RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Hard to find a better top-to-bottom album of Dylan's work. Great stuff. Read the other reviews and make up your own mind, but I think this is an easy four or five on this list.

CLassic! album! all his stuff is amazing this one is a ground breaker.

I'm someone who did NOT always like Bob Dylan.( I was quite the "Metal Head" from 75-82 : luckily as I grew more mature my taste expanded exponentially).However,listening to this album as an adult won me over.There is hardly a weak song on it.It starts off with "Subterranean Homesick Blues"-possibly my favorite Dylan Song.An artist who was also popular when this album came out,(possibly Willie Nelson?)said that when he heard this song he thought it was so damn catchy he couldn't possibly compete.Other highlights are the anthemic "Maggies Farm","Outlaw Blues",the atmospheric and haunting "Gates of Eden" and "It's alright Ma,I'm only Bleeding".I'm not even mentionong several well known "hits"-suffice to say that there is more feeling and emotion,as well as poetry and incredible musicianship on this single disc than in 24 hours of random radio play.

the under rated classic of the "electric period". If I was to name the one album that captured Dylan's essence in the 60's this would be the one.

Classic Dylan!

Oh my, this album is great! I'd say it's his second best album behind Highway 61 Revisited. The entire album is quality music. This was my introduction to Dylan several years ago and I've realized the political and social influence he had in the '60s. Subterranean Homesick Blues is a magnificent song and it makes it better once you memorize the words.

Half-acoustic, half-electric masterpiece. The opening song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" must've been so scary in 1965 for folkie fans. It brought spoken word into another style of music. Revolutionary and action packed. And "She Belongs To Me" is the follow up, a simple softer one with confusing lines like "she's a hypnotist collector/ you are a walking antique." There are some weak spots, some of the hard blues numbers sound like fillers, but "Maggie's Farm" is whiney and classic electric Dylan. I remember hearing that he started his set at the Newport Folk Festival with that one and it took on a meaning of it's own. "Mr. Tambourine Man" is easily the greatest song ever written, I think I prefer the original version better than the Byrds' or anyone else's. And the fiery "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" showed us that he hadn't departed from criticizing our government and mankind. The album ends softly with "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," which seems far too high for him to sing, but the fact of the matter is that Bob is a tenor. He just smoked too much (cigarettes and otherwise), but he could really get up there with his voice. Listen to '69's "Nashville Skyline" and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, this album ranks among his best.