Robert Zimmerman turns 70 today. This could mean a lot or very little to whomever, but it is a mark that does not go unnoticed for Dylan fans and, quite frankly, every talented musician. Part of me wants to write a giant homage to Bob but this has been done. I have spent countless hours writing about him, writing while listening to him, and even issuing reviews of his last five albums. However, it is a blast to try and make a list of one’s favorite songs. It is also strange to make a list of 70 and still say “damn, there are a lot more that need to squeeze into this.” In making this list I didn’t place any sort of statistical importance on what songs I chose, I simply listed them for how much they’ve had an influence on me, how much I return to them. Just like his catalog of phenomenal albums–some days one is your favorite and another day one from ten years later is your favorite–these songs oscillate from endless play to dusty repose. After compiling the list the top three albums that I chose from (though perhaps not my favorites as a whole) Were Blonde on Blonde, Bringing it All Back Home, and John Wesley Harding. Let’s get some conversations started.
1) Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Bringing it All Back Home
2) Blood in My Eyes, World Gone Wrong
3) She Belongs to Me, Bringing it All Back Home
4) Don’t Think Twice it’s All Right, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
5) 4th Time Around, Blonde on Blonde
6) Visions of Johanna, Blonde on Blonde
7) Most of the Time, Oh Mercy
8) New Morning, New Morning
9) Idiot Wind, Blood on the tracks
10) Moonshiner, Bootlegs Vol.1-3
11) It’s alright Ma I’m Only Bleeding, Bringing it All Back Home
12) It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Bringing it All Back Home
13) When the Ship Comes In, The Times They are a Changin’
14) Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Highway 61 Revisited
15) John Wesley Harding, John Wesley Harding
16) Love Sick, Time Out of Mind
17) Baby Let Me Follow You Down, Bob Dylan
18) Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest, John Wesley Harding
19) Shelter from the Storm, Blood on the Tracks
20) If You’ve Gotta Go, Go Now, Bootlegs Vol.1-3
21) Blowin’ In the Wind, Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
22) You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, Blood on the tracks
23) The Times They are a Changin’, The Times They are a Changin’
24) Went to See the Gypsy, New Morning
25) It Takes a Lot to Laugh it Takes a Train to Cry, Highway 61 Revisited
26) Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Blonde on Blonde
27) Hard Times in New York Town, Bootlegs Vol.1-3
28) Mama, You Been on my Mind, Bootlegs Vol.1-3
29) The Man in Me, New Morning
30) If You See Her, Say Hello, Blood on the Tracks
31) Man Gave Names to all the Animals, Slow Train Coming
32) As I Went Out One Morning, John Wesley Harding
33) All Along the Watchtower, John Wesley Harding
34) I Want You, Blonde on Blonde
35) Meet Me in the Morning, Blood on the Tracks
36) If Not for You, New Morning
37) A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
38) Like a Rolling Stone, Highway 61 Revisited
39) Simple Twist of Fate, Blood on the tracks
40) Chimes of Freedom, Another Side of Bob Dylan
41) Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Blonde on Blonde
42) Not Dark yet, Time Out of Mind
43) I’m Not There, The Basement Tapes
44) Just Like a Woman, Blonde on Blonde
45) Stuck Inside of Mobile With Memphis Blues Again, Blonde on Blonde
46) I and I, Infidels
47) Subterranean Homesick Blues, Bringing it All Back Home
48) Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine), Blonde on Blonde
49) Things Have Changed, The Essential Bob Dylan & Wonder Boys soundtrack
50) Jokerman, Infidels
51) Forever Young, Planet Waves
52) Series of Dreams, Bootlegs Vol.1-3
53) Knocking on Heaven’s Door, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
54) Ballad of a Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited
55) It Ain’t Me Babe, Another Side of Bob Dylan
56) Masters of War, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
57) Tweeter and the Monkey Man, The Traveling Wilburys
58) Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, Biograph
59) Girl from the North Country, Nashville Skyline version with J.Cash
60) Boots of Spanish Leather, The Times They are a Changin’
61) Highway 61 Revisited, Highway 61 Revisited
62) Buckets of Rain, Blood on the tracks
63) I Dreamed I Saw St.Augustine, John Wesley Harding
64) Mozambique, Desire
65) Hurricane, Desire
66) Shooting Star, Oh Mercy
67) Tight Connection to My Heart, Empire Burlesque
68) Where are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat), Street Legal
69) Mr. Tambourine Man, Bringing it All Back Home
70) Desolation Row, Highway 61 Revisited
Well, I guess I’ll chime in here with my own list (seeing as how no one else seems to have done so, as of yet). So I guess if I was to do a Top 70 List, this is probably more or less what it would look like:
1. Abandoned Love
2. Every Grain of Sand
3. Tangled Up in Blue
4. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
5. Changing of the Guard
6. No Time to Think
7. I Want You
8. Caribbean Wind
9. Just Like A Woman
10. Like A Rolling Stone
11. Desolation Row
12. Mr. Tambourine Man (Bootleg #5, Rolling Thunder Revue version)
13. She Belongs to Me
14. Shelter From the Storm (Hard Rain version)
15. Dark Eyes
16. Where are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)
17. Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
18. Black Diamond Bay
19. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m only bleeding)
20. Things Have Changed
21. Hurricane
22. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
23. Tombstone Blues
24. Absolutely Sweet Marie
25. Honest With Me
26. Rollin’ and Tumblin’
27. Dreaming of You
28. All Along the Watchtower
29. Lay, Lady, Lay
30. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
31. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall (Concert for Bangladesh version)
32. Visions of Johanna (Biograph version)
33. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
34. Cold Irons Bound
35. Mississippi
36. Up to Me
37. Jokerman
38. Neighborhood Bully
39. It Ain’t Me, Babe (Real Live version)
40. Idiot Wind
41. We Better Talk This Over
42. Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts
43. I and I (Real Live version)
44. License to Kill (Real Live version)
45. Simple Twist of Fate
46. You’re a Big Girl Now
47. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
48. Love Sick
49. I Believe in You
50. Solid Rock
51. Ain’t Talkin’
52. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
53. Groom’s Still Waiting at the Alter
54. Spanish Harlem Incident
55. Girl From the North Country (Real Live version)
56. Masters of War (Real Live version)
57. Dignity (either MTV Unplugged or Greatest Hits Volume 3 edition)
58. Political World
59. Everything is Broken
60. Born in Time (Tell Tale Signs version)
61. Most of the Time (Tell Tale Signs version, just acoustic guitar and harmonica)
62. Series of Dreams (Greatest Hits Volume 3 edition)
63. Floater (Too Much to Ask)
64. High Water (for Charley Patton)
65. Tight Connection to My Heart
66. When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky
67. Fourth Time Around
68. Only a Pawn in Their Game
69. Heart of Mine (Biograph version)
70. Subterranean Homesick Blues
Great list Louis! It’s wonderful to see other lists as it always makes me know that I missed a few. Not to mention that it’d be much easier to make a list of 100 and feel better, but then it would just continue on and on. Also important to reference the versions, as you do, as they vary so much. Cheers, Tyler
Yes, I agree with you that each time you increase the amount just a little more (like you said 100), then the next time after that would be more, and then more again, and on and on. With someone like Dylan, it is almost impossible to exhaust all of his musical works. Just do the best we can, is all. Another thing to consider is, I suppose at different times (when I am in different moods, etc), some of his song tracks will take on more significance than others. So, I am sure that the list is subject to changing once in a while. I don’t see anything wrong with this. The numbers might not necessarily be EXACT, but many of them are just guidelines to show approximately where I might rank a particular song of his.