Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 30, 1965
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000024SI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #61,476 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Like a Rolling Stone

2. Tombstone Blues

3. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry

4. From a Buick 6

5. Ballad of a Thin Man

6. Queen Jane Approximately

7. Highway 61 Revisited

8. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

9. Desolation Row

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Dylan was virtually gushing great songs when this masterpiece arrived in the summer of 1965. From the epochal opening of "Like a Rolling Stone" through the absurdly apocalyptic closer, "Desolation Row," his command of surrealistic language was daring and amazing. As a vocalist, he was rewriting the rules of the game. Jimi Hendrix made note of Mr. Z's technically suspect pitch and decided that he too was a singer. And the backing, though ragged, is precisely right. Is this the essential Dylan album? It's certainly one of them. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

Highway 61 Revisited is a landmark -- recorded in 1965, during the same tumultuous summer that had seen him plugging in his electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, Highway 61 Revisited is Bob Dylan diving head-first into the rock and roll maelstrom, backed by the studio prowess of Al Kooper, Michael Bloomfield and others on such devastating classics as the epochal "Like A Rolling Stone." This Sundazed edition is an exact reproduction of the rare original 1965 mono album, featuring the original sleeve-notes and photos, and all-analog mastering from the absolute original source tapes. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only important, but essential, July 12, 2001

By	VoodooLord7 (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

One of the records essential to understanding the genuis that is Bob Dylan. Not his best album, but one of his most defining. An epoch not just in the career of Dylan, but in rock itself. Highway 61 Revisited was a turning point, a defining moment; the point where Bob Dylan dropped the folk mystique and went straight-ahead into rock. The electric half of Bringing It All Back Home (and, in particular, Subeterranian Homesick Blues) took rock in another direction entirely, and this album is the logical extension of that. Backed by a full rock band, Dylan lifts off the album with one of his most instantly-recognizable songs, the epic Like A Rolling Stone (which, significantly, broke radio's "three minute" barrier.) Many people consider this the first actual "rock" song; and, though that is a bit of an exaggeration, it is definately an extremely important early icon of the rock generation. This song is followed by the pure garage rock of Tombstone Blues. Next up is the excellent slow blues, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry. Other highlights of the album include the hilarously surreal Ballad of A Thin Man, the lyrically and musically avant-garde title track, and the closing, thoughtful, apocalyptic epic Desolation Row. It is obvious even from the titles of the songs that Dylan lyrically was here attempting something very avant-garde and impressionistic. Some of the lyrics are unquestionably profound (Rolling Stone, Desolation Row), others seemingly non-sensical (Thin Man), but all brilliant. The music here is rock rooted in blues, and we get more than a few fine blues licks here and there from guitarist Michael Bloomfield, and some fine acoustic playing on Desolation Row. On top of all this, Dylan would rarely play his harmonica this good again. An absolute must-own.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't underestimate its importance, July 2, 2000

By	Jai (Delhi, India) - See all my reviews

Dylan's first all-electric album may have dated somewhat, but it remains a fascinating and extremely powerful symbol of the 60s counterculture. With his extraordinary surreal imagery and literary references, the greatest songwriter of this century brought to rock music an intellect and respectability no one had thought it capable of possessing. This album is raw, unfinished; admittedly, it lacks the formal perfection of its great successor `Blonde on Blonde'- but that doesn't make it any the less impressive or significant. The album opener `Like a Rolling Stone' holds a unique place in rock history, and is even considered by many to be THE defining rock song (I personally admire the track more than I actually enjoy listening to it); the closer, `Desolation Row' is a sparsely arranged, musically economical 11-minute long number that breaks new ground in surrealistic poetry (`Einstein disguised as Robin Hood....') Whether or not one reads any actual deep-rooted meaning in these lyrics, the fact remains (though this may sound hypocritical) that such songs were absolutely essential at the time, for popular music to acquire the much-needed respect that had hitherto been denied it. Stacked between these two bookends are gems like the haunting `Ballad of a Thin Man', `Just like Tom Thumb's Blues', the wickedly funny title track, and the absolutely superb `Tombstone Blues'. Decidedly an album that changed the course of popular music forever.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect introduction to Dylan, August 25, 2001

By A Customer

While it's true that "serious" Dylan fans are supposed to unanimously agree that Blood on the Tracks is his best album, I can't help but think that this supercedes it in some aspects. Dylan did a terrific job with this album, which starts off with "Like a Rolling Stone" and still manages not to go down from there. "Tombstone Blues", "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", and "Queen Jane Approximately" are all great songs, to say nothing of the massive masterpiece that is "Desolation Row". "Ballad of a Thin Man" is also terrific, but it tends to take second fiddle after a while to the other songs. "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry", quite apart from having a great title, is a great song. Finally, the title track is what got me into Dylan, and I'm still not sick of it. "Blood on the Tracks" is a great album, but it's not a very good introduction to Dylan. "Highway 61" is a perfect introduction. Follow it up with "Blonde on Blonde" or "John Wesley Harding" and let the rest follow from there.