where Dylan began to establish himself as a serious songwriter and accidentally ended up changing songwriting itself. Starts incredibly strongly with the first three songs being absolutely timeless pillars of music that will last through the ages. It's almost as if Dylan was a human version of the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and everyone who came into contact with his music began to evolve after listening to it. He's still in the shadow of Woody Guthrie here when he wants to be, but at this point I think it's more to temper the sheer power that is pouring out of him with something more down to earth.

What if... this screeching is not harmonica but some entity that Bob Dylan came in contact with like in Saya no Uta. That thing just talks like that and he's the only one who can understand it. Aww, it's so cute, this little Lovecraftian monster is trying to help with the song! On a serious note, I don't want to be serious. It's like I'm given the same album three times already. I just can't generate a different response That being said, I think I'm warming up to this music, it was slightly more bearable again. This or the fact that I'm literally getting older

Here it is, finally! I'm not sure if this is my favorite Dylan album, but I knew it was only a matter of time until we got one that is a five star for me. This is easily one of my favorites from Bobby boy. It's that early, folksy style that I love, even veering into blues territory. There's a few classic bangers on here like "Blowin in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice It's Alright," but the depth is extremely rewarding. I love the story-telling Dylan over acoustic guitar and some harmonica here and there, long before he expired. Take "Down the Highway" for example, just a long blues progression with a story and that repeated, lilting vocal inflection is just so addictive to me. He sounds like he's a thousand years old, like the mysterious man singing "O Death" in O Brother Where Art Thou. As much as I rag on Bob Dylan for some of his later stuff (I've given one of his albums a one star already), he's really an incredible songwriter and musician, and this album is one I will always champion. One of the best. Favorite tracks: Don't Think Twice It's Alright, Corinna Corinna, Down the Highway, Girl from the North Country, Talking World War III Blues, I Shall Be Free. Album art: One of his must unassuming. Of course I've seen it a million times, but it doesn't leave much of an impression. I like that humility. Is that Corinna he's walking with? Is she from the north country? 5/5

Difficult to actually hear as I know the album so well, for so many years. Struck by the skillful way he uses his voice - variety of accents, young/old, the rhythm, the poetry.

Oh, fuck this. This wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Blowin’ in the Wind and Don’t Think Twice are truly fantastic songs. I suppose there is something to be said about a dude, a guitar and a harmonica being enough for a song. I didn’t really notice the lyrics and the ones I did weren’t particularly insightful, probably because I’m listening to this nearly 60 years later. Overall, I found it to be boring background music until the damn harmonica came in and steamrolled everything in the most annoying way. Like, Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance is kind of fun until the fucking harmonica just BLARES. No desire to listen to this again. This album is for boring softies.

His voice infuriates me in an indescribable way

How did he sound so old so young? I can understand why he walked a little back from the political content, as it’s so powerful that I imagine he had a lot of people trying to commission him for more, and outrage never runs dry. I enjoyed this a lot, and was surprised by how stirring the raw acoustic delivery was for me, as I’d only gone through the electric albums previously. The non-sequiturs work for me- “good car to drive/after a war” - presented as afterthoughts

Oh yeah, this feels iconic - you can definitely see how Dylan captured the zeitgeist of the times. Most of these songs could be dropped into the soundtrack of a scene and instantly paint a picture of 60s cultural tumult... Fave track - toss up between "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "Masters of War"

I think I've come to the conclusion that I prefer Dylan songs when someone other than Bobby sings them. Most of the time anyway. This has some lovely songs on it, but I'd really rather listen to, say, Peter, Paul and Mary sing them. Or Joan Baez. Or John Martyn. I'll draw the line at Clapton obviously, but there are lots of nice versions of a number of these songs that I'm very happy to listen to multiple times. Fwiw, Blowin' in the Wind might be the time when Dylan's is the better version. So, it was nice to listen to this to say that I have, but I doubt I'll ever put it on again.

This is my first time listening to Bored Dylan and will likely be the last. I'm sure he's great if you really like folk music though

This man cannot sing!!

