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List Price: $7.99 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 617
Released: June 1, 2004 |
| Our Price: $4.43 |
| Used Price: $4.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Highway 61 Revisited Track Listing:
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 Review:
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
Highway 61 Revisited Reviews:
Is too much overrated 
2009-11-06 - Five stars... I can't see (neither understand) the reason why. I've given many oppotunities to this album (in this very moment I'm giving it one more), expecting each time to hear what is in it that makes a lot of people happy-yelling about it... For me it's got one good song followed by another boring one. The goods are WONDERFUL indeed, and the borings are crispy and extremely poor arranged... For me it's a long long way between this album and the almost perfect "Subterranean Homescik Blues" or the glorius "Bolde on Blonde". Anyway, there's no account for taste.
Helped Shape My Love For Music & Dylan! 
2009-10-07 - This album mean's so much to e word's can't explain man..... My introduction to my favorite artist was this grand cd my second favorite of all time my gosh I am in love with the one.....
Just a musical masterpiece
Like A Rolling Stone- Um... do I really have to comment on this song? It's Dylan's most known and played song said by Rolling Stone to be the greatest song of all time this is a masterpiece with a powerful message there's noting I can say that hasn't already been said about this one 5/5
Tombstone Blues- Ow boy. The first time I was listening to this and heard the lyric `'Mama's in the factory ain't got no shoes daddy's in the alley he's looking for food I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues''
It was then I realized Dylan was on another planet the lyrics for this song are incredible and I love this song it's very near and dear to me 5/5
It Take's A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry- It start's off with the infamous Dylan harmonica and a strange drum breakdown this a great song bluesy song very down by the bayou with Dylan type with some great lyrics of coarse and great musicianship 5/5
From A Buick 6-
`'You know there's this graveyard woman you know she keep's my kid's''
After hearing that opening I was convinced Dylan really was in his own world I love this song very upbeat and Rock N Roll with 5/5
Ballad Of A Thin man-
That dark and consuming piano intro, The talk-rap Dylan spews into you know what time it is it's one of Dylan's most classic song it's haunting and just fantastic the piano in the song is beautiful and dark, Dylan does an almost rap here I love the way he tells his story just a great classic Dylan song 5/5
Queen Jane Approximately-
Another Dylan Classic with some moody vocals and guitar rifts along with Dylan's strange and haunting lyrics
Highway 61 Revisited-
I Actually got to see him perform this one live!
Great song tells a worldly story in under five minutes and has some great drum beats 5/5
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues-
This sound's like a type of Blue's Robert Johnson or John Lee Hooker would do just very moody with some great bass and guitar love Dylan's vocal and chorus here just wonderful 5/5
Desolation Row-
One of the top ten greatest written song's of all time, This is a perfect album closer one of the greatest song's ever crafted you must hear this one, MCR Did a mediocre remake but this 11 minute original is a masterpiece of music 5/5
Dylan is my favorite artists I got this a little before my junior year was over and it changed a lot of my perspectives on music I love this album to death it's worth a listen for any music lovers
Music, History, English Class in one convenient package for 21st Century Kids on the Go
2009-09-13 - Bought for my 14 year old son at his request, its as good a summary of mid 60s state of the union as you're bound to find for the nano second attention generation. It still retains that sense of kick butt,tension-release exuberance. Demonstrates the value of alternate renditions of songs found on later bootlegs and live releases - nuances abound from version to version, all to our musical enjoyment. Assigned listening for this decade's students.
Revisited for the first time.
