I played Freight Train Blues in the car recently. When the great falsetto parts came on, my son giggled and giggled! What a wonderful, joyful performance Bob gives here.
So true! Bob performed on that first record as if he already KNEW that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, even at that age. Such confidence and, like you wrote, JOY in the music! Thanks for your comment!
Wow, I'm flattered and honored, Tim. Just a warning though: I had a hard time with my constantly changing web cam settings for the first year or so, which was so annoying that I came very close to shutting down my channel. I am such a techno-buffoon about such things. Thank goodness I finally caved in and got a smart phone to record with, haha!
Hello again, I was born 8 days after this album release, back in 62' I still have the copy my dad bought then, he enjoyed it and I grew to LOVE IT! I play the title track on guitar all the time. This Dylan style is SO amazing for a 20 year old, What energy, what passion. I think this is why I'm a life long Dylan fan. Great Review as always. I'm play'n this record LOUD right now!
I’m quite unsure if watching those old album reviews is the best use of your time, haha!! But I did enjoy making them anyway, even though my thoughts might have changed somewhat in the 6 years since doing so. I certainly feel and look much more than 6 years older now. Haha!! 😉👍
You're right Jeff, this is an underrated album !!! Even if Bob Dylan wrote only 2 songs on it, it still sounds like a good album to me and one of my favorites !!! My favorite songs are probably "Talkin' New York", "In my time of dyin'" and "Highway 51 blues" but most of the songs sound good to me !!! Great review !!!
Thanks, Marc. Yes I hate it when everyone just skips this album as if it didn't exist, and go straight to Freewheelin' as his "first" album. I also love the three songs you mention as your favorites. A very "rocking" folk album for sure.
Hi Jeff! I am beginning to watch your reviews of Bob Dylan's entire discography and would like to thank you for going to the effort of putting these together. I've been interested in Dylan's music for a long time because my father is a huge Dylan fan and collects everything by Dylan that he can find, so I've listened to Bob since I was a little baby basically. I love Dylan's first album precisely because it's very different from all the rest of folk albums that were recorded at the time. It already shows Dylan's varied musical influences: not just folk but also blues, gospel, country, and as you rightly mention, rock'n'roll, which is apparent on this album from the very beginning. Another version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" that I like is the one by the Stanley Brothers, from the 1940s, and "Freight Train Blues" was cut by Roy Acuff around the same time. I've always thought Dylan was influenced by those recordings when he made his own versions. Sorry for the long message. Great review! Greetings from Tennessee!
Thanks, Anton! I really appreciate your comment. Yes, Dylan was (and still is) like a sponge who absorbs so much great music and culture, and then reworks it and creates something still original out of it all. People sometimes laugh when I say it, but I do believe Dylan is the greatest artist of our lifetime. (Hey, I love Tennessee - my grandparents lived in Abingdon, VA and we'd often drive to Bristol, TN and other places in TN). Thanks again. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Even though I am interested in other artists and other kinds of music as well, I have no doubt that Bob Dylan is the single greatest artist of our lifetime, for the very reasons that you point out, as well as for the fact that he has influenced, in one way or another, virtually all his contemporaries and artists who came after him. And his knowledge and understanding of American music is staggering and can be perceived in his own work at every turn, and of course, also in that wonderful radio show he hosted on satellite radio several years ago, which was an absolute pleasure to hear. I've been living in Tennessee for almost 20 years now, and I love Bristol, the place where Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family made their first recordings back in 1927. I went to graduate school in Nashville, where I met my wife, and now I am a professor of Spanish in the University of Tennessee system and live on the western side of the state, in the very musical city of Jackson, right between Nashville and Memphis. Cheers, and I will keep enjoying the Dylan and Beatles (another one of my musical passions) videos on your channel.
@@antong.-f.8204 Thanks, Anton, for your very well-written and passionate comments about Dylan (I can tell you are a professor!). Indeed, what a great state for music history, some of the best. (by the way, I was a college lecturer for almost 20 years....teaching chemistry) Cheers! Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Thanks, Jeff! You know, it really isn't my intention to sound "professorial," so to speak, when I write, but in the case of Dylan and music in general, I guess I just get a little bit carried away. Tennessee is wonderful for music history of all kinds, and I feel very fortunate to have lived in Nashville (where I used to host a classic country radio show and got to meet and interview several classic country stars) and then in Memphis for a few years. By the way, I could also tell that you've been a professor, both because of the content and the delivery of your videos. Please keep them coming, because videos like yours are hard to find on UA-cam, and thanks again!
