Bob Dylan, explored
‹ Going Electric
Cover of Highway 61 Revisited

1965 · a landmark

Highway 61 Revisited

Going Electric · 1965–1966

Listen to the album

Why it matters

Recorded mostly with a full electric band including Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, it opened with Like a Rolling Stone and closed with the eleven-minute Desolation Row. It is the album where his folk-rock sound arrived fully formed, mixing blues with sprawling, sardonic storytelling.

The album began in June 1965 with "Like a Rolling Stone", produced by Tom Wilson; Bob Johnston took over for the rest of the summer sessions in New York. Mike Bloomfield's stinging blues guitar and Al Kooper's organ, which he improvised on a song he barely knew, define much of the sound, a rough, ringing mix of Chicago blues and rock and roll. Between the sessions came the Newport Folk Festival, where Dylan's electric set split his audience. The record is named after the highway that runs from his home state of Minnesota down through the Mississippi Delta, and it is full of grotesque characters, absurd scenes and biting humor. It closes with a long, mostly acoustic song, its guitar part played by Charlie McCoy. Released at the end of August 1965, it was hailed as a landmark, and many still rank it as his greatest album.

Track list · 9 songs

  1. 1Like a Rolling Stone
  2. 2Tombstone Blues
  3. 3It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
  4. 4From a Buick 6
  5. 5Ballad of a Thin Man
  6. 6Queen Jane Approximately
  7. 7Highway 61 Revisited
  8. 8Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
  9. 9Desolation Row

Where its songs lead

Like a Rolling Stone · Covered byLike a Rolling StoneJimi Hendrix · 1967Jimi Hendrix performed the song at Monterey Pop in June 1967.Like a Rolling Stone · Covered byLike a Rolling StoneThe Rolling Stones · 1995The Rolling Stones released the song as a single from their 1995 live album Stripped.Highway 61 Revisited · Covered byHighway 61 RevisitedJohnny Winter · 1969Johnny Winter made the song a slide-guitar showcase on Second Winter in 1969.Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues · Covered byJust Like Tom Thumb’s BluesNina Simone · 1969Nina Simone included the song on a 1969 album built largely on contemporary songwriters.Desolation Row · Covered byDesolation RowMy Chemical Romance · 2009My Chemical Romance cut a fast punk version for the 2009 Watchmen soundtrack.Like a Rolling Stone · Same theme asIdiot Wind1975Both are long, furious songs aimed at a single person.

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