Bob Dylan (1962)

Now, a very great man once said

That some people rob you with a fountain pen

1. You're No Good
Bob Dylan / James Fuller 1:40

2. Talkin' New York
Bob Dylan 3:20

3. In My Time of Dyin'
Blind Willie Johnson / Traditional 2:40

4. Man of Constant Sorrow
Traditional 3:10

5. Fixin' to Die
Booker T. Washington White / Bukka White 2:22

6. Pretty Peggy-O
Bob Dylan / Traditional 3:23

7. Highway 51 Blues
Curtis Jones 2:52

8. Gospel Plow
Traditional 1:47

9. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down
Rev. Gary Davis / Eric Von Schmidt 2:37

10. House of the Risin' Sun
Terry Holmes / Traditional / Booker T. Washington White 5:20

11. Freight Train Blues
Mississippi Fred McDowell 2:18

12. Song to Woody
Bob Dylan 2:42

13. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Blind Lemon Jefferson 2:43


Review: Released a couple months before he turned 21, Bob Dylan's self-titled debut is striking in a number of ways.  The first is his method of singing: His voice, as it should, sounds younger than on any other of his albums.  It is higher, less raspy, less nasally, still unique but more typical of the folk singers of the day.  He still sounds gruff at times on it, but the gruff sounds on purpose - Dylan sounds as though he is purposefully trying to rasp/deepen his voice at times on many of the tracks.  He is trying to emulate the blues singers that he admired.  Indeed, this album can form a trilogy along with Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong which came along 30 years later.  All of these albums are largely comprised of covers (the latter 2 entirely so) and have other similarities: the gruff, raspy voice (on the latter 2, not on purpose but due to decades of wear and tear), and the only accompaniment being self played acoustic guitar and heavy harmonica use.

Indeed, of the 13 tracks, only 'Talkin' New York' and 'Song To Woody' are wholly original compositions.  Bob gives himself partial arrangement credits on 'You're No Good' and 'Pretty Peggy-o', and the rest are straight covers or Traditional songs.  The most famous is surely 'The House of the Risin' Sun,' made famous by 'The Animals' a short time later.  Bob's version is, as expected on this wholly acoustic affair, laid back, but nonetheless an impressive sign of Bob's ability to interpret songs.

The other notable songs on the album are 'Song To Woody', which has now shown up on some compilation albums,   The song is a warm, pleasant, plaintive dedication to his mentor Woody Guthrie "and to Cisco and to Sonny and to Leadbelly too."  Bob would revive the song for some fine renditions during his later touring years, notably in 2000.  The melody is lifted from one of Guthrie's own songs, but still it stands as the most promising sign of Bob's talent at this point.

So what of the rest of the album?  'Talkin' New York' is Bob's first stab at the "Talkin' Blues", and its not bad at all.  He would improve upon this with 'Talkin Bear Mountain Massacre Blues' and 'Talkin John Birch Paranoid Blues' which he wrote a short time after.

Looking at the song titles, the album seems preoccupied with death: 'In My Time of Dyin,' 'Man of Constant Sorrow,' 'Fixin to Die,' 'Gospel Plow,' 'House..,' and the closer 'See That My Grave is Kept Clean.'  A bit dire for a man not yet 21?  Still, he is emulating the bluesmen of the day, and what better topic to be down about than death?  'Constant Sorrow' and 'Baby Let Me Follow You Down' are well done renditions of songs that would later show up in his live setlists.  In the case of 'Baby,' as soon as famous his 1965/1966 World Tour, of course in an electric arrangement.  It would then largely disappear.  'Constant Sorrow' made a brief, but welcome, appearance in 2002 as a rip-roaring distorted electric riff.

The rest of the album is largely forgettable, if unoffensive.

One of the other more striking things about the album is the harmonica: How often it appears and how well played it is.  The harp has long been recognized as the only instrument Bob had any sort of unique acumen for (guitar?  piano?  more on that in future posts), and at this early stage Bob was able to play harp interludes that were some of his more melodious.  That being said, he still showed his tendency that would hold true throughout his career to linger and whine on a single note well after the note overstayed its welcome.

Overall, a fine effort, but it really doesn't come close to hint at the legendary folk classics he was about to start writing and recording (Blowin in the Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin'), much less his epic mid 60s electric rock records that he would put out just a few years later.

Rating:  6/10 ****** / **********     

Best Song: Song To Woody

Best 3-Track Run: Talkin' New York / In My Time of Dyin' / Man of Constant Sorrow


Steven Sroczynski is an author and attorney from Massachusetts.  He can be reached at Steve.Sroczynski@gmail.com


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