Thanks for your kind and encouraging words!! This was my first video and I can't bear to look at it now, haha.....not that I can bear to look at any of my videos, haha! But seriously, thanks for taking the time to send me this nice comment. I really appreciate it. Cheers. Jeff
Great video and great channel. Found out about your channel after watching a "MeanMrMayo" video this morning. Have since subscribed. Wish I had known about your channel 10 months ago when as a "Covid lockdown" project, I decided to finally make it through that red boxed set of all Dylan's albums (over your left shoulder in the video). I've been a Dylan fan since about 1965, when I was 11 years old. Looking forward to watching all your videos.
Thanks, John. Nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy all the Dylan reviews and other Dylan videos I've posted over the last few years. And feel free to comment on anything you like or don't like, haha! Thanks again. Jeff
I know I remarked on this review earlier but this album meant a lot to me as a kid and so I'll tell you more about that. This is the album I found out I could figure out by ear chord changes on the guitar and matching the key. I figured out the Highway 51 song and was playing the chord changes while waiting for my guitar lesson. My teacher walked in and asked if I knew what I was playing and I told him where I learned it. He said, "That's Wake Up Little Suzie by the Everly Brothers". He said he learned that song with bar chords and liked how I did it in the open chords. I have more to say about the first album but I'll wait till this review pops up again on my UA-cam feed.
@@CalicoSilver I read one time Bob said no one needs to write any more songs, all the great ones have been written. That was before he wrote a few more great ones though....
That was a journey. Made it through your Dylan reviews. Listened out of order lol. What a great ride. Thanks Jeff. Looking forward to the latter albums once you review them. Great stuff.
Wow, I'm impressed (and honored) that you'd watch all 40-some of these Dylan reviews. Thanks. I'm still working on the Modern Times review today and hopefully should have it posted this weekend. It is a tough one.....
Baby Let me Follow You Down is an amazing Song. I first heard it on Biograph and then went back and found it. This Album was Recorded in an Afternoon... His set list. That’s what it is Must listen to it again. You have reminded to do that Jeff. Good advice!!
I agree - Baby Let Me Follow You Down is great no matter where or when or how he sings it. I love those '66 live performances of it too. I don't listen to Dylan's debut that often but whenever I do, I ask myself, "why don't you listen to this great album more often?!"
I just discovered your channel Mr. Calico, and I am enjoying so much your Bob Dylan Album Reviews, I think Dylan it's also my favorite artist and it's nice to see some die hard fans out there too. It's a bit difficult to be a Dylan fan here in Costa Rica and specially when you're 23 years old like me because most of my friends don't listen to Dylan's fantastic music haha. Anyway, I am trying to watch all your reviews and I'm sure they are great; looking forward to the Time Out Of Mind review 🖒🖒 Greetings from Costa Rica
Thanks, Dave! Great to hear from Dylan fans, and especially great to know that younger fans are out there! Old-timers like I will not be here much longer than our hero Dylan, haha! So good to know newer fans are out there.
@@CalicoSilver I know, I'm also surprised whenever I meet a young Dylan fan, it's great haha. I am trying to catch up with all your Dylan reviews and they are great, can't wait to get to the Planet Waves, Blood On The Tracks, Desire and Slow Train Coming reviews. Thanks for replying to my comment Jeff, and as Bob says, may you stay forever young 🖒🖒
I just discovered your channel Jeff really enjoying your videos .Im a huge Bob dylan /beatles /Springsteen fan look forward to wading through all your stuff love your passion .Regarding this album I dont play it enough theres a lot of stuff here that I really like. All the Best Trev from the UK
Very enjoyable stuff, good to see Dylan's debut getting a thorough appreciation. I've always thought this one is hard done by. It couldn't help but pale compared to what followed, but he was playing in the big league of folk singers with this one (even if on a lower rung than his contemporaries). Nice that you distinguished Dylan the 'Performer' from the 'songwriter', an important distinction! Cheers- Dean
I am only just now seeing this comment of yours, Dean! UA-cam notifications system is not exactly without its faults, right? Anyhoo....thanks for the comments about my Dylan debut album review. Jeff
Excellent review. It is indeed a very fine album. You mention Bob's use of "tension and release" in both harmonica and vocals, and it's always been a high point of his music. Now, here's a thought. Another artist in the same period that had equally great intensity, very powerful use of tension and release in her singing, and superb songwriting....but is not nearly so well known is: Buffy Sainte-Marie. She and Joan Baez and Bob Dylan are the 3 greatest musical influences on me. They're like my Holy Trinity of music, starting in 1959, which was when I first became aware of Joan Baez (her performance at the Newport Folk Festival)...my parents bought all her records back then. Then along came Buffy Sainte-Marie with her stunning debut album "It's My Way" (no connection with the Paul Anka song) in 1964. That first Buffy Sainte-Marie album is astounding. Talk about intensity! And almost all original songs (with a handful of trad and old folksongs adapted to her own unique style). And she sounds completely unique...there's simply no one else like her. (like with Dylan too) Buffy went on to record a great many more albums and to write very powerful songs, both in the lyrical and the musical sense, and she's still at it. She's the only artist that equals Bob Dylan in sheer intensity, in my opinion, but most people don't know very much about her (Partly because the US Government got her blacklisted off ALL North American radio for about 10 years at the height of her career. They were upset about her protest songs. They literally didn't do that to *anyone* else....and that tells you just how deeply those songs cut to the bone...particularly one called "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying"). So what I suggest is: Maybe listen to and do a review of that first album of Buffy's. "It's My Way". 1964. Dylan was a Buffy Sainte-Marie fan then too. He used to go and see her play in the Greenwich Village days. People complain about her unique vocal style (a strong tremolo in her voice on *some* songs)....just like they complain about Dylan's unique vocal style(s). Not what they expected? "You sound like a hillbilly. We want *folksingers here!" Well, they don't get it, that's all. Dylan and Buffy are both absolutely amazing singers and you can tell they really mean it.
