Bob Dylan fans are pointing A Complete Unknown viewers towards an album they believe is the best place to start in his discography.
The Timothée Chalamet-starring film has caused a social media boom of interest in Dylan’s work, and those who watched the movie are wondering where best to begin with his catalogue of work. Dylan, whose most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, released in 2020, is in no short supply of genre stylings, influential pieces and best-ever albums. But knowing where to start, according to users of the Dylan subreddit, is fairly straightforward. Those who watched the Chalamet and Monica Barbaro-starring movie way head for his self-titled debut, but a popular release just three years later is, according to long-standing fans, the best place to begin.
One user who had just viewed A Complete Unknown took to the Reddit page and asked where to begin. They wrote: “I’ve watched A Complete Unknown and I’m looking to get into Bob Dylan, where do I start? I wanted to see the film because I like Timothée Chalamet as an actor, he was fantastic in Wonka and because James Mangold who directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a film I also love, directed it. I might buy a greatest hits CD.”
Fans have since suggested a “good entry point” could come from the legendary album Bringing It All Back Home. One user wrote: “Bringing It All Back Home might be a good entry point. It’s sort of like his transition between the two periods shown in the movie, it gives you a great collection of songs that covers multiple bases.”
Another user agreed, replying: “I would consider Highway 61 as a companion to this. The two album release dates are only six months apart, and I think they work great together.” A third added: “Would also jump into this album.
“Then, to appreciate his changes, jump ahead to Time Out Of Mind, back to Blood On The Tracks, back to John Wesley Harding, then maybe Nashville Skyline or the other big 60s albums. Eventually Self Portrait…”
I’ve watched A Complete Unknown and I’m looking to get into Bob Dylan, where do I start?
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Though the original poster suggested they would purchase a Greatest Hits CD, the multitude of Dylan compilations out there can be confusing. Some tracks on the compilations, such as Biograph, feature previously unreleased songs like Percy’s Song and I’ll Keep It with Mine. A fan replied with a suggestion for starting with a compilation and working through the catalogue from there.
They wrote: “I’m pretty sure my first album was Greatest Hits Vol. 1, but then someone gave me a copy of Under the Red Sky. That one really didn’t click for me. What did was the Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3. It’s a lot of demo and outtake material, but was career-spanning at the time of release. You really got a taste of it all. For me, that was the launch pad. That being said, what might click for you are his early albums, since much of that material is touched upon in the movie.
“If you want to be economical, Bringing It All Back Home captures that folk to electric change, and then you may as well get Highway 61 Revisited, then Blonde On Blonde. Those three albums capture a specific period for him, and for rock and popular music at that time. He was hungry and full of creative fire.”