This is my 2nd least favourite genre (folk) and it shows with this review. 1 star

boring, same thing all the time, meh

Stone cold masterpiece and the apex of Bob Dylan's early folk protest singer phase. Any record that has "Blowin' in the Wind", "Girl from the North Country", "Masters of War", "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", and "Corrina, Corrina" in its tracklisting MUST be included in a list like this, even if the rest was made out of absolute duds. Luckily, the rest is not made out of duds, so ignore the usual grumblers complaining about Bob's voice and dive in. The words and stories are fascinating. The music is subtle and far more sophisticated than it seems, with some terrific harmonic moments. And once you get that, Dylan's vocal performance becomes perfect as well. I don't have enough time today to elaborate, sadly. But in a way, I *refuse* to elaborate. There's a very clear reason Bob Dylan became a cult figure -- in spite of himself, at first. And this album is exhibit A. for it. A lot of people telling you that he is overrated end up changing their minds at some point. I did. It's just that I didn't know what I was talking about before. So dive in as well if you haven't yet. And for those who may have questions about how I ended up changing my mind... Well indeed, the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. But if you end up loving this LP, you'll manage to catch said answer before it's out of your grasp. It's all up to you, really. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 4.5) (a quick note about that grading: no album in my list of 20 records released in 1963 reaches a perfect mark. *The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan* is the best album of that year for me, followed by releases by Charles Mingus, The Beach Boys and the first two Beatles LPs. Anything beyond isn't really essential as far as albums go. So you have to put your head back then to picture what a shock for the audience this sort of album could be. Which is another good reason to include it here...) Number of albums left to review: 58 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 407 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 234 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 302

although i don't think this is necessarily bob dylan at the height of his powers, this is a terrific album and one that shows essentially where he started from. maybe the most pure folk album he ever released (outside of his debut) and there is some terrific stuff on here. this album really showcases him as a pure folk singer, which i think is very important in his history, but in his relation to the evolution of popular music in the 20th century. if i can nitpick, not all of the songs are 10 out of 10 bangers, but most of them are great and there are some all-timers on here. safe to say, it's one of my favorites of his and an overall great album.

Me - "Poor predictable Bob, always takes harmonica." Dylan - "Good old harmonica, nothing beats that!"

Το άκουσα στο αυτοκίνητο οπότε δεν καταλάβαινα στίχους. Η μουσική ήταν μονότονη.

Amazing lyricist that should've been born mute

Nope. I can't bear an entire album of all-acoustic Dylan. Blonde on Blonde and the Basement Tapes are hard enough, but just him with his guitar and a harmonica going on and on like some lunatic busker? I just can't.

As boring as it is iconic

Bob Dylan does nothing for me, actually that’s not quite true. Bob Dylan makes me bored. Is it important? Sure I guess, enough people say it is but, no thanks

Don't know what the fuck to say about this album. This is an album that stands completely out of time, and if you're not ready for it yet, you just need to be at that exact place in life where it enters in your life. Music that works like water, filling a deep hole. Or those videos of "things that fit perfectly into other things." You know the ones? With the golf balls? Basically I'm saying it's for a breakup. Put this shit on!! I've been there. Lot of us have been there. "She was once a true love of mine..." 5/5

Great

Classic early Dylan. definitely a good listen - if not every-day.

Every male be acting like this album cover come autumn/early winter.

How can a 21yo write "It's A Hard Rain.."? And include 4-5 other all-time classics on one album? Even the longer/less tuneful ones are very entertaining. Just incredible [EDIT: Mark, I hope you appreciated "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", the motherlode of the "pedagogic goodbye" style]

In 4th grade chorus, we sang a mash up of Blowin' in the Wind and My Country Tis of Thee and it actually went so hard I still think about it. I think it made me woke as a 9 year old for sure

A handful of recognizable hits as well as a handful of songs that sound like the recognizable hits. He’s less of a singer than a poet soliloquizing his thoughts with a guitar and harmonica. I like when he laughs mid-speak/song.

No. 91/1001 Blowin' in the Wind 5/5 Girl from the North Country 4/5 Masters of War 3/5 Down the Highway 2/5 Bob Dylan's Blues 3/5 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall 4/5 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 5/5 Bob Dylan's Dream 4/5 Oxford Town 3/5 Talkin' World War III Blues 3/5 Corrina, Corrina 4/5 Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance 4/5 I Shall Be Free 3/5 Average: 3,62 This album showcases all the things I find good and bad about Dylan. Love the lyrics and songwriting on some songs. On others it feels like him rambling along to music.

Still so accurate

I think I enjoyed it but not so much due to its soft nature , I guess I am in a different mood but Bob Dylan is a great musician and a legend , I do love some of his songs <3

"How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?” "Seven!" "No, Dad. It's a rhetorical question." "Rhetorical, eh? Eight!” Dylan is a hard pass for me. I get he’s a fantastic song writer tackling the big issues of the day, but these songs would be better sung be anyone else. I’m sure they would have still let him play his harmonica, but someone should have taken that mic out of his hand. Still gets 2 ⭐️ for his prolific lyrics, but buddy needed to take some singing lessons.

dadrock at its finest, thats why I can't recommend this to anyone except boomers

Normalerweise bin ich in diesem old school, tramp on train Folk super gern zu Gast, esse Bohnen aus der Pfanne, trinke Maisschnaps ausm Zinnbecher und lege meine zerzausten Gedanken auf einem Büschel Stroh zur Ruh‘ Aber dass die Größe dieses einzelnen Bobs das monumentale Genre der uramerikanischen Geschichten Erzähler überragen soll, kann ich nicht erkennen

I didn't even listen to this. Bob Dylan is the devil reincarnated and someone should have cut his vocal chords when they had the chance. Well, he sounds like they were already cut. No way anyone finds this mans music listenable...