Wow, I have NEVER heard any Buffy Sainte-Marie, can you believe that?! If I have, I didn't take note of it. I must remedy this situation right away. I will place her debut album in my "must listen" queue immediately. Thank you for reminding me of her. I love unorthodox singing voices. How about a singer called Karen Dalton from back in the day (she just popped into my head). Now she was quite a different voice.....not necessarily my favorite, mind you, but definitely unique. Anyway, thanks again for the Buffy recommendation! Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver - Great! You're in for some great listening. Buffy was on Vanguard Records, same as Joan Baez and Ian & Sylvia and some of the other top folk acts in the '60's. That was why I found out about her right away...because she was on Vanguard. She's an amazing songwriter. She was born on the Piapot Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan and then grew up with foster parents in Maine, so she got a combined Canadian-American citizenship, which is a very handy thing to have for a musician. She's a brilliant woman, and still going strong at the age of 80, born in the same year as Dylan and Baez. 1941. Seven years older than me. I've heard of Karen Dalton...but don't actually know her music. I'll look for it. Oh, by the way, Buffy wrote "Universal Soldier", known to some people because Donovan covered it later at some point.
@@CalicoSilver - I just listened to Karen Dalton's cover of "Reason to Believe". She makes it sound very real. The emotion and hurt are palpable. The first time I've ever heard her sing.
Great album.....I've also joined Songwriter Pitch Opportunity Network with Sandy Ramos - I will keep trying Carolines Corner and write to her, love your reviews...
I agree, Andrew. It is one of those albums that I rarely feel the desire to play, but when I do I always think "wow, I forgot how great this is - why don't I play this more often?"
This is a great review series. Went through it a year or so ago and came upon it this morning so going to go through it again. Apologies if you have already done so on the channel but I would love to see you do an album ranking for Dylan. I know it's trite and trendy but I would love to see you do a top 10 or something like that (although with Dylan a top 25 would be better). An objectively impossible task admittedly but it would be interesting given your insights and passion for the music.
Thanks Stephen. Yes I did a Dylan album ranking video last year, even though I swore I'd never do one, haha. Because my favorite Dylan album is usually whichever album I'm listening to at the moment. Cheers. Jeff
Thanks, Mark. If all goes as planned, I hope to have the privilege of posting similar (and hopefully better, once I figure this thing out) videos about all of Dylan's albums. It is an honor to be able to do so. Thanks for your kind comment.
Nice review! I thoroughly enjoy these type of reviews that get into the actual dynamics of the songs. I just found your channel and I look forward to your future content.
@@CalicoSilver - Thanks CalicoSilver. As well as being a line in a Lennon song its also an expression of modern society, MSM, politics etc and all the lies we are fed daily.
Fantastic channel Sir, love watching from here in Scotland. Big Bob Dylan fan perhaps I can ask you a question? Is the "Judas" heckle on a record? I guess it would be on the Bootleg series 4 "Albert Hall" LP - but I don't hear it on my MP3 recording. Not that I need it - I'm just curious. Went walking today with my 9 year old son and we listened to Desire in the car - he loves it as much as his dad! Thanks for all your content.
