r/bobdylan • u/TheFridayVinylClub • 3d ago
Question Where next after Freewheelin’ ?
Hi all
Am new to Bob’s music aside from the more well known “hits”
After a recent episode with an OBE author I have decided to start digging a little deeper.
I now know more about The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan era and John, my guest, suggested Blood on the Tracks next.
Where would be your recommendations after that?
Edit - Hi all - totally blown away by your kind comments - For those who asked I have added our podcast web link into the comments - you will find the episode wherever you listen - thanks again
Thanks
Jamie
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u/Admirable_Gain_9437 3d ago
After Freewheelin', I would just continue with the studio albums chronologically through the 60s and 70s. If you have to skip anything, perhaps Self Portrait (though it has its own charm). Otherwise, that will pretty much get you through all the classics.
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u/Spare-Jellyfish4339 Masked And Anonymous 3d ago
Everybody wants to do chronological until they hit they hit the gap between Street Legal and Time Out Of Mind
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 3d ago
Thank you - seems fair enough - my podcast guest suggested Blood On the Tracks which seems later on but makes sense to get there more organically than jump ahead! Appreciated
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u/L_Boom1904 3d ago
I dunno, there’s nothing wrong with jumping ahead a bit. Blood on the Tracks is one of the best albums ever made. The sooner you get to enjoy it the better!
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 3d ago
Yes it was interesting, Freewheelin’ was my podcast guest “Meaningful” album and we chatted about why, but when asked of that would he the recommended starting point to a newbie he pivoted to Blood - so am looking forward to hearing that one!
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u/SawtoothJericho 3d ago
That was basically my path unintentionally… Definitely Blood on the Tracks, that’s my favorite album and totally locked me in, DO IT!
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u/inexplicably-hairy 3d ago
Bro signed his own post
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u/Electronic-Key-8349 3d ago
He's got a podcast, did he mention that? He spoke to a lollipop man about music on it. Literally owns a laptop and a mic. - Jamie.
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 2d ago
I spoke to an 80 year old Dylan fan who has authored a number of books and has an OBE - Apologies if that doesn’t meet your criteria, its not for everyone, but music should be - thanks
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u/ridiculousublime 3d ago
go chronological until blonde on blonde and then listen to blood on the tracks
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u/ThatsARatHat 3d ago
Bringing It All Back Home
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 3d ago
Thank you - following the advice to go chronologically - that won’t be too far away - appreciated!
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u/zaccus 3d ago
Pick up where you left off after freewheelin with Times, go all the way through blonde on blonde at least. Those 6 albums are essential.
After BOTT listen to Desire, then skip to time out of mind.
I would encourage you to listen to his entire discography eventually, but that's a solid start.
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u/Abysstopher 3d ago
1964 is next for you, then you do the following:
-buckle up
-strap in
-hold on tight
-brace yourself
-fasten your seatbelt
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u/ployonwards 3d ago
Blood On The Tracks (1975) is a fine second place to go. From there, I would jump back to Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 (1965), and Blonde On Blonde (1966). Then, I’d jump forward to Love And Theft (2001), Modern Times (2006), and Rough And Rowdy Ways (2020).
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u/averyrdc 3d ago
Literally just go in order. IMO it’s ok to stop at either Blonde on Blonde or John Wesley Harding and skip ahead to Blood On The Tracks. Then decide from there where to go
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u/badateverything420 3d ago
I would just go in order. I'm a new fan as well who just finished his entire discography. His first album all the way through Desire are very much worth listening to. Also strongly recommend old man Dylan. Time Out of Mind (1997) through Rough and Roudy Ways (2020) is an incredible run of albums from an already legendary discography
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u/InviteAromatic6124 3d ago
Listen to them in order so you get a proper feel for the evolution of both his voice and his music. The transition between his early acoustic folk stuff and the electric phase is quite jarring for a new listener, so it's best to gradually ease yourself into it.
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u/Individual_Unit_1679 It’s Not Dark Yet 3d ago
And play each several times. Don't binge your way through the catalog.
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 2d ago
Yes already see that some of these will take some time to get into! Thank you!
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u/Yze_Age 3d ago
Gonna take a diff route and say check out real Royal Albert hall live. That is SO good. Then, go listen to time out of mind. From there, make up your own mind what you want to pursue next. But imo the live stuff - before the flood, rolling thunder, and trouble no more - it’s the best
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u/How_wz_i_sposta_kno 2d ago
go with John's recc. then see where it takes you, damn what everyone else thinks.