This Bob Dylan fella’s pretty good aye? Wonder what became of him. Lyrically this is obvs a masterpiece. Unfortunately I have the attention span of a 7 year old, so really ought to read along while I listen. Alas, I’m a busy multi-tasking man. Still giving this 5 stars because, even though the main attraction frequently flies over my procrastinating head, it’s ruddy good.

Fantastic listen! I haven't ever really gotten into Bob Dylan records, so this was a great experience. Musicality and lyrics are amazing.

Dude is one of the best songwriters we've ever had the chance to listen to.

favorite bob album

Great classic album.

This will be my fourth Bob Dylan album to review, and also my last album from 1963. I've given my previous three Bob Dylan albums two stars (Time Out of Mind), three stars (Blood on the Tracks), and four stars (Highway 61 Revisited), and I have no idea where this early effort from Mr. Dylan is going to land with me. Before starting this project, I'd listened to HIghway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde (I own copies of both), and I'd always meant to listen to them more, but never got around to it. I'd considered myself a fan of his, but now that I'm further into this project, I think I conned myself into thinking I was a fan, because I felt like I should be a fan of his. Whatever the case may be, I'm ready to start this Freewheelin' Friday! I won't be gaslighting myself when it comes to the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, because I loved this album. It felt a lot more bare musically, but it worked really well to mostly rely on the guitar and harmonica for this album. There's a seriousness and an urgency to this album that I really loved. On Highway 61 Revisited, I absolutely loathe the acme siren on the title track. It feels so silly and stupid compared to a lot of the rest of the album, but the tone here was much more even and consistent. The political and social commentary on this album carried a lot of weight, and those songs really met me where I'm at presently when it comes to American politics. The lyrics on this album were a lot more straightforward as well; I enjoyed the simplicity of not having to decipher line after line of metaphors. I love Dyan's nasally tone on his other albums, but his vocals here are outstanding as well. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was fantastic from start to finish, and I didn't think there was a single song on here that stood out as weak or filler. I don't know that I could pick out a favorite song here, but "Masters of War," "Oxford Town," and "Talkin' World War III Blues" are all strong contenders for the best song on the album. "Blowin' in the Wind" is fantastic too, but I already knew that going into this album. This has been the first Bob Dylan album I've reviewed that I would listen to again in a heartbeat.

Girl from the Northern Country, A Hard Rain, Don't think twice,Masters of War are just some of the gems in this album. Plenty of his trademark harmonica playing alongside acoustic guitar picking, with a voice I am still uncertain of but his lyrical abilities shine bright.What an album for his generation.And I love that album cover too

This album holds some weight. Dylan is a legend.

Great !!

What I love about this album is that along with the classic 'voice of a generation' songs, there are some tracks where he's clearly having fun, and I find that infectious. With the benefit of hindsight, people probably didn't need to wait for Dylan to go electric to know that he was too freewheelin' to be pigeon-holed as an earnest political folkie.

Overall: 9/10 Filled to the brim with beautiful songs about love, war, and anything else Mr. Dylan could think of. It's honestly weird listening to this now after getting into the rockier side of Dylan, but not in a bad way as I think it's way better. Dylan going electric was never a problem itself, but he did lose a bit of the intimacy that was present on albums like this. The lyrics are incredible, borderline surreal at times, and the only complaint I really have about the album is the overuse of harmonica. Fav Song: Bob Dylan's Dream Least Fav Song: Girl from North Country

Imagine someone recording songs with just a guitar and a harmônica, and 62 years later, people are still listening to it. Simply Dylan. Freewheelin' is an imortal album, with legendary songs and It was the first big hit of a legendary artist. Music wouldn't be the same without it. Even tho we livin diferent times, those lyrics remain fresh as new. His odd voice, singing in a odd way, sang for an intire generation, and people remained passing it foward until today. There's no words enough to say how big is Bob Dylan, and I won't waste them anymore. 5 stars.

Absolute 5* - has some of the all time great Dylan tracks

good music

Beautiful

Great revisit of a classic. I do like Dylan

Come on! It's THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN So many hits. Beautiful folk on an LP. And it's his second one!