Hello Stuart. Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, the "Judas" heckle is indeed on the "Albert Hall" recording but it occurs at the end of the penultimate track on that recording, "Ballad of a Thin Man", just before "Like a Rolling Stone" begins. Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Ah - got you thanks! My recording didn't have Ballad of a Thin Man on it but I've gone back to the source and heard it now. Thanks so much. All the best. Stuart
@@petercordwell2258 Hahaha! Thankfully no one with my last name has done either (1) anything that noteworth or (2) anything that shameful. So the pressure is off for me, haha! But there is a beautiful peninsula in Glamorgan in southwest Wales named after me! As well as a street in Bloomsbury in London. ;-)
@@CalicoSilver So what's your last name, young Jeff? A thought or two about Freewheelin' v The Times: I think the central point is that no one had ever heard an album like Freewheelin' before and it kicked people sideways and sold in millions, and the funny tracks played a big part in showing how incredibly freewheeling' Dylan was and how this was no little boy lost taking himself so seriously. That very first line: How many roads...stopped everybody in their tracks and stamped Dylan on their foreheads. The Times needed to follow Freewheeln' and wouldn't have had the same effect the other way round, imo. Plus...Hard Rain is better than the whole of The Times, imo. His version in No Direction Home is the definitive Dylan song and performance - that's who Dylan IS - alongside, of course, two or three It's Alright Ma's. You're doing a fantastic job, Jeff; thank you very much. How can I get the Dylan/Salanger piece to you?
Thanks. My wife thinks I should write a book too. But these thoughts that I chat about here are just thoughts.....and always subject to change with time. Haha!
I'm not the only one to say what a joy it's been to discover this station. How CalicoSilver became Jeff is beyond me, but so what? One small point: how come no one has yet released Song To Bobby? There's actually one or two lines in a song by the (Scottish) Incredible String Band. Know that one, Jeff? Best wishes, PC.
Hi Peter. Way back "when this internet thing started" (haha) in the early-mid '90s, I used to have a username "calicosilver" (derived from a favorite album of my childhood, "The Ballad Of Calico" by KennyRogers&TheFirstEdition, a double concept-album or country-rock-opera of sorts about the California silver mining town (now ghost town) of Calico). So when I started this channel and desired at the time to maintain a bit of anonymity, I chose to continue using the same username. I've always kinda liked it. Anyway, no I am not familar with the I.Strng.Band's song, but I do know Cat Power's "Song To Bobby" tribute to Dylan.
Hi, Have you heard Bob dylan 39 years of great concerts - official CD. I used to have it, it's very interesting; full of rarities. I'd love to see your review of it. It's an official release..
@@CalicoSilver I think it was released in Japan first,,,,,It has songs from 62 - Handsome Molly and a few recent live ones; it's a great official CD...
I was surprised it how unoriginal Freewheeling was. I think what bothers me about Bob Dylan's first album is that it sounds so fake. Freewheeling sounds a little fake to me, but the stuff that doesn't sound fake to me is profound. If you want to hear Bob Dylan sing blues in his real voice I would recommend listening to Together Through life.
I hear ya! I like the debut album but I do wince at some of the more forced moments, indeed. I can't really blame him at that young age, trying so hard to stand out from the large number of similar singers singing the same songs. It carries over into Freewheelin, I agree, which is why I never rated Freewheelin as high as his subsequent albums. Like you said, the 3-4 tracks on Freewheelin that are the best tracks are truly marvelous. I'll never forget playing Hard Rain over and over and over.
@@CalicoSilver Yes, I agree. I happened to come across the version he sang at the Concert of Bangladesh. Some could have been there because he sang that song a decade earlier.
Thank you for sharing,I have this album but only recorded on cassette.I know all this songs by heart.since 1974.I m in Marrakech,Morocco.
Hello Mohammed. Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, the Dylan debut album is much better than most people say - I love it too! Best wishes. Jeff
I played Freight Train Blues in the car recently. When the great falsetto parts came on, my son giggled and giggled! What a wonderful, joyful performance Bob gives here.
So true! Bob performed on that first record as if he already KNEW that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, even at that age. Such confidence and, like you wrote, JOY in the music! Thanks for your comment!
I've gone back to the beginning and am going to watch all of your Dylan reviews in chronological order :)
Wow, I'm flattered and honored, Tim. Just a warning though: I had a hard time with my constantly changing web cam settings for the first year or so, which was so annoying that I came very close to shutting down my channel. I am such a techno-buffoon about such things. Thank goodness I finally caved in and got a smart phone to record with, haha!
@@CalicoSilver No worries about the camera because the content is great!
Hello again, I was born 8 days after this album release, back in 62' I still have the copy my dad bought then, he enjoyed it and I grew to LOVE IT! I play the title track on guitar all the time. This Dylan style is SO amazing for a 20 year old, What energy, what passion. I think this is why I'm a life long Dylan fan. Great Review as always. I'm play'n this record LOUD right now!
