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.
