"Infidels" actually was my first Bob Dylan album. I first got into music in Dec. 1980, because of John Lennon's murder. But, I only bought a few records here and there, throughout 1981 - early 1983. But, starting in Apr. 1983, I started to really pay attention to the music scene. Listening to the radio, following the charts, watching music videos and reading magazines. And later in 1983, I came upon Bob Dylan's "Infidels" album and "Jokerman" music video. And was hearing album tracks on my local rock radio station. And so I bought "Infidels", along with the current Genesis and Yes albums.
Such a great boxset, I pounced on this when it was first released. I didn't get into Dylan right away, probably not until 2010 or so. I'd pick up a few of the acclaimed albums like Blonde on Blonde or Highway 61 but still didn't go too deep. This box changed that for me. There is just too much great music here to talk about, but Time Out of Mind has been my favorite Dylan album when I discovered it in this set. Love "Not Dark Yet", such a beautiful song. Glad you were able to snag a copy! The Elvis box is another great box, a lot of albums that nobody talks about with some great tunes on them. See you on the Hoffman forums, as I said when you posted you had a youtube channel your username made me think of you!
Recently picked up Self Portrait as I've been filling out my Dylan vinyl collection and after reading about it and avoiding it for years it's become one of my favorite Dylan albums. I was hooked from All The Tired Horses to the end of the 2nd disc
Great to hear your thoughts! My introduction to Bob was hearing all the 60s records in a very short period of time, and then Knocked Out Loaded was released, which was a disappointment! But I wasn't deterred, and I now have every album on vinyl, even the ones I don't want to listen to. I also think that Time Out of Mind, Love & Theft and Rough and Rowdy Ways are right up there with his best work. Those ones plus the three 1965-'66 records, and Blood On the Tracks and Desire would all be in my top ten. As a footnote I'd have to say that I need stereo and mono of the 1965-'66 records because they're so different, but each is great in its own way.
@@GlenKellawayfromthebasement Absolutely! I have a vinyl copy of everything that came out in mono. I actually sold my stereo copies of his early records because I find the stereo separation of voice, guitar and harmonica makes it sound disjointed and weird. I also usually listen to the stereo of side one of Bringing It All Back Home, and the mono of side two. Maybe I'm not normal!
Well, that was a colossal work of sifting, Glen. It's as well that you already knew those albums backwards. Earlier this year, you provoked me with your enthusiasm into doing a deep dive into the man, and I missed two - 'Together through life' and 'Tempest.' Those will be my homework over the next few days. Until then, I generally liked Dylan but had not got my mind around him, and I appreciate him a lot more now. I would more or less go with your ranking, with a few exceptions. I cannot stand 'Modern Times,' and I think 'Pat Garrett' is a single that should be called 'Knocking on Heaven's Door.' I, actually, would swap 'Down in the Groove' with 'Modern Times' - I really liked it. 'Shadow Kingdom' wasn't out at the time of this review, and I think you might put it into the no.2 or 3 slot - and I wouldn't disagree. I absolutely loathed it on first listening and absolutely loved it on second. I would put it in at a potential no.3, moving 'Blood on the Tracks' up to no.2 and kicking 'John Wesley Harding' down the charts. 700 songs or something, very few awful ones, quite a few fillers, lots of good ones, and probably approaching 100 classics. Actually, he probably has more classic songs than The Beatles, although The Beatles were more adventurous in developing the structure of contemporary music overall. Dylan pretty well sticks with verse-chorus, verse-chorus until the words run out, except on 'Blonde on Blonde.' Quite the feast!
Great to see your ranking, Glen. I've still got a lot of his albums to get through, so nice to see which ones I should especially look forward to. I really enjoy John Wesley Harding, great to see it ranked so high on your list.
Thanks for all the hard work. I'm going through the whole catalog again to get another perspective. I'm currently very much "down" in the groove ... I'm young enough to be biased towards his later work but I'm not. All the "recovery" albums like Oh Mercy, Time out of Mind, Modern Times or Love & Theft or the recent efforts of Rough & Rowdy ways ... they just don't do it for me. They are obviously not bad albums but lyrics alone aren't sufficient for me and melodically (and vocally) the later Dylan is not on par with his younger self. The great albums come from the 60s era and the mid 70s duplet, which I only discovered 20-30 years after their release. Now I'm totally with you on JWH being a masterpiece. This album somehow is not high on everyone's list and I blame it on the title.