I agree, Kurt! He hit the ground RUNNING and has never stopped since. Hard to even fathom the energy he still has to this day.
You did a review of every album ??? Man, I'm going to watch this!
I’m quite unsure if watching those old album reviews is the best use of your time, haha!! But I did enjoy making them anyway, even though my thoughts might have changed somewhat in the 6 years since doing so. I certainly feel and look much more than 6 years older now. Haha!! 😉👍
You're right Jeff, this is an underrated album !!! Even if Bob Dylan wrote only 2 songs on it, it still sounds like a good album to me and one of my favorites !!! My favorite songs are probably "Talkin' New York", "In my time of dyin'" and "Highway 51 blues" but most of the songs sound good to me !!! Great review !!!
Thanks, Marc. Yes I hate it when everyone just skips this album as if it didn't exist, and go straight to Freewheelin' as his "first" album. I also love the three songs you mention as your favorites. A very "rocking" folk album for sure.
Hi Jeff! I am beginning to watch your reviews of Bob Dylan's entire discography and would like to thank you for going to the effort of putting these together. I've been interested in Dylan's music for a long time because my father is a huge Dylan fan and collects everything by Dylan that he can find, so I've listened to Bob since I was a little baby basically. I love Dylan's first album precisely because it's very different from all the rest of folk albums that were recorded at the time. It already shows Dylan's varied musical influences: not just folk but also blues, gospel, country, and as you rightly mention, rock'n'roll, which is apparent on this album from the very beginning. Another version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" that I like is the one by the Stanley Brothers, from the 1940s, and "Freight Train Blues" was cut by Roy Acuff around the same time. I've always thought Dylan was influenced by those recordings when he made his own versions. Sorry for the long message. Great review! Greetings from Tennessee!
Thanks, Anton! I really appreciate your comment. Yes, Dylan was (and still is) like a sponge who absorbs so much great music and culture, and then reworks it and creates something still original out of it all. People sometimes laugh when I say it, but I do believe Dylan is the greatest artist of our lifetime. (Hey, I love Tennessee - my grandparents lived in Abingdon, VA and we'd often drive to Bristol, TN and other places in TN). Thanks again. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Even though I am interested in other artists and other kinds of music as well, I have no doubt that Bob Dylan is the single greatest artist of our lifetime, for the very reasons that you point out, as well as for the fact that he has influenced, in one way or another, virtually all his contemporaries and artists who came after him. And his knowledge and understanding of American music is staggering and can be perceived in his own work at every turn, and of course, also in that wonderful radio show he hosted on satellite radio several years ago, which was an absolute pleasure to hear. I've been living in Tennessee for almost 20 years now, and I love Bristol, the place where Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family made their first recordings back in 1927. I went to graduate school in Nashville, where I met my wife, and now I am a professor of Spanish in the University of Tennessee system and live on the western side of the state, in the very musical city of Jackson, right between Nashville and Memphis. Cheers, and I will keep enjoying the Dylan and Beatles (another one of my musical passions) videos on your channel.
@@antong.-f.8204 Thanks, Anton, for your very well-written and passionate comments about Dylan (I can tell you are a professor!). Indeed, what a great state for music history, some of the best.
(by the way, I was a college lecturer for almost 20 years....teaching chemistry)
Cheers! Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Thanks, Jeff! You know, it really isn't my intention to sound "professorial," so to speak, when I write, but in the case of Dylan and music in general, I guess I just get a little bit carried away. Tennessee is wonderful for music history of all kinds, and I feel very fortunate to have lived in Nashville (where I used to host a classic country radio show and got to meet and interview several classic country stars) and then in Memphis for a few years. By the way, I could also tell that you've been a professor, both because of the content and the delivery of your videos. Please keep them coming, because videos like yours are hard to find on UA-cam, and thanks again!
Its a great album with great songs and great interpretations. Im loving these reviews. Very many thanks Squire for all the work 👍👍✔️
Thanks for your kind and encouraging words!! This was my first video and I can't bear to look at it now, haha.....not that I can bear to look at any of my videos, haha! But seriously, thanks for taking the time to send me this nice comment. I really appreciate it. Cheers. Jeff
Great video and great channel. Found out about your channel after watching a "MeanMrMayo" video this morning. Have since subscribed. Wish I had known about your channel 10 months ago when as a "Covid lockdown" project, I decided to finally make it through that red boxed set of all Dylan's albums (over your left shoulder in the video). I've been a Dylan fan since about 1965, when I was 11 years old. Looking forward to watching all your videos.
