by Molly Whitehorn, Staff Writer

Introduction

Robert Zimmerman is one of the most well-known and unique musicians of all time. He has sold millions of albums and nearly everyone has heard his music. But you probably know him as Bob Dylan.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941, he grew up listening to the popular musicians of the ’40s and the ’50s (Little Richard, Buddy Holly) as well as the less mainstream folk musicians. The musician who most influenced Dylan was Woody Guthrie (a folk musician who wrote “This Land is Your Land”). Now Dylan has inspired millions.

Dylan is one of my favorite musicians because of his poetic lyrics and his genuine belief in what he sings about. Although I personally think that Dylan’s voice adds to the feel of his music, some may argue that his voice is not a positive thing. They may think his raspy monotone lacks range and soul.

Granted, he is no Aretha Franklin, but he doesn’t need to be. To me, his voice only adds to the honest feel of his music.

Since Dylan has been making albums since his self-titled debut in 1962, it’s hard to choose just one album to talk about from the last 47 years. So, I won’t. In this special edition of the column I will be talking about not one album, but two albums of Dylan’s. I could talk about 20, but I decided to narrow it down somewhat.

Highway 61 Revisited

It seems absolutely necessary to include Highway 61 Revisited when talking about the most prominent works of Dylan. This album came out in 1965 (only a year before his mysterious motorcycle accident that put him out of the music game for some time) and has been considered a classic ever since. It was Dylan’s sixth studio album and included many staple Dylan songs such as “Desolation Row,” “Ballad of a Thin Man” and the album’s namesake, “Highway 61 Revisited.”

The album also includes “Like a Rolling Stone,” which is considered the greatest or one of the greatest songs of all time by many music critics. In fact, the song was ranked #1 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. The song is not so much a mere chorus and few verses, but a story about a young girl whose life is changing from what she thought she knew and how she must learn to cope.

In the chorus, Dylan croons, “How does it feel/ To be on your own/ With no direction home/ Like a complete unknown/ Like a rolling stone?” The song is set to an old Latina-style beat that Dylan has put his own spin on.

The album marks Dylan’s transition from folk rock to “electric” rock (more powerful guitar and drum lines). Many fans and critics alike were not happy about his new sound because they thought he was selling out. In fact the media criticized Dylan to such an extent that he wrote the song “Ballad of a Thin Man” to mock their disapproval. The album has a more empowering feel than many of Dylan’s albums because of his need to prove to everyone that he could make great “electric” rock music too.

“Desolation Row” is my favorite song on the album. The song describes a hodge-podge of characters in their everyday lives. (My Chemical Romance recently did a cover of the song that appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Watchmen.)

Blood on the Tracks

Blood on the Tracks was released in 1975. This album includes Dylan standards like “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Idiot Wind” and “Shelter from the Storm.”

The album is sometimes called a confessional album, mostly about his separation from then-wife Sara Dylan. Dylan denies any autobiographical references in the album, but Dylan’s son Jakob (also the lead singer of the popular ’90s band The Wallflowers) once said, “The songs are my parents talking.” The personal context of the album is part of the appeal. It’s like getting a peek into the mind of Dylan.

The best song on the album is “Shelter from the Storm.” The song is Dylan’s version of a love song.  My favorite line is when Dylan sings, “And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured/ I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word.”

I love that Dylan is showing his true feelings for this woman and he doesn’t care what anyone thinks.

The album is pretty chill overall and consists of many bittersweet lines that can leave a listener with a heavy heart. The album is excellent, but does lack some of the more complex, symbolic messages Dylan usually has in his songs.

Today

Now 68, Dylan is still making albums, with his most recent, Together Through Life, coming out just this past summer. He also has a Christmas album coming out before the holidays (with all proceeds from the album going to the World Food Program to feed the hungry), proving that Dylan is still as eclectic as he has always been.

Bob Dylan has influenced many; everyone from John Lennon to Run DMC has marked him as one of their inspirations. George Harrison even said that Dylan “made Shakespeare look like Billy Joel.” Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch, but he has been everything from the voice of a generation to a devoted Christian in the past and he still keeps on truckin’. As Dylan would say, he is  “Forever Young.”

Have your own feelings about Dylan? Email me and tell me why you love him or love to hate him at mollywhitehorn@gmail.com