Man, Christmas at the bottom! I should have known. I think my bottom two would be the folk albums from the 90s. Blonde on Blonde, no surprise there, haha. Self Portrait was made so much better thanks to the Bootleg Series. Take care, I enjoyed this one!
Much like you (even though I'm 66), many of my favs are from the last 30 years, as opposed to his first 30 years. Infidels is # 1. Nice, exhaustive, thought out, and personal review. I'll be spinning Bob tomorrow.
Hi Glen, A really good ranking of Bob's studio albums . I find myself listening a lot more to all The Bootleg Series to fully appreciate his fantastic songs. Even your lower ranked albums sound far better on The Bootleg Series 16 , without the 1980's awful production . Blood On The Tracks, Planet Waves, Street Legal, Desire , Slow Train Coming , Infidels , are my own personal studio favourites.
Hi Glen!!! Wooow that boxset has to be the biggest one so far, 45 records!!! Fun fact and hard to believe, Judas Priest (the metal band) took their name from that Dylan song..... Cheers and be well
Wow well done for ranking all them Glen, very awesome! Here are my top 5 Bob Dylan albums: Honourable mention-Rough And Rowdy Ways (2020) & Planet Waves (1974) 5-Time Out Of Mind (1997) 4-Blood On The Tracks (1975) 3-Bringing It All Back Home (1965) 2-Blonde On Blonde (1966) 1-Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
I was thinking about doing this same ranking but after watching your video, I realized I don't have one of his albums, Dylan and the Dead. I enjoyed your ranking but I would probably have Infidels higher up, Rough And Rowdy Ways a little lower and of course Blood On The Tracks at number one. For me, Under The Red Sky is still last in my opinion. I do love "Brownsville Girl" on Knocked Out Loaded which lifts it a little higher.
Great video There is enough Beatles channels all talking about the same thing to sink a ship There needs to be more channels talking about artists you can check out
Saved was a letdown after Slow Train. I agree about Basement Tape's. I really like Live at Budokahn. Hard Rain was a letdown for me. When I picked up Self Portrait, I didn't care for it still do not. Love Slow Train. Street Legal is good. My top three would be Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, and Blood On The Tracks. Great video Glen.
His Christmas album would rank last for me too, but I hate Christmas music. Bizarrely, I like Empire Burlesque. MTV Unplugged is really fantastic. Oddly, I would put Nashville Skyline way way down the list. Your #1 is my #1!
Knocked Out and Dylan and the Dead are at the bottom for me. The Knocked Out cover was like that on the LP. I actually like a lot of Saved (but it does sound rather tired) and Red Sky has grown on me. Never liked the original Basement album either and I don't know if I've even made it all the way through the official and unofficial boxes. Yes, the crooner albums are beautiful and got me into more Sinatra. New Morning and Planet Waves were the first two Dylan albums I bought. Blonde on Blonde will always be my favorite and "Sooner or Later" is my favorite Dylan song, period.
Rankings like this are always an undertaking. That's for putting it together.
"Infidels" actually was my first Bob Dylan album. I first got into music in Dec. 1980, because of John Lennon's murder. But, I only bought a few records here and there, throughout 1981 - early 1983. But, starting in Apr. 1983, I started to really pay attention to the music scene. Listening to the radio, following the charts, watching music videos and reading magazines. And later in 1983, I came upon Bob Dylan's "Infidels" album and "Jokerman" music video. And was hearing album tracks on my local rock radio station. And so I bought "Infidels", along with the current Genesis and Yes albums.
That is such a great starting point…if you can’t dig Jokerman, I have no hope for you..
I love infidels! Jokerman, sweetheart like you and don't fall apart on me are all masterpieces !
Such a great boxset, I pounced on this when it was first released. I didn't get into Dylan right away, probably not until 2010 or so. I'd pick up a few of the acclaimed albums like Blonde on Blonde or Highway 61 but still didn't go too deep. This box changed that for me. There is just too much great music here to talk about, but Time Out of Mind has been my favorite Dylan album when I discovered it in this set. Love "Not Dark Yet", such a beautiful song.