Thanks, John. Nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy all the Dylan reviews and other Dylan videos I've posted over the last few years. And feel free to comment on anything you like or don't like, haha! Thanks again. Jeff
I know I remarked on this review earlier but this album meant a lot to me as a kid and so I'll tell you more about that. This is the album I found out I could figure out by ear chord changes on the guitar and matching the key. I figured out the Highway 51 song and was playing the chord changes while waiting for my guitar lesson. My teacher walked in and asked if I knew what I was playing and I told him where I learned it. He said, "That's Wake Up Little Suzie by the Everly Brothers". He said he learned that song with bar chords and liked how I did it in the open chords. I have more to say about the first album but I'll wait till this review pops up again on my UA-cam feed.
Haha that’s a great story, Harry. Sometimes I think that there are only a half dozen songs ever written but people keep on re-writing them. 😉
@@CalicoSilver I read one time Bob said no one needs to write any more songs, all the great ones have been written. That was before he wrote a few more great ones though....
Enjoyed. The start of an incredible recording career.
And to think the record company almost didn't take him on.....wow.....
That was a journey. Made it through your Dylan reviews. Listened out of order lol. What a great ride. Thanks Jeff. Looking forward to the latter albums once you review them. Great stuff.
Wow, I'm impressed (and honored) that you'd watch all 40-some of these Dylan reviews. Thanks. I'm still working on the Modern Times review today and hopefully should have it posted this weekend. It is a tough one.....
CalicoSilver I look forward to it.
Baby Let me Follow You Down is an amazing Song. I first heard it on Biograph and then went back and found it.
This Album was Recorded in an Afternoon...
His set list. That’s what it is
Must listen to it again. You have reminded to do that Jeff.
Good advice!!
I agree - Baby Let Me Follow You Down is great no matter where or when or how he sings it. I love those '66 live performances of it too. I don't listen to Dylan's debut that often but whenever I do, I ask myself, "why don't you listen to this great album more often?!"
@@CalicoSilver young energy of a talented boy
I just discovered your channel Mr. Calico, and I am enjoying so much your Bob Dylan Album Reviews, I think Dylan it's also my favorite artist and it's nice to see some die hard fans out there too. It's a bit difficult to be a Dylan fan here in Costa Rica and specially when you're 23 years old like me because most of my friends don't listen to Dylan's fantastic music haha. Anyway, I am trying to watch all your reviews and I'm sure they are great; looking forward to the Time Out Of Mind review 🖒🖒 Greetings from Costa Rica
Thanks, Dave! Great to hear from Dylan fans, and especially great to know that younger fans are out there! Old-timers like I will not be here much longer than our hero Dylan, haha! So good to know newer fans are out there.
@@CalicoSilver I know, I'm also surprised whenever I meet a young Dylan fan, it's great haha. I am trying to catch up with all your Dylan reviews and they are great, can't wait to get to the Planet Waves, Blood On The Tracks, Desire and Slow Train Coming reviews. Thanks for replying to my comment Jeff, and as Bob says, may you stay forever young 🖒🖒
I love the word, glean, and its history..
I just discovered your channel Jeff really enjoying your videos .Im a huge Bob dylan /beatles /Springsteen fan look forward to wading through all your stuff love your passion .Regarding this album I dont play it enough theres a lot of stuff here that I really like. All the Best Trev from the UK
Thanks, Trev. I appreciate it. Jeff
It's amazing how much he was into death at that young age. And I didn't expect him to be so bluesy. More hillbilly than folksinger, for sure
I love this album but at times he tries TOO hard on a couple of songs, haha! Just a youthful energy, I guess.
When Bob finished this album; he said he'd recorded all the wrong songs. Ive heard the mono remaster sounds miles better.....
Yeah I love the mono version too.
Very enjoyable stuff, good to see Dylan's debut getting a thorough appreciation. I've always thought this one is hard done by. It couldn't help but pale compared to what followed, but he was playing in the big league of folk singers with this one (even if on a lower rung than his contemporaries). Nice that you distinguished Dylan the 'Performer' from the 'songwriter', an important distinction! Cheers- Dean
I am only just now seeing this comment of yours, Dean! UA-cam notifications system is not exactly without its faults, right? Anyhoo....thanks for the comments about my Dylan debut album review. Jeff
Excellent review. It is indeed a very fine album. You mention Bob's use of "tension and release" in both harmonica and vocals, and it's always been a high point of his music.
