Friday, April 9, 2010

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits (Volume I)

I was doing my usual today, driving down I-65 for a couple of hours, for which I need music of my own for the 90 minutes or so I'm out of range of decent radio (no sattelite radio for me yet). I'd brought along Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, which I played. (Man, is than one short CD--35-40 minutes, max). Ten songs, which are (albums, with links, in parentheses):

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (Blond on Blond)
"Blowin' in the Wind" (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan)
"The Times They Are a-Changin'" (The Times They Are a-Changin')
"It Ain't Me Babe" (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
"Like a Rolling Stone" (Highway 61 Revisited)
"Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bringin' It All Back Home)
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" (Bringin' It All Back Home)
"I Want You" (Blond on Blond)
"Positively 4th Street" (not previously released on an album)
"Just Like a Woman" (Blond on Blond)

Now, that's quite the set of music. But as I listened to it, I thought, you know, it'd be possible to do another 10 songs, from the same period (i.e., nothing past Blond on Blond), and it'd be easy enough to call that his greatest hits, too. So I thought I'd try it. Here's the rules: Same number of songs from each of the same albums; nothing that was subsequently released on Greatest Hits, Vol. II (which, from these albums, would rule out "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again," "All I Really Want to Do," "My Back Pages," "Maggie's Farm," "She Belongs To Me," "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."

So that's three from Blond on Blond, two from Bringing It All Back Home, one each from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin', Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Highway 61 Revisited, and one previously unreleased. Hmmm...leaving out the things on GHII could make this tricky.

So, three from Blond on Blond.
"Visions of Johanna"
"Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine"
"Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"

Two from Bringin' It All Back Home:
"Gates of Eden"
"It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding"


One from Freewheelin':
"Masters of War" (that was easy)

One from The Times They Are A-Changin':
"One Two Many Mornings"

One from Another Side...:
"Chimes of Freedom" (probably the weakest song so far)

One from Highway 61...:
"Highway 61 Revisited" (although I'd be happy to take "Desolation Row," too, or "Tombstone Blues")

One unreleased:
"Farewell, Angelina"

So let's line them up:

"Visions of Johanna"
"Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine"
"Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"

"Gates of Eden"
"It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding"
"Masters of War"
"One Two Many Mornings"
"Chimes of Freedom"

"Highway 61 Revisited"
"Farewell, Angelina"
Bonus tracks:
"Desolation Row"
"Tombstone Blues"

I'd buy it.

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