Second Bob album in 3 days. This one is a lot better, and I own it, which helps.

I have a few go to Dylan albums and this wasn't one of them. It might be now. The guitar and vocal arrangements are so powerful and make stuff like masters of war all the more intimate and damning. There are so many great songs on this. Towards the end there are a few of his stream of consciousness ones and it usually depends what day it is as to whether I love them or I'm indifferent. If there are any criticisms to be made it is probably the that last couple of songs don't really give the album the send off that it deserved and since they are the last ones you're left thinking of them immediately afterwards. Like an odd aftertaste to a brilliant drink. However considering it is an album of such simple instrumentation the variety in the style of songs and performance are impressive and the ending doesn't take away from the incredible tracks earlier on.

╮(￣▽￣"")╭

For those who don't know much about Dylan, this was his second album after his first album 'Bob Dylan (1961)' which was all covers except for two not great originals. This album came out a year later featuring all originals, some of the best folk songs that have ever come out and the unforgettable 'Blowing in the Wind'. This album came out when Dylan was 22, and this astronomic leap in quality between his first and second project was a shock to the music scene at the time. Bob would go on to have the storied career that he has but the fact that this album, one of the best folk albums ever made and arguably Bob's best album, was the catalyst behind that career makes this all the more monumental. As an album, this one is great. There's such a unique style on display here, it's so old man, but with the energy that old men don't have anymore. Dylan sang with an accent that wasn't regional, it was him. Just like his songwriting and incessant harmonica playing, his weird voice was his signature that he stamped all over this album. The result is unlike anything that was coming out at the time, and no one has pushed the limits of folk music so successfully ever since.

This album was so good that I questioned A) whether I actually do hate Bob Dylan and B) whyyyy are there so many mediocre Bob Dylan albums on this list?? This plus Hwy 61 would’ve been the perfect one two punch.

Damn. I originally listened to this album in high school, and back then I just couldn’t grasp the themes as well as I could now in adulthood. While Dylan’s second ever album, this record sounds modern in its simplistic production and its still-prescient lyrics. Speaking of lyrics, this album has some of the best written folk tracks I’ve ever heard. Dylan imbues each track with soul; never once did I feel as though he was ever lying to me. Each track conveys honest conviction; what more can you ask for from a record like this?

Classic gem

Feel like this is a one Dylan album that never gets mentioned alongside the usual great ones but its also a classic in my mind 4.5*

Listened in a hotel room between conference days. Absolutely loved this album. Familiar of course with the opening track and through a cover from Eels I knew Girl from the North Country. Was really taken with songs like Oxford Town and Masters of War, both lyrically and musically. Masterpiece for a reason.

I love this album the music makes you feel something special

Incredible funk

Indispensable. Un grandisimo disco.

This is the rare songwriter who truly is also a poet!

Though I know all the songs, probably the very first time I’ve listened to the whole thing front to back. To think that he recorded all this when he was 21 years old. It’s a masterpiece.

Obviously a masterpiece. What more is there to say? Must-listen #161.

Very familiar with basically all of these songs. An almost flawless classic.

4.5

This is definitely in my top 100 albums of all time and probably in my top 50. I absolutely adore this album. And to me what some people call throwaways on this album are bits and pieces of his character in writing. Whether being serious or whimsical I think they both show off his brilliance quite satisfyingly. (10) ★★★★★

4.5/5

Classic

Holds up 60+ years on.

10/10 I'm a big Dylan fan and I've listened to this album a lot. Don't Think Twice is one of my top songs ever. Hard Rain, Masters of War, Blowing in the Wind are excellent. The songs are sparse - Bob, a guitar and a harmonica. For me, they are like exquisite pencil sketches - the songs are so good that Dylan achieves with a few strokes of his genius that which very few manage with all the production, songwriting team and instrumentation money can buy.

Not my style but very deep and well crafted.

Bob

A great mix of personal/love songs with the more political. An album I'll enjoy listening to again and again to pick up more and more on the lyrics.

Clean pared back folk, a great listen from start to finish

A true classic - memorable songs. Effortless

A unique mix of traditional, protest and lighter material. A work of genius.

It's certainly not his best album or his most consistent, but there are some songs on this that are at this point legendary, hard to believe he wrote this album at such a young age.

Great stories with just a guy a guitar and a super loud harmonica

Replete with timeless songs in a cohesive package. Brilliant.

Early masterclass 5/5

Amazing

One of my top all time albums

Not my favourite from Bob, but a masterpiece, for sure.

Nuori Dylan parhaimmillaan, hittiä hitin perään. Oma suosikki on Don't think twice. 5/5

I know this album so well. Classic and fantastic.