Now, here's a thought. Another artist in the same period that had equally great intensity, very powerful use of tension and release in her singing, and superb songwriting....but is not nearly so well known is: Buffy Sainte-Marie. She and Joan Baez and Bob Dylan are the 3 greatest musical influences on me. They're like my Holy Trinity of music, starting in 1959, which was when I first became aware of Joan Baez (her performance at the Newport Folk Festival)...my parents bought all her records back then. Then along came Buffy Sainte-Marie with her stunning debut album "It's My Way" (no connection with the Paul Anka song) in 1964.
That first Buffy Sainte-Marie album is astounding. Talk about intensity! And almost all original songs (with a handful of trad and old folksongs adapted to her own unique style). And she sounds completely unique...there's simply no one else like her. (like with Dylan too) Buffy went on to record a great many more albums and to write very powerful songs, both in the lyrical and the musical sense, and she's still at it. She's the only artist that equals Bob Dylan in sheer intensity, in my opinion, but most people don't know very much about her (Partly because the US Government got her blacklisted off ALL North American radio for about 10 years at the height of her career. They were upset about her protest songs. They literally didn't do that to *anyone* else....and that tells you just how deeply those songs cut to the bone...particularly one called "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying"). So what I suggest is: Maybe listen to and do a review of that first album of Buffy's. "It's My Way". 1964.
Dylan was a Buffy Sainte-Marie fan then too. He used to go and see her play in the Greenwich Village days. People complain about her unique vocal style (a strong tremolo in her voice on *some* songs)....just like they complain about Dylan's unique vocal style(s). Not what they expected? "You sound like a hillbilly. We want *folksingers here!" Well, they don't get it, that's all. Dylan and Buffy are both absolutely amazing singers and you can tell they really mean it.
Wow, I have NEVER heard any Buffy Sainte-Marie, can you believe that?! If I have, I didn't take note of it. I must remedy this situation right away. I will place her debut album in my "must listen" queue immediately. Thank you for reminding me of her. I love unorthodox singing voices. How about a singer called Karen Dalton from back in the day (she just popped into my head). Now she was quite a different voice.....not necessarily my favorite, mind you, but definitely unique. Anyway, thanks again for the Buffy recommendation! Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver - Great! You're in for some great listening. Buffy was on Vanguard Records, same as Joan Baez and Ian & Sylvia and some of the other top folk acts in the '60's. That was why I found out about her right away...because she was on Vanguard. She's an amazing songwriter. She was born on the Piapot Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan and then grew up with foster parents in Maine, so she got a combined Canadian-American citizenship, which is a very handy thing to have for a musician. She's a brilliant woman, and still going strong at the age of 80, born in the same year as Dylan and Baez. 1941. Seven years older than me. I've heard of Karen Dalton...but don't actually know her music. I'll look for it.
Oh, by the way, Buffy wrote "Universal Soldier", known to some people because Donovan covered it later at some point.
@@CalicoSilver - I just listened to Karen Dalton's cover of "Reason to Believe". She makes it sound very real. The emotion and hurt are palpable. The first time I've ever heard her sing.
Great album.....I've also joined Songwriter Pitch Opportunity Network with Sandy Ramos - I will keep trying Carolines Corner and write to her, love your reviews...
Thanks Jason.
Great review on a great album. Not to be overlooked and certainly not overlooked by me 👏👌💯
Indeed! Often overlooked and brushed off as insignificant, but we can hear DYLAN in even that early album, can't we.
I have always loved this album.
I agree, Andrew. It is one of those albums that I rarely feel the desire to play, but when I do I always think "wow, I forgot how great this is - why don't I play this more often?"
This is a great review series. Went through it a year or so ago and came upon it this morning so going to go through it again. Apologies if you have already done so on the channel but I would love to see you do an album ranking for Dylan. I know it's trite and trendy but I would love to see you do a top 10 or something like that (although with Dylan a top 25 would be better). An objectively impossible task admittedly but it would be interesting given your insights and passion for the music.
Thanks Stephen. Yes I did a Dylan album ranking video last year, even though I swore I'd never do one, haha. Because my favorite Dylan album is usually whichever album I'm listening to at the moment. Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Nice one. I will search out that one for sure.
@@sbtechdif Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/tefOcUEgw3U/v-deo.html
Great video hope u can do some more Bob Dylan album reviews soon!!!
Thanks, Mark. If all goes as planned, I hope to have the privilege of posting similar (and hopefully better, once I figure this thing out) videos about all of Dylan's albums. It is an honor to be able to do so. Thanks for your kind comment.
Nice review! I thoroughly enjoy these type of reviews that get into the actual dynamics of the songs. I just found your channel and I look forward to your future content.
Thanks, NothingIsReal (love your name!).
@@CalicoSilver - Thanks CalicoSilver. As well as being a line in a Lennon song its also an expression of modern society, MSM, politics etc and all the lies we are fed daily.