2009-05-10 - Only recently, more than four decades after its debut have I discovered this amazing album by Bob Dylan. The only song familiar to me is "Like a Rolling Stone", which I remember from the radio when I was a kid. It must sound incredible to longtime Dylan fans that someone who appreciates this music could have remained unaware of it for so long, but such things happen. And truthfully, at my age, it's importance in my life is going to be limited. But I have to say I was blown away by the originality, intelligence, and latent ideas contained in the lyrics of these songs. I think they are definitely poetry, many of them dream-images with symbolism to be pondered. There is something jarring rather than soothing about this poetry, but rather than being jarred into irritation, I felt as though I was being jarred into a more comprehensive and perceptive state of mind. The music which Dylan devised to go with these unique lyrics seems to serve the same purpose of prompting, not too gently, a state of mind receptive to some sort of unconscious communication. These are the impressions I experienced when I first listened to this album. Besides "Like a Rolling Stone", my other favorites were "Desolation Row", with its incredible cryptic lyrics which never seemed to end(but which I didn't want to end), and "Ballad of a Thin Man", a strange, strange little song which seemed to invade my psyche and take up residence. All this interest in Dylan was prompted by a more or less random curiosity which led me to watch the documentary, "No Direction Home". I'm not sure how I feel about Dylan as a person. Some web research I've done leads me to believe some of these songs were inspired by the desire to exact vengeance on those who have offended him. One of my favorites on this album, "Ballad of a Thin Man", is said to be a put-down of a newspaper interviewer who irritated Dylan with foolish questions. If so,I find that a little disappointing. But how I feel about such matters as that is not really pertinent to the quality of the songs and music, however they were inspired, except maybe as a caution against going overboard with reading meaning into them. Whether he was inspired by visionary insights or more mundane causes, he was very adroit at adapting these inspirations into imagery that leaves a strong mental impression on the listener. Dylan refused to let his fans force him into a niche, and quite rightly so, in my opinion. If, as has been said, he has constantly invented himself, then this album was one of his outstanding inventions.
Highway 61 Revisited
2009-03-24 - No one will agree on which Bob Dylan album is his best. He created such a vast number of songs in so many varying styles, some of which may appeal to someone more than others, that it is hard to lay down the judgment, "This Is Best."
That said, for me, this is Dylan's best electronic work. For the uninitiated, let me briefly give a little history: Dylan had started out as a folk singer/song-writer doing topical songs, "protest songs" as some called them. Whatever you want to call them, they were social in matter and perspective. (See, "Blowin in the Wind").
Ah, but wait. Dylan wanted a change. Around 1964-65 he began to write music you might say is a bit freer than his earlier material. In several interviews from the time, he says he was getting bored doing the whole solo guitar gig thing and wanted to work with a group, he wanted a different sound.
Alright, so he did an album called "Bringing it All Back Home," which is sort of half and half. Eleven songs on the album, seven are the new electronic sound--famously, "Maggie's Farm" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues"--and four are in the "old" style--"Mr. Tambourine Man," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."
Great music, it's a really fun album, but because it mixes styles, it doesn't exactly feel even. Still a gas to listen to.
But, later in 65, Dylan released this album, "Highway 61 Revisited." This album is pretty damn near perfect. Unlike its predecessor, it doesn't mix styles, but fully explores the electronic music Dylan had adopted. Moreover, it is not as long as its successor, "Blonde on Blonde," (which many people consider Dylan's best, and the third most important rock album of the era). "Highway 61 Revisited" thus gains a sort of balance which allows you, while listening, to absorb the music a bit more completely.
Now, my reasons for preferring this album are contained in what I have more or less described. Listening to this album is not just enjoyable, enlightening, almost spiritual, its easy--at least as easy as Dylan gets. Don't mistake me, I don't mean to say easy as in, not difficult, I mean easy as in, the album is smooth, its length manageable, its music potent while being well constructed--it flows well. One can become intimate with this album in ways I don't think it is possible to be with "Blonde on Blonde" (although I do love that album as well). This is a good album to get if you're interested in this particular style Dylan worked with. I only know a bit about the folk and pretty much nothing about his later work after "Blonde on Blonde," so for any info on that, you'll have to hunt it up yourself. But, if the electronic music is your scene, this is a great place to start.
I think I should add that I'm just a fan of Bob Dylan, and that any criticism of his work is out of my own meager brains. I don't presume to tell you what Bob Dylan thinks, or what you should think. I do hope that you'll enjoy the music.
