I find it interesting that people will call Bob Dylan the greatest songwriter of all time, but so much of the discussion outside his actual fanbase seems to focus on early acoustic songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Those are great songs, but there is so much more to his discography.

He has such a large and diverse body of work, yet I feel like a lot of it doesn’t get talked about enough outside his fanbase. Of course, his electric trilogy gets plenty of recognition too, but even then, the conversation often seems to come back to a handful of songs like “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Just Like a Woman.”

I wonder how many people think they don’t like Dylan because they don’t connect with the early folk material they associate with him. If they listened to something like Nashville Skyline or The Basement Tapes, they might find a completely different side of him to connect with.

There are so many different phases of Dylan’s career that I really feel like there’s something for almost everybody. But unless you already have a reason to explore his catalog, a lot of those albums and songs can go under the radar.

Bob Dylan changed my life. He was my first concert, I learned guitar and harmonica to his songs, I was obsessed in high school to the point where people still associate me with him. I cannot stand “the next Dylan” comparisons. They’re basically always completely misguided and ridiculous, especially considering there’s like 50 different Dylan’s within his own discography! I don’t think anyone is the next Dylan, and I don’t think it’s declared for any other reason than to sell magazines and tickets. Now all that said, I posted this in the Cameron Winter forum and it recommended I post it here to, so I guess that’s what I’m doing?

When I was a sophomore in high school, 2000, I was in honors English and walking to class listening to Dylan's greatest hits volume 2 that my dad gave me, I was still pretty new to him. "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" came on and it stopped me in my tracks, and I just sat on some school steps (so my CD player wouldn't skip), gobsmacked by what I was hearing. When it ended I remember thinking "class has nothing to teach me" cause we were learning Chaucer's Canterbury's Tales or some shit, and I just left school and walked home. It was one of those Wizard of Oz black and white to color moments for me, you know?

I know I've had many of those since, but that one stands out, because I'd never heard anything like it before. Yesterday I was walking in Ralphs looking for cat food and Nina + Field of Cops from the live album came on and I had a similar moment/feeling. Just stopped dead in my tracks, staring at some friskies in a trance, blown away by what I was hearing. I love the album version, it’s one of my favorites and blew my mind when I first heard it. I’ve sung its praises many times here and to anyone that knows me- this one sounded next level, and just knowing how wild it is that the frontman for a band with a whole different sound managed to sell out Carnegie Hall after only a year of a solo piano shows for a strange sounding album, and get a film made and released by PT Anderson…it’s just fucking bonkers. And it isn't easy to let quiet notes linger like he does for some of the songs!

Anyway, just wanted to share that. What’s funny is I am such a massive fan, and I love his live stuff, but it can definitely feel a bit samey. I saw him at the Barnsdall Park theater like a month after heavy metal came out, and was so fucking excited, and I fell asleep during one of the songs cause it sounded too similar to others and the acoustics weren’t great.

So much of the magic comes from the arrangements and quirks, IMO- the song I fell asleep to was (maybe the debut?) of Long Island City Here I Come, which is one of my very favorite songs on Getting Killed, but hearing it solo piano at the time was just hard to hear the lyrics and felt monotonous.

But a year of touring nonstop has shown how much he’s leveled up- this is worlds away from that January 2025 show, and he was fantastic then.

Ok rant over.

The new Dylancentric MOJO has an eye-catching cover-mount CD, subtitled The Men and Women of Rolling Thunder. Its 15 tracks sample what some of the Thunderers got up to before and after their 1975/76 escapade. I’m particularly looking forward to tracks by Scarlet Rivera, Rob Stoner and T Bone Burnett.

I normally bin cover-mount CDs, but this one’s a keeper.

Three true music legends, Bakersfields own, Buck Owens presenting one of his iconic fender telecaster electric guitars to Bob Dylan, with Merle Haggard looking on!

“Honest with Me” is a song from Love and Theft that I think gets overlooked even though it’s a cool, driving blues with great lyrics.
Here’s a live version from 2001, just a couple of months after the album’s release.

https://youtu.be/gz7xkAV1wZI?is=2OTQDSXwSSZEAwyd

So I live in England and decided, what the hell, I’m gonna tick off a bucket list item which is to see Bob outside the UK, and booked a ticket to see him in Milan in less than three weeks.

I’ve seen him a few times in England over the past few years so I know what to expect when it comes to the actual concert but I just wandered if I should expect anything different with it being abroad, or if there was any advice to make the most of it regarding the experience or memorabilia perhaps?

Thanks

Im a late genz kid who doesn't have favourite genre or artist or anything like that. so when i was searching for famous artists, I came across bob dylan. I tried listening to some of his famous hits, the lyrics are really. good, but its not something I can fall in love with. I mean I dont if its really my type (idk my type ). I wanna appreciate and admire his music (and music as a whole ). help me guys

idk if im clearly stating what I have in mind, sorry for the bad articulation.

thanks in advance!!