Ain't THAT the truth! And the older I get the more I see it all for what it is....which ain't much....
Fantastic channel Sir, love watching from here in Scotland. Big Bob Dylan fan perhaps I can ask you a question? Is the "Judas" heckle on a record? I guess it would be on the Bootleg series 4 "Albert Hall" LP - but I don't hear it on my MP3 recording. Not that I need it - I'm just curious. Went walking today with my 9 year old son and we listened to Desire in the car - he loves it as much as his dad! Thanks for all your content.
Hello Stuart. Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, the "Judas" heckle is indeed on the "Albert Hall" recording but it occurs at the end of the penultimate track on that recording, "Ballad of a Thin Man", just before "Like a Rolling Stone" begins. Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Ah - got you thanks! My recording didn't have Ballad of a Thin Man on it but I've gone back to the source and heard it now. Thanks so much. All the best. Stuart
@@CalicoSilver To my eternal shame, the 'Judas' heckle was made by someone called 'Cordwell'! Even the same damn spelling!
@@petercordwell2258 Hahaha! Thankfully no one with my last name has done either (1) anything that noteworth or (2) anything that shameful. So the pressure is off for me, haha! But there is a beautiful peninsula in Glamorgan in southwest Wales named after me! As well as a street in Bloomsbury in London. ;-)
@@CalicoSilver So what's your last name, young Jeff? A thought or two about Freewheelin' v The Times: I think the central point is that no one had ever heard an album like Freewheelin' before and it kicked people sideways and sold in millions, and the funny tracks played a big part in showing how incredibly freewheeling' Dylan was and how this was no little boy lost taking himself so seriously. That very first line: How many roads...stopped everybody in their tracks and stamped Dylan on their foreheads. The Times needed to follow Freewheeln' and wouldn't have had the same effect the other way round, imo. Plus...Hard Rain is better than the whole of The Times, imo. His version in No Direction Home is the definitive Dylan song and performance - that's who Dylan IS - alongside, of course, two or three It's Alright Ma's. You're doing a fantastic job, Jeff; thank you very much. How can I get the Dylan/Salanger piece to you?
Your insightful reviews cud easily be a book - a fan's thought on Bob Dylan etc?
Thanks. My wife thinks I should write a book too. But these thoughts that I chat about here are just thoughts.....and always subject to change with time. Haha!
I'm not the only one to say what a joy it's been to discover this station. How CalicoSilver became Jeff is beyond me, but so what? One small point: how come no one has yet released Song To Bobby? There's actually one or two lines in a song by the (Scottish) Incredible String Band. Know that one, Jeff? Best wishes, PC.
Hi Peter. Way back "when this internet thing started" (haha) in the early-mid '90s, I used to have a username "calicosilver" (derived from a favorite album of my childhood, "The Ballad Of Calico" by KennyRogers&TheFirstEdition, a double concept-album or country-rock-opera of sorts about the California silver mining town (now ghost town) of Calico). So when I started this channel and desired at the time to maintain a bit of anonymity, I chose to continue using the same username. I've always kinda liked it. Anyway, no I am not familar with the I.Strng.Band's song, but I do know Cat Power's "Song To Bobby" tribute to Dylan.
His first single was rockabilly....
Bob preferred the outtakes, good album,,Bob dylanizes all the songs..
Good way of putting it - he Dylanized those classic tunes and made them his own.
Hi, Have you heard Bob dylan 39 years of great concerts - official CD. I used to have it, it's very interesting; full of rarities. I'd love to see your review of it. It's an official release..
I don't know if I have ever even heard of that CD, Jason. Thanks for telling me about it.
@@CalicoSilver I think it was released in Japan first,,,,,It has songs from 62 - Handsome Molly and a few recent live ones; it's a great official CD...
I was surprised it how unoriginal Freewheeling was.
I think what bothers me about Bob Dylan's first album is that it sounds so fake. Freewheeling sounds a little fake to me, but the stuff that doesn't sound fake to me is profound.
If you want to hear Bob Dylan sing blues in his real voice I would recommend listening to Together Through life.
I hear ya! I like the debut album but I do wince at some of the more forced moments, indeed. I can't really blame him at that young age, trying so hard to stand out from the large number of similar singers singing the same songs. It carries over into Freewheelin, I agree, which is why I never rated Freewheelin as high as his subsequent albums. Like you said, the 3-4 tracks on Freewheelin that are the best tracks are truly marvelous. I'll never forget playing Hard Rain over and over and over.
@@CalicoSilver
Yes, I agree. I happened to come across the version he sang at the Concert of Bangladesh. Some could have been there because he sang that song a decade earlier.