Glad you were able to snag a copy! The Elvis box is another great box, a lot of albums that nobody talks about with some great tunes on them. See you on the Hoffman forums, as I said when you posted you had a youtube channel your username made me think of you!
Thanks Mike👍❤it is an awesome..appreciate you coming to the channel..
Great job on this, Glen. Definitely not an easy task, although you made it look very easy.
I always the top ten and bottom ten are the easiest..it’s the middle that always has me second guessing myself
Recently picked up Self Portrait as I've been filling out my Dylan vinyl collection and after reading about it and avoiding it for years it's become one of my favorite Dylan albums. I was hooked from All The Tired Horses to the end of the 2nd disc
Great to hear your thoughts! My introduction to Bob was hearing all the 60s records in a very short period of time, and then Knocked Out Loaded was released, which was a disappointment! But I wasn't deterred, and I now have every album on vinyl, even the ones I don't want to listen to.
I also think that Time Out of Mind, Love & Theft and Rough and Rowdy Ways are right up there with his best work. Those ones plus the three 1965-'66 records, and Blood On the Tracks and Desire would all be in my top ten. As a footnote I'd have to say that I need stereo and mono of the 1965-'66 records because they're so different, but each is great in its own way.
Agree n the stereo and mono..I love the mono box set..it’s essential for Dylan fans..
@@GlenKellawayfromthebasement Absolutely! I have a vinyl copy of everything that came out in mono. I actually sold my stereo copies of his early records because I find the stereo separation of voice, guitar and harmonica makes it sound disjointed and weird. I also usually listen to the stereo of side one of Bringing It All Back Home, and the mono of side two. Maybe I'm not normal!
Great ranking video. Blonde is my #1 as well.
Thanks Tom..it is an amazing record..
Loved every minute of this, Glen. My top 3 are 1. Blonde on Blonde, 2. Highwat 61 3. The Freewheelin'. Great video!
Wow Richard….thank you..love your top three❤❤❤❤👍
Well, that was a colossal work of sifting, Glen. It's as well that you already knew those albums backwards.
Earlier this year, you provoked me with your enthusiasm into doing a deep dive into the man, and I missed two - 'Together through life' and 'Tempest.' Those will be my homework over the next few days.
Until then, I generally liked Dylan but had not got my mind around him, and I appreciate him a lot more now.
I would more or less go with your ranking, with a few exceptions. I cannot stand 'Modern Times,' and I think 'Pat Garrett' is a single that should be called 'Knocking on Heaven's Door.'
I, actually, would swap 'Down in the Groove' with 'Modern Times' - I really liked it.
'Shadow Kingdom' wasn't out at the time of this review, and I think you might put it into the no.2 or 3 slot - and I wouldn't disagree. I absolutely loathed it on first listening and absolutely loved it on second.
I would put it in at a potential no.3, moving 'Blood on the Tracks' up to no.2 and kicking 'John Wesley Harding' down the charts.
700 songs or something, very few awful ones, quite a few fillers, lots of good ones, and probably approaching 100 classics. Actually, he probably has more classic songs than The Beatles, although The Beatles were more adventurous in developing the structure of contemporary music overall. Dylan pretty well sticks with verse-chorus, verse-chorus until the words run out, except on 'Blonde on Blonde.'
Quite the feast!
Great to see your ranking, Glen. I've still got a lot of his albums to get through, so nice to see which ones I should especially look forward to. I really enjoy John Wesley Harding, great to see it ranked so high on your list.
I love JWH..such a contrast to the records that preceded it..very refreshing..
Thanks for all the hard work. I'm going through the whole catalog again to get another perspective. I'm currently very much "down" in the groove ...
I'm young enough to be biased towards his later work but I'm not. All the "recovery" albums like Oh Mercy, Time out of Mind, Modern Times or Love & Theft or the recent efforts of Rough & Rowdy ways ... they just don't do it for me. They are obviously not bad albums but lyrics alone aren't sufficient for me and melodically (and vocally) the later Dylan is not on par with his younger self. The great albums come from the 60s era and the mid 70s duplet, which I only discovered 20-30 years after their release.
