Bob Dylan, like great Scotch-is an acquired taste. Yes, his voice is "nasally." Yes, his inflection is odd. Yes, he can be hard to understand and way off-key. Yet, his sound, his instrumentation and above all his songs can be salvation to the ears of those who learn to appreciate him. Yet, his discography is over 30 albums deep. People looking to discover Dylan don't even know where to start when attempting to listen to him. Sure, you can pull out a Greatest Hits album but that will only give you the same songs you already hear on the radio-"Like A Rolling Stone" and "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35." Thus, to truly appreciate Dylan it makes sense to listen to his best albums from start to finish. So, what album should you start with?
For the new Dylan listener we recommend you start off with Bringing It All Back Home. Why? Well, it's got a little something for everyone. There's straight up rock and roll: "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Maggie's Farm." There's acoustic folk: "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue'--Each with Dylan signature harmonica shreds. There's a bluesy rocker, "Outlaw Blues", and even a few comedic songs like "On the Road Again" and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" which are sure to warm the first-time listener up to Dylan's wry sense of humor.
The other alluring tracks on this album are addictive, stream of consciousness songs such as "It's All Right Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" and "Gates of Eden." These songs have the ability to hit the virgin Dylan ear like a Mack truck--pounding home his ability to say the right thing at the wrong time-with a cynicism and sincerity that is mesmerizing. We challenge anyone to listen to this album all the way through at least 5 times in a two-day period and not think: "This guy ain't so bad after all! What else can I listen to?"