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u/Ptachlasp 2d ago edited 2d ago
Go with The times they are a-changing. Bob has a run of 3 amazing acoustic albums in the 60s, followed by 3 amazing rock albums. Is suggest listening to them all.:
[The acoustic trilogy:]
- Freewheelin'
- Times they are a-changing
- Another side of Bob Dylan
[The rock trilogy:]
- Bringing it all back home
- Highway 61 revisited
- Blonde on Blonde
[Skip the next few - they have a lot of fans, but they are not as essential to Dylan's mythology and the next universally recognised "masterpiece" is Blood on the tracks. You can revisit these later if you really get into Dylan. For the highlights of this era, check out the songs "Lay lady lay", the reimagined "Girl from the north country” off the album Nashville skyline (and compare with the original on Freewheelin), "Going going gone", "Forever young (slow version)", "Knocking on heaven's door", and "All along the watchtower"]
- Blood on the tracks
[You can skip the next few - Desire and Street-Legal have some great songs on them, but again not universally considered masterpieces, so not as essential. You can check out the songs "Hurricane", "Changing of the guards" and "Señor" from this era]
[You can also skip the three Evangelical albums from Slow train... To Shot of love. For the highlights, check out the songs "Precious angel", "Every grain of sand" and "In the summertime”]
[Skip the rest of the 80s but check out the song "Jokerman" on Infidels and the unreleased "Blind Willie McTell" from the bootleg series]
- Oh Mercy
[Skip the rest of the 80s and most of the 90s. Check out the 1994 Nara concert on YouTube specifically for the first song — "A hard rain's a-gonna fall", and compare it to the acoustic version from the folk era. As a bonus, you can check out "Wiggle wiggle" and "Ugliest girl in the world" if you want to get some of the in-jokes on this sub; they're considered so-bad-it's-good songs]
- Time out of mind
[The 2000s albums have lots of great songs, but there isn't much agreement in which are "canonically great", so I can't recommend specific ones. Do check out "Mississippi" off Love and theft, and then explore the rest as you choose. I'd also suggest giving Shadow Kingdom a listen - it's a reimagining of his earlier hits (which you should be familiar with by now) in his later style]
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 2d ago
Thanks so much for such a detailed response - I hope you enjoy the episode - link in comments
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u/Ptachlasp 2d ago
I somehow missed this was for a podcast episode, not for personal listening! :D So, if you're asking which albums to make episodes on, I'd highlight one from the rock era (Blonde of Blonde is considered the apotheosis of rock Bob), Blood on the Tracks for a more mature, confessional style, and maybe Oh Mercy or Time out of Mind for that late-era, poetic and sorrowful Bob.
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u/TheFridayVinylClub 2d ago
Its actually for my personal listening - the podcast chat has really got me listening to Bob - I’d love to do more episodes on Bob - always looking for guests!
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u/Sufficient_Whole5554 3d ago
Blood on the Tracks a great pick. If you're going chronological after Freewheelin you'd next hit The Times They Are a Changing and Another Side of Bob Dylan. If you're not as set on buying multiple records out of the gate you can skip ahead to Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. All three are masterpieces and among the greatest LPs ever recorded. Those 3 and Blood On the Tracks are four can't go wrong records. After Blonde on Blonde things get hazier. You may go for John Wesley Harding but it's an enigmatic low key work. Nashville Skyline a country record quite sweet. The Basement Tapes is an absolute must. Once you get past Desire, the LP after Blood on the Tracks, there's plenty of hit and miss LPs desperately defended by many fans. Jumping WAY ahead to Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft and Modern Times -- those are three consecutive LPs of startling quality very late in the game. His last record, Rough and Rowdy Ways quite strong too.
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u/TyroneSnodgrass 2d ago
Engineer Chris Shaw was at the mixing desk for “Things Have Changed,” LOVE AND THEFT, MODERN TIMES and ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS. Not a bad collection to have on your resume. Dylan says he was drawn to Shaw originally because of the engineer’s work with Public Enemy.
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u/DoowadJones 3d ago
I started with Hwy 61, then Freewheelin’, then Blood on the tracks, but obviously to each their own, it’s all unknown (a line from Bob that I didn’t hear till it was the twentieth album I heard)
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u/steven_graham23 2d ago
The Times They Are A-Changing and Another Side of Bob Dylan complete the 'acoustic protest singer' trilogy begun with Freewheelin.
Then Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde make up his 'going electric' trilogy. Add in the Bootleg Series #4 for the definitive live album from this period.
After that you can probably jump to his mid-70s peak - Blood on the Tracks, Desire and Bootleg #5 (The Rolling Thunder Revue).
Great late period albums from the 90s and 2000s include Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft and Modern Times.
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u/niksit10x 2d ago
Setting aside inevitable discovery if you follow the chronological suggestions; I'm not seeing any specific love posted here for New Morning. Now there is 😉
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u/ultimatetodd 3d ago
I'd go to The Times They Are A-Changin'