"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" - 1963

Suze Rotolo. That's the woman in the picture on the album cover with Bob. I had to know that. If you're anything like me, you wondered too. If you're a LOT like me, you've also Googled it. For a long time, when I'd see this album cover, I for some reason assumed it was Joan Baez, but in doing this deep-dive I realized Suze doesn't look anything like Joan.

Suze was in a relationship with Bob from 1961-1964. Dylan has acknowledged her impact on his career and writing during that time period. It may be pushing it too far to use the word "muse." Or it may not. But it does feel a little sexist, doesn't it? So we'll leave that alone. Rotolo was an artist/author and something of an activist. She passed away in 2011.

There's a lot more to their relationship. Some of it gets dark and sad. And Joan Baez' name comes up as more than an assumption. I would imagine Bob probably doesn't like to talk about any of that too often. Who would? I would imagine Suze's family enjoys it even less. It can be hard to separate the art and the artist, especially when they appear in photos on the album cover that maybe should've stayed private. But it was something that felt like it belonged on this blog. I think I might be writing a very poorly researched, very long form and stupid biography here.

So. Now that we've got all that out of the way...

I wrote that I was stunned by Bob's first album. The only phrase I can think of for his second is "blown away."  By album number two, which came out ONE YEAR after his first, he gave us "Blowin' in the Wind" and was the fully formed Dylan we all know and love. Except... I've been surprised to find that I don't hear "the Dylan voice" showing up in a real way at this point. Everybody has a Dylan impression, and some of them are even well-meaning. We all know what I mean by "the Dylan voice." But it's not present on his early albums. In fact...was it only really a thing on "Blonde on Blonde?" We're not there yet, but I feel like he put on "the voice" as almost a character choice for "Rainy Day Women #13 & 35" and it just kinda ran away from him.

But I digress.

This is a great album. It's a go-to for a huge part of the fanbase, and deservedly so.This is probably the earliest Bob Dylan that comes to mind for most people. It's a beautiful recording. By album #2, he was DYLAN.

While the first album was majority traditional/cover songs, this album is mostly Dylan's own material. Eleven of the thirteen songs were penned by Bob, including a personal favorite in "Girl from the North Country" (which I'd previously thought was a Simon & Garfunkel song, mixing it up with "Scarborough Fair," which even THEY didn't write--although the two melodies are very similar). It would turn out that giving Bob the keys to the car would drive the success of the album. The first album initially sold only 5,000 copies, resulting in the record label wanting to drop Dylan's contract. On the strength of Bob's own songs, "Freewheelin'" would reach #22 on the US charts, eventually selling a million copies. That should've been impossible.

What do record companies ever know about anything?

Favorite Tracks:

• "Blowin' in the Wind" of course. Likely a bigger hit for Peter, Paul, & Mary. But I like Bob's version better.
• "Girl from the North Country" - I think I probably heard Pete Townshend's version of this song a decade or so before I heard Bob's own. I've been a big Who fan since I was 9. I knew Pete didn't write it, but I didn't know Bob did until years later. I've loved every version of this song I've heard, which is a big compliment to Bob--it's a song so good you have to go out of your way to fuck it up.
• "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" - Bob was 21 when he wrote this song--one of the more complex pieces of lyrical structure you could ask for. A friend of mine recently made reference to this song alongside the Bible verse: "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." I don't think Bob meant to do that. I think he just stumbled on a deep truth that every thinker has had to wrestle with. Frankly, I like Bob's phrasing better. It's the RAIN that's hard...
• "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" - In the liner notes, Bob writes: "It isn't a love song. It's a statement that maybe you can say to make yourself feel better. It's as if you were talking to yourself." I like that.
• "Bob Dylan's Dream" - It was only in researching this post that I learned the melody is from a traditional song (with which I am obviously unfamiliar) called "Lady Franklin's Lament." Regardless, it's a song about missing people who are important to you. And I get that.
• "I Shall Be Free" - I know people are divided on this song. I like it, especially in the overall context of the album. The whole album is filled with deep questions and the weight of an uncertain relationship. This song right at the end is a little bit of a lighthearted falling action. It feels appropriate to take some of the weight off the rest of the album right at the end.

This is one of just about everybody's favorite Dylan records. There's a reason. If you haven't heard it, or if it's been a long time, go out of your way to spin it soon. You'll be surprised--in your head you'll hear a full band but when you pay attention you realize it's just a guitar and a vocal microphone. Great listen, man.