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, not it’s not. Seven. The answer, my friend, is seven.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Great

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

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.

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]

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

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.

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

Still so accurate

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.

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

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

His voice infuriates me in an indescribable way

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

Amazing lyricist that should've been born mute

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

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

A damn fine album

el ipie es topu

Yep

All-time favourite. Everybody must listen to The Freewheelin'.

Made me want to run away

Took a song or two to get used to his style, but once I did I love it.

Classic

Dylan's a great storyteller and now I wanna buy a harmonica, this Aussie gives it five Kanos from Mortal Kombat out of five.

[Heard Before] (+) Girl From The North Country Masters of War Down the Highway Bob Dylan’s Blues A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right Bob Dylan’s Dream Talkin’ World War III Blues Corrina, Corrina (-)

This is where the mythologizing of Bob Dylan begins. In only fifty minutes, he conveys the spirit of an upcoming tidal wave of deep seated unrest, rebellion and questioning of authority figures and anointed deities. This album is just one of the cracks in the facade that was the conceived aura of the then-present, Bob's voice being the thundering sensation that roused the generation that venerated him. Essential listening.

This is obviously a landmark album. It’s not necessarily Dylan’s most enjoyable but the significance is undeniable.

Couldn't really work out what to rate this. Obviously not his best album, but as his debut into songwriting this a very strong start. Immediate classics. Songs that helped define a mood that was brewing in the 60s. Pure folk, but with something special.

I'm not the greatest fan of Dylan and I'm not alone in thinking I should like him but don't. I appreciate how hugely influential he was at the time but he grates after a while and gets a bit samey and again I'm not alone in this. Maybe the issue lies with me being spoilt by 58 years of ever more technically advanced and innovative music since this and I'm comparing it on the same level? I mean it's like listening to a recording of Robert Johnson and saying "He can't sing and his guitar goes right through me". Some things deserve respect.

Perfect folk album

Great vibes, maybe good driving, good background, great sound quality, 87%

Moaning and droning to perfection.

Excellent start to finish

Poesía musicada. Espectacular

The master. So many great songs.

Either the second or third song with the long harmonica

A classic. My second five star album.

Que disco tan agradable, lleno de canciones clásicas y de contenido poderoso. Cuando todavía no se le atoraba la nariz y todavía cantaba sin maullidos tan pronunciados; eso de entrada ayuda mucho. Las canciones perfectos ejemplos del rock folk más puro y bien hecho, melodías extraídas perfectamente del Mississippi, Pantanos y los Montes Apalaches con letras totalmente modernas para su tiempo, hablando desde mujeres, protesta, humor, derechos civiles, discursos políticos y hasta letras que a veces son demasiado perdidas en su propio mensaje y solo dejan confundido. Un álbum que no solo tiene la importancia de haber iniciado todo un movimiento y la carrera de quien (queriendo o no) fue un portavoz de una generación, sino que también ha envejecido con muchísima gracia y se sigue escuchando tremendamente bien. La amplitud de temas en las canciones, los cambios al cantar entre amores perdidos a sentimientos de verdadera devastación por la sociedad de su tiempo reflejan muy bien los tiempos tan difíciles y cambiantes que había. Tendría un detalle en que ciertas canciones se sienten de creación improvisada en su letra (p. ej. Bob Dylan's Blues) al punto en que no solo son difíciles de seguir, sino que a veces me dejan con una gran interrogación flotando arriba de la cabeza sobre qué trataban. Decir que es un disco excelente e importante se queda corto. Creo que sin duda es un disco que debería estar calificado al menos dentro de los 50 (si no es que 20) mejores discos de la historia. Sin banda, solo con una guitarra y una armónica es una postal perfecta de cómo era el mundo en ese momento y cómo estaba por cambiarse mucho en la manera de pensar y la trayectoria tanto de la música como de la sociedad.

Folk Dylan is the best Dylan. And where does a kid get song writing skills like that at so young? Outstanding record.

A poet and musician. Amazing album by one of the greats.

Stone cold classic! As good today as it ever was.

This is Bob at the height of his poetic social justice power. And it’s only his second album! He comes out swinging with Blowin’ In The Wind. The songs are beautiful and moving, the music is an emotional and endearing accompaniment. It’s flawless, an impactful listen every time.

Classic

Best folk album of the 60s

A great record! It's got two stellar break-up songs, "Blowin' in the Wind" is one of Dylan's most iconic songs, "Bob Dylan's Dream" is great but heartbreaking, and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is epic, despite the limited instrumentation. At 50 minutes, it could have been a little shorter, but I personally don't think it overstays its welcome, even if I don't really like "Down the Highway" or "Bob Dylan's Blues" all that much.

4th favorite Dylan album which still is a no-brainer 5 star choice. Even if the 2nd side is quite a bit weaker than side 1...that side 1; WOW

I get it.

lit ass album

Yep.

And so it did happen like it could have been foreseen The timeless explosion of fantasy's dream At the peak of the night, the king and the queen Tumbled all down into pieces - Ballad in Plain D (the other side of Bob Dylan)

Only got to half. But enjoyed it. Felt like maybe I was the wrong generation though.

Marvelous!

Another album I already own on Vinyl, one of my favourites!

What an album! Banger after banger. I love Bob Dylan but this is especially fantastic

This Dylan album gives everyone something to love. Rock, folk, politics, swagger. All encompassed in incredible music sensibilities and outstanding lyrics. Just wow.

What an album! Knew a Bob Dylan offering wouldn't disappoint .

The messages in the protest songs remain as strong as they did when the album was released.

Five all day long. Can understand those who don't like his voice but to write songs of the lyrical power of Masters of War; Hard Rain; BITW at what must have been 21/22 is mind-blowing. Impressive and depressing in equal measure.

Poesía musicada. Espectacular

So much warm and breadth from a voice and a guitar. His words are an orchestra.

Possibly Bob Dylan's best album before he went electric and a personal favorite of mine. 9.4/10 Best Tracks: "Blowin' in the Wind" "Girl from the North Country" "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" "Bob Dylan's Dream"

I don’t really have anything to say about this album that hasn’t been said by many people. It’s in the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress, for Pete’s sake. There are better Dylan albums, but this is a better album than most artists will ever dream of making. It’s an important marker of the era in which it was made, but also a timeless work of art. Fave Songs (All songs from most to least favorite): Don't Think Twice, It's All Right; Girl from the North Country; Blowin' in the Wind; A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall; Masters of War; Corrina, Corrina; Bob Dylan's Dream, Talkin' World War III Blues, Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance; Oxford Town, Down the Highway; I Shall Be Free

Superb. Listened to it twice!

classic

I think this olis one of the best Dylan albums. The way it can pivot from dark and serious, to light and moving, to downright silly shows his absolute gift for songwriting. And it's STILL not his best album. Despite Blowin in the Wind being one of those songs that transcends the writer - it has always existed now, it is just a fact of life, you're born knowing it. Absolute five star album.

Loved listening to this!

9/10. I think this might be my favorite Bob Dylan album so far. It's nice to not have any ridiculously songs, and a lot of the songwriting here felt less rambley than many of his songs, though that's hard to quantify.

Amazing album; Hard rains a comin, girl from the north country, and Bob Dylans blues among my favorites.

Great, just great

Classic album, I’ve heard most of it before. Girl from the north country w cash is better.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right remains a favorite for me

Heard before incredibly decent and fine

of course its great!

It sure is music.