60 Years of 'Highway 61'--Still the Greatest Album Ever

Listen to the entire album--with alternate takes. Plus a fun new interactive roadtrip with the album. And our usual cartoons.

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Iowa’s Joni Ernst won’t seek reelection next year: Oh, hell yes, this gives the Dems an open seat, as excitement grows over a strong challenger to Susan (“I’m Concerned”) Collins in Maine and the return of Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

‘Highway 61 Revisited’ Revisited

Was reminded today by an email from Bob’s handlers that today is the 60th anniversary of the release of his, and in my view, anyone’s greatest album, ‘Highway 61 Revisited.’ I tend to confuse its arrival with the coming of “Like a Rolling Stone,” which emerged with a rim shot a couple of months earlier and was still on the charts. That single and the album proved life-changing for me, but that’s another story. Instead you might want to check out this cool new interactive take-a-road-trip-down-Highway 61 feature, courtesy of Bob site.

Okay, here we go, revisiting the album via alt-takes, same running order as the original. Of course they feature Mike Bloomfield on burning guitar, Al Kooper on organ, Paul Griffin with stunning piano etc. Nothing like most of this had ever been heard before on record, instrumentally and verbally. And it’s a real rock ‘n roll record—with so little real guitar rock out today this is really an epic “throwback.”

Track #1: This brief piano-based fragment of “Like a Rolling Stone” has been around awhile but still a nice way to ease into things.

Now a full-fledged alternate version of same, perhaps startling in spots since you’ve heard the released cut so many times.

Just for fun—you can put this on a loop and play it all day in background—the entire song with isolated piano and bass only.

Track #2: “Tombstone Blues.” Bloomfield playing so hot that Bob has to end it a little early and jokes that maybe they need to “put a wall up” to block Bloomy’s sound a bit.

Track #3: This “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” version lies somewhere between other takes that were a little slower or faster.

Track #4 “From a Buick 6,” certainly one of the hardest-driving rockers ever by anyone.

Track 5: The “Ballad of a Thin Man,” fantastic until it breaks down at end. Somewhere something is starting to happen here but we still don’t know what it is.

Most of a live version of same, with The Hawks (later The Band), as they get hooted by audience.

Track 6 (opening of second side of vinyl album): “Queen Jane Approximately,” never my favorite cut but in a more sprightly version here.

Track 7: “Highway 61” blasts your ears off and still witty.

Track 8: And the classics keep on coming, with “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

Track 9: Two versions of the epic “Desolation Row.” First, a short piano demo.

Now, an alternate electric version, with Al Kooper on electric guitar (versus the more acoustic “Spanish” guitar on the released version). One can imagine after a Trump fascist takeover that they would indeed be selling postcards of the hangings and painting passports brown. Not to mention blindedd commissioners.

From Tunes to Toons

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