Now I'm totally with you on JWH being a masterpiece. This album somehow is not high on everyone's list and I blame it on the title.
Cool rankings! My #1 is Slow Train Coming.Yes, Saved was a huge disappointment for me as the followup.
Slow Train Coming is awesome..
I'm a bit late to the party, but great ranking list.
I agree with a lot of your comments.
Thanks
Man, Christmas at the bottom! I should have known. I think my bottom two would be the folk albums from the 90s. Blonde on Blonde, no surprise there, haha. Self Portrait was made so much better thanks to the Bootleg Series. Take care, I enjoyed this one!
Thanks Sam..
Much like you (even though I'm 66), many of my favs are from the last 30 years, as opposed to his first 30 years. Infidels is # 1. Nice, exhaustive, thought out, and personal review. I'll be spinning Bob tomorrow.
Thank you!!! Infidels is so good..
Hi Glen, A really good ranking of Bob's studio albums . I find myself listening a lot more to all The Bootleg Series to fully appreciate his fantastic songs. Even your lower ranked albums sound far better on The Bootleg Series 16 , without the 1980's awful production . Blood On The Tracks, Planet Waves, Street Legal, Desire , Slow Train Coming , Infidels , are my own personal studio favourites.
The Bootleg Series is simply amazing..love your personal favs👍❤glen
Before The Flood is awesome as well. Would love to get the Real Carnegie Hall as well
Hi Glen!!! Wooow that boxset has to be the biggest one so far, 45 records!!! Fun fact and hard to believe, Judas Priest (the metal band) took their name from that Dylan song..... Cheers and be well
That is an interesting fact..never knew that..thanks Cristian..glen
I have a soft spot for Budokan and Hard Rain as well
Wow well done for ranking all them Glen, very awesome! Here are my top 5 Bob Dylan albums:
Honourable mention-Rough And Rowdy Ways (2020) & Planet Waves (1974)
5-Time Out Of Mind (1997)
4-Blood On The Tracks (1975)
3-Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
2-Blonde On Blonde (1966)
1-Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
You picked five incredible albums there Adam👍❤
I was thinking about doing this same ranking but after watching your video, I realized I don't have one of his albums, Dylan and the Dead. I enjoyed your ranking but I would probably have Infidels higher up, Rough And Rowdy Ways a little lower and of course Blood On The Tracks at number one. For me, Under The Red Sky is still last in my opinion. I do love "Brownsville Girl" on Knocked Out Loaded which lifts it a little higher.
You don’t need Dylan and The Dead..trust me..
Glen i really love Tombstone Blues and Lily Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts!
Great tunes!!!
Great video There is enough Beatles channels all talking about the same thing to sink a ship There needs to be more channels talking about artists you can check out
Saved was a letdown after Slow Train. I agree about Basement Tape's. I really like Live at Budokahn. Hard Rain was a letdown for me. When I picked up Self Portrait, I didn't care for it still do not. Love Slow Train. Street Legal is good. My top three would be Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, and Blood On The Tracks. Great video Glen.
Love your top three..I thought I would catch some flack on the Basement Tapes but surprise..people are agreeing with me..
His Christmas album would rank last for me too, but I hate Christmas music. Bizarrely, I like Empire Burlesque. MTV Unplugged is really fantastic. Oddly, I would put Nashville Skyline way way down the list. Your #1 is my #1!
I would love a Dylan&The Dead bootleg series ✌🇬🇧
Yes..there must be some gems there somewhere..
When you got Hard Rain that low i was out.
Knocked Out and Dylan and the Dead are at the bottom for me. The Knocked Out cover was like that on the LP. I actually like a lot of Saved (but it does sound rather tired) and Red Sky has grown on me. Never liked the original Basement album either and I don't know if I've even made it all the way through the official and unofficial boxes. Yes, the crooner albums are beautiful and got me into more Sinatra. New Morning and Planet Waves were the first two Dylan albums I bought. Blonde on Blonde will always be my favorite and "Sooner or Later" is my favorite Dylan song, period.
We think alike ..except I can’t do Sinatra..lol…
like
I am really confused I thought you were rating Bob Dylan albums.