I know that this album came as a big shock for most Dylan fans. Gone were the days of wild, electric arrangements, surreal lyrics and Dylan's trademarked gravelly voice. Taking their place was an emphasis on acoustic guitars, much better singing, control, and lyrics that lost their surreality.

The result isn't all that good, in my mind. Granted, the title track is a good sketch of a Robin Hood-type character, but both As I Went Out One Morning and I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine are poor attempts at philosophy. Then there's All Along the Watchtower, the resident classic, and with good reason! Sure, Jimi's is good, but I believe this to be the definitive take. Then there's Ballad of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest, a song a lot of Dylan fans are quick to jump on and hail as terrible, but I enjoy it--it's the third-best song on the album (Behind Watchtower and Wicked Messenger). From there, the album falls into its "All-the-songs-sound-the-same" groove. It's very hard to distinguish Drifter's Escape from Dear Landlord. We get a bit of a break with I Am a Lonesome Hobo, another interesting little song, but the album falls back into where it was with the fourth middle-of-the-road song to be found, I Pity the Poor Immigrant. The song drags on forever. The Wicked Messenger is a great song, and the second-best on the album, but the next two (Down Along the Cove and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight) are poor attempts at country that can best be called painful.

This is one of Dylan's most popular albums, but I don't see what the big deal is.
I know that this album came as a big shock for most Dylan fans. Gone were the days of wild, electric arrangements, surreal lyrics and Dylan's trademarked gravelly voice. Taking their place was an emphasis on acoustic guitars, much better singing, control, and lyrics that lost their surreality. The result isn't all that good, in my mind. Granted, the title track is a good sketch of a Robin Hood-type character, but both As I Went Out One Morning and I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine are poor attempts at philosophy. Then there's All Along the Watchtower, the resident classic, and with good reason! Sure, Jimi's is good, but I believe this to be the definitive take. Then there's Ballad of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest, a song a lot of Dylan fans are quick to jump on and hail as terrible, but I enjoy it--it's the third-best song on the album (Behind Watchtower and Wicked Messenger). From there, the album falls into its "All-the-songs-sound-the-same" groove. It's very hard to distinguish Drifter's Escape from Dear Landlord. We get a bit of a break with I Am a Lonesome Hobo, another interesting little song, but the album falls back into where it was with the fourth middle-of-the-road song to be found, I Pity the Poor Immigrant. The song drags on forever. The Wicked Messenger is a great song, and the second-best on the album, but the next two (Down Along the Cove and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight) are poor attempts at country that can best be called painful. This is one of Dylan's most popular albums, but I don't see what the big deal is.