It was with "Freewheelin'", his second album, that Bob Dylan established himself as a great songwriter. Featured are all-time classics like "Blowin' In The Wind", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright". But some lesser known gems, such as "Bob Dylan's Dream", are also included. "Masters Of War" is at an anti-war song with Dylan at his most venomous and "Girl From The North Country" is one of his most beautiful romantic ballads.

This is a young, idealistic Dylan playing raw, stripped down folk music. But with witty, perceptive and extremely sardonic lyrics that take it to a whole new level. To see the glorious roots of the best songwriter of the last 50 years there is no better place to start than here.

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan starts out with the classic tune Blowin' in the wind and the rest of the songs are of the same quality. Dylan writes some amazing lyrics on this recording. He writes with a heartfelt sincerity that is not in the least phoney or forced. Nat Hentoff writes a short and informative essay on the record and then gives a synopsis to what all the songs mean to the singer. The only hang up is the lack of lyrics. That is a shame that they forgot to include this. This is certainly a timeless classic!

Released the year I was born, 1963, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" became the album which best represents a turbulent time in America. Put this cd on, for those of us who spent at least a part of our lives in those stormy years, the album evokes a lot of memories, and a lot of feelings, particularly about the America we could've become before Kennedy fell, before Viet Nam, before King fell, before we lost our innocense.

The first track "Blowin' in the Wind" became the anthem of the day, redone and popularized by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Yet the original carries such weight that did not carry over. "Girl from the North Country" is a peaceful sort of ballad, whose lyrics will remind you just briefly of "Scarborough Fair". Here we have Dylan in his acoustical element, just him, his guitar, and harmonica. "Masters of War" could've been directed at the White House, speaking directly to those who would go ahead and approve our nation's involvement in a hopeless war. Bluesy "Down the Highway" is next, perfect in it's simplicity. "Bob Dylan's Blues" starts off with Dylan talking, a bit about the song's origin, "written somewhere down the United States". "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" sees Dylan as the prophet, predicting the dark days to come. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is another simple song, but gentler. "Bob Dylan's Dream" is an awesome track, Dylan dreams a dream "concerning myself and the first few friends that I had". Beautiful, and poignant. "Oxford Town" is a country song, about the persecution of a black man. "Talkin' World War III Blues" starts off with Dylan dreaming yet again, "a bad dream", but "only in your head" says the doctor. Just an ambling sort of song, evocative of Arlo Guthrie. "Corrina, Corrina" is a slower sort of love ballad (a soft drum is added to the recording). "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance" is a kind of funny song, but good (once again just Dylan, his guitar, and harmonica). The closer "I Shall Be Free" is a story song, classical Dylan all the way, perhaps a bit more optimistic, which is a nice way to end the album.

There's a reason Dylan still registers on the mindset of us Americans who grew up in the 60's. That's because he spoke truth, life and of all those ordinary things. I strongly recommend this album.

In reviewing Bob Dylan's 1965 classic album Bringing All Back Home (you know, the one where he went electric) I noted that it seemed hard to believe now that both as to the performer as well as to what was being attempted that anyone would take umbrage at a performer using an electric guitar to tell a folk story (or any story for that matter). I further pointed out that it is not necessary to go into all the details of what or what did not happen with Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 to know that one should be glad, glad as hell, that Bob Dylan continued to listen to his own drummer and carry on a career based on electronic music.

Others have, endlessly, gone on about Bob Dylan's role as the voice of his generation (and mine), his lyrics and what they do or do not mean and his place in the rock or folk pantheons, or both. Here we are going back to the early days when there was no dispute that he had earned a place in the folk pantheon. The only real difference between the early stuff and the later electric stuff though is- the electricity. Dylan's extraordinary sense of words, language and word play has been a constant throughout his career. If much later ( in the 1990's) he gets a bit repetitious and a little gimmicky in order to stay "relevant" that is only much later after he had done more than his share to add to the language of music.

In this selection we have some outright folk classics that will endure for the ages like those of his early hero Woody Guthrie's have endured. Blowing in the Wind still sounds good and makes sense as an anthem of change - especially today when some serious social tasks remain to be accomplished. Yes, the answer my friend is blowing in the wind (and in other locales, as well). Also here showing Dylan's, sometimes disavowed, country roots is a very nice although Johnny Cash-less Girl From the North County. No anti-war song is more powerful than Masters of War- none. Anyone can write the easy peace songs about Where Have All The Flowers Gone and Give Peace a Chance but to really understand and really get mad about what we are up against you need to listen to this song. Pearl Jam covered it later for a reason- we still need to drive the warmongers from their marketplaces.

Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall hits right where you live, the lyrics could have come out of out of today's newspaper front pages (or Internet updates). The cover of the old blues classic Corrina, Corrina is fine. Another Dylan classic Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, about the never-ending subject of lost love and longing is as well. There are a few topical songs from that time that might not make sense today- but topicals by footloose troubadours have always been a part of the folk tradition-as it is safe to say is Mr. Dylan.

This brought me back to the time I was a Dj at WKDK in Newberry, South Carolina. The 33 record came in, I played it and was told to put it on the back shelf. To controversial for the time and place. I ended up with the record and played it until 33's faded out. Over the years I remembered that record and often wished I could play it again and then I found the CD on Amazon. The CD is exactly as I remember the record but a better quality. Anyone interested in the early Dylan and that time period should really get this CD, only to hear how Blowing in the Wind originally sounded before Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary made it popular.