Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
Label - Columbia
Producer – John Hammond
Art Direction - Uncredited
Nationality - USA
Running Time – 50:04
Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold
1. Blowin' In The Wind
2. Girl From The North Country
3. Masters Of War
4. Down The Highway
5. Bob Dylan's Blues
6. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
7. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
8. Bob Dylan's Dream
9. Oxford Town
10. Talkin' World War III Blues
11. Corrina, Corrina
12. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance
13. I Shall Be Free
And here we have a almost pure only guitar and vocal album by Bob Dylan. A guy, his guitar and a harmonica. Considered one of the great craftsmen of our time, it may be hard to estimate the importance of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan record. It DID firmly established Dylan as an unparalleled songwriter. At the time, folk had been quite popular on college campuses and bohemian circles, but nobody had transcended the scene as Bob Dylan did with this record. There are a couple of covers ("Corrina Corrina" and "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance") but it’s the originals here that everyone remembers. "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" – all are staples in the Dylan canon. I’m not 100% sure – but this is probably the first album reviewed here where all but two songs are written by the performer. With the last entry by the Beatles and this one – it was truly the birth of the age of the singer-songwriter.
All of that said – this is actually a hard record to get through. Dylan can write a song like no other there is no denying that – but his vocals are just terrible in my humble opinion. Always have been. And his guitar and harmonica playing really aren’t that great either! Yet strangely though – it all works somehow. Perhaps it’s the craftsmanship of the songs that makes it all come together.
Oddly highly recommended.
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