The Essential Bob Dylan

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The two discs of The Essential Bob Dylan don't exactly provide a thorough overview of four decades of recording by one of the most important and prolific performers of his time. So the collection definitely skates over his leagues-deep oeuvre, summarizing his monumental first half-dozen years in disc one and skirting over the following 34 years in disc two. Delving into Columbia's three Dylan greatest-hits packages, Essential offers only a few surprises, opting for The Basement Tapes version of "Quinn The Eskimo" over the Self Portrait remake that made it onto Greatest Hits Volume II and tossing in "Things Have Changed" from the Wonder Boys soundtrack for completists. But this overview is designed with newcomers, not Dylan-ologists, in mind. --Steven Stolder

---

Customer reviews

review by: Alice Collector date: 2008-05-04 rating:
For once Essential is right
In the beginning the way into Dylan was via Peter Paul & Mary,the Turtles,the Byrds and Johnny Cash.
And commercially electric Dylan was just right.
This CD is just a sampler and introduction to the Art of Dylan.If you want more you get the original albums on CD.All but one have been on catalog since CDs began.
My favorite Dylan song is Can you please crawl out your window.
Thus this double CD would only be of interest if there was a booklet with it and its by no means the only one of its kind as the most recent-titled DYLAN and in 3 different editions -comes with a picture book.
Today's Dylan collector needs plenty of money and plenty of room

---

review by: kennyb63 date: 2007-11-08 rating:
Introducing Mr Zimmerman
I have collected a number of albums from this series for one of two reasons, either to have a collection for the car or secondly to explore artists in which I have a casual interest. The essential series does this very well indeed.

My knowledge of Dylan was poor and I really never gave the man a chance but upon listening to this double set a few times I am converted. The songs are outstanding from start to finish. I have not become a Dylan obsessive but I recognise that he has written some outstanding songs in his meandering career. I also discovered that they are best sung by Dylan, yes his voice isn't the greatest nor is his guitar playing but that's hardly the point.

There are too many high points to mention but discovering familiar songs in their original form is thrilling, from the early Guthriesque protest songs though "Judas" era band backed records his mastery of the form is apparent.

A great introduction to an enigmatic artist.

---

review by: RUEBEN AMOS RUNACRE date: 2007-09-01 rating:
BEST SELECTION POSSIBLE.
Bob Dylan in my opinion is a songwriting poetic genius and his songs are timeless. Being a completest I own all of his albums, however, if I had to purchase just one then it would be without doubt this one. Two cds and the cream of his recording career. Although I own just about everything he ever produced. I regularly play this cd and it is a great introduction for anyone considering starting a collection or who can only afford one album of each artiste.

---

review by: date: 2007-05-25 rating:
not a particularly imaginative collection

I'm a great fan of Dylan, but I always feel that he's poorly served by compilations like this. It's the kind of thing you buy if you just want a few bite-sized mouthfuls of an artist's work, and you're pretty sure you won't be wanting to go any deeper than that. If that's all you're looking for from Dylan then fair enough, you'll probably find this adequate. But you'll get a much more rewarding and well-rounded introduction to Dylan if you spend a little bit more money and buy a few of his best albums instead.

I would describe this as a 'best-known' rather than a 'best-of' compilation: I mean, it mainly consists of tracks that were released as singles, and also of songs that are well-known to the general public through cover versions by other artists. The problem is that Dylan's singles are not always his best work, and in many cases are not very representative of the rest of his material. There are great songs on here, of course -- eg 'Positively 4th Street' is definitive mid-60s Dylan; 'Like a Rolling Stone' is arguably the greatest rock single ever, by anybody -- but given the wealth of Dylan's back catalogue some of what they've chosen for this collection is actually a bit ordinary. 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?', from 1965, is a disjointed-sounding piece that lumbers along for four minutes without ever really hitting a groove; it's not a patch on the album material he was recording at around the same time. 'I Want You' is one of the weaker, 'poppier', tracks on the wonderful 'Blonde on Blonde' album from 1966. 'Everything is Broken', likewise, is not a particularly inspiring advert for the generally excellent 'Oh Mercy', from 1989. To take another example, 'Dignity', which was recorded for the same album but not released until 1994, is a muddy, laboured-sounding midtempo shuffle that takes six minutes to go nowhere in particular.

There are a few intelligent and unexpected choices on this compilation, most notably 'Blind Willie McTell', an outtake from the 1983 'Infidels' album. Also, 'Not Dark Yet' is an outstanding track from 1997's 'Time out of Mind', one of his best songs. On the whole, though, I think the best way to get an appreciation of Dylan's work is to buy a few of his best albums and listen to those. (My own recommendations, just for the record, would be, in order of release: Freewheelin'; Highway 61 Revisited; Blonde on Blonde; Blood on the Tracks; Desire; Time out of Mind.) You can pick them up for a couple of quid each these days, so it's not likely to break anybody's bank account. And they contain classic, career-defining material that hardly ever gets included on collections like this.




review by: He's the strongest, he's the quickest, he's the best! date: 2007-03-14 rating:
The best two CDs in my collection
I was introduced to Bob Dylan through the Beatles (not in person obviously - although that would have been nice!)

I started listening to Dylan and could instantly understand why he is held in such high regard, I'd never heard poetry like it.

This album is the perfect stepping stone for someone (like I was) who has little knowledge of Bob Dylan's work. It introduces you to some of his most melodic and well known tracks and hopefully hooks you to explore his other work.

Bob Dylan has one of the biggest back catalogues of albums, he tried different styles (not to everyone's delight) and as a result there is such a rich collection of his music to be enjoyed.

As I said before, this album is a perfect way to introduce someone to him, my favourite tracks are Tangled up in Blue and Knocking on Heaven's Door, amongst others.

There are no weak songs on here, if I could only ever listen to one album - this would be it. The songs are emotive, often political, and often tell a great story. This is music at its very best.

---

Similar products

The Essential Leonard Cohen
Experience Hendrix
Legend: Remastered
Blood on the Tracks
Modern Times

---

Similar categories

Music . Special Features . Bargain CDs . All Bargain CDs
Music . Special Features . Bargain CDs . The Best of the Best
Music . Styles . Pop . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Rock . Greatest Hits
Music . Styles . Rock . Classic Rock . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Rock . Classic Rock . Greatest Hits
Music . Styles . Rock . Classic Rock . Classic American Rock
Music . Styles . Rock . Classic Rock . Folk Rock
Music . Styles . Rock . General AAS
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Singer-songwriters
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Male Vocalists
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Pop Rock
Music . Styles . Country . Country Rock
Music . Styles . World & Folk . Folk Bestsellers
Music . Styles . World & Folk . American Folk
Music . Styles . World & Folk . General AAS
Music . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . CD . CD Album

---