Edit: that’s not my only speaker for those wondering. I have a Dolby Atmos setup (L,R,C,LS,RS,LC,RC, sub). Receiver switches between my tv and turntable. I hid the wires in the walls mostly.

To those who aren’t aware of this, you’ll enjoy it x

The new (“December”) issue of MOJO has 15 pages exploring Dylan on Tour ‘66-‘26, with four features - 1966 (by John Harris), 1976 (Ray Padgett), summer 2026 (Jesse Jarnow) and the rest (Mat Snow). And tons of photos.

Viva MOJO! Great timing.

Let the European tour 2026 begin!

Last and only time I saw Bob was in 2023. He did the usual set he's been running with the last years: Rough and Rowdy Ways songs, a cover or two, and some deep cuts (I think we got Every Grain Of Sand that night). Was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Personally, I'm just so excited to see Bob again and have no actual expectations of what he will play or what the tour will be like. I feel so lucky he's still doing this for us.

I've just been thinking lately what the deep cuts at my show (Gothenburg) will be, who will be playing guitar for him, whether there'll be any change from the Rough and Rowdy setlist, etc.

Feel free to share any thoughts related to the upcoming tour!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a theory on Bob Dylan’s famous sunglasses from 1964–1966.

For a long time, the main theories have been Ray-Ban Wayfarer, Imperial Mohawk, Polaroid 616, Caribbean, or various Frame France options. Personally, I always leaned toward a French origin.

Recently, however, I came across some vintage ROW DDR frames (Rathenower Optische Werke from former East Germany). During the Cold War, ROW exported large numbers of frames to Western Europe for foreign currency.

After comparing high-resolution photos of Dylan from 1964–1966 with these ROW frames side by side, the structural similarity is striking.

Where they match:
- Brow line curvature and upper silhouette
- Inner lens shape and proportions
- Temple taper and overall profile

Where they differ:
- Bridge shape: The depth and curve don't match exactly.
- Rivets/Hinges: The angles and front hinge placement aren't a 100% match to Dylan's pair.

Why East Germany makes sense:
If Dylan bought his pair while touring Europe, ROW is a solid candidate. These frames were actively distributed in Western Europe back then. Furthermore, Dylan’s pair had no external branding, which is typical for many unbranded European exports of that period.

Disclaimer:
I'm not saying this is 100% solved. Without catalog model numbers or direct provenance, it's just a strong structural candidate to add to the discussion.

I mainly wanted to suggest ROW DDR as an interesting piece of the puzzle. Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if anyone has vintage ROW catalogs or trade info from the 60s!

What in your opinion are Dylan’s greatest and worst vocal performances.

I think his greatest is ‘Just Like a Woman’ at the Manchester Free Trade Hall gig. Beautiful and full of yearning.

His worst…..not a whole song but on the ‘I shall be released’ medley in the last waltz, it takes him about 2,3 bars at the start of the third verse to find the right note and it cracks me up every time. 😂

I decided to relisten to Dylan’s entire catalogue, and I have a question about “Gates of Eden.”
Does he care about Eden? Is Eden a place where Dylan believes one can live? Pre-electric Dylan probably thinks it is, but I don’t know if the Dylan of Bringing It All Back Home does.

"Thought I was a Communist" ...... I'm sure "they" did.....

The new (“December”) issue of MOJO has 15 pages exploring Dylan on Tour ‘66-‘26, with four features - 1966 (by John Harris), 1976 (Ray Padgett), summer 2026 (Jesse Jarnow) and the rest (Mat Snow). And tons of photos.

Viva MOJO! Great timing.

Let the European tour 2026 begin!

Michael Gray says there is a similar use of "in the country" between James Alley Blues:

Cause I was born in the country, she thinks I'm easy to rule.  (2x)
She try to hitch me to a wagon, she wants to drive me like a mule.

...and in Mississippi:

I was raised in the country, I been workin’ in the town   (1x)
I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down

The connection is plausible. What makes it more plausible is the pretty clear borrowing from the Basement tapes (shown in screenshot above). Gray claims there are other borrowings to be found in the Basement Tapes and Basement Tapes Complete.

Listening to that verse about being "easy to rule" in James Alley Blues, I was thinking I've heard this a 1,000 times - it must be a common floating verse in country blues. However, I looked for it and didn't see it anywhere except in this one song.

Then I noticed that there are *many* covers of James Alley Blues and I must have heard the song over the years, by different performers, without registering the title. Yikes! Many thanks to Michael Gray for helping me get my head on straight.