Fans of the legendary songwriter Bob Dylan believe they have found the “undisputed worst” albums in his discography.
Though Dylan is known for incredible early efforts like Blonde on Blonde and later career highlights like Rough and Rowdy Ways, the songwriter hit a rough patch in the 1980s. It is where many fans, including those posting to r/BobDylan, believe he hits a low point for his career. Asking whether there was an “undisputedly hated” song or album among Dylan fans, one user asked where to start if they wanted to hear the very worst of what he had to offer. They asked: “Is thre an album or song that’s undisputedly hated? I’m currently on a quest to listen to and rank all of Dylan’s studio albums, and with every album and song I looked up on this sub, there’s always someone who will defend it.
“What’s a piece of work that you’ve never seen defended? Do you agree? As an avid Self Portrait defender, this intrigues me.” Fans were unanimous in their two album selections for what is the low point of Dylan’s discography. One wrote: “I think Knocked Out Loaded is pretty universally hated with the exception of Brownsville Girl. Down in the Groove as well, except Silvio and Death Is Not the End.”
Another wrote: “Down in the Groove and Knocked Out Loaded are probably the most maligned. Also Dylan (1973) is up there. As for worst song? In my opinion, it’s If Dogs Run Free.” Other users chipped in with their own suggestions of worst songs from Dylan. One wrote: “I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who likes his version of Ring of Fire.”
Another user suggested an Under the Red Sky track was one of the worst songs Dylan had written. They wrote: “Wiggle Wiggle is honestly pretty crap, although I’m sure there’ll be somebody here proclaiming it an under appreciated masterpiece that only true Dylan connoisseurs can fully grasp.”
Is there an album/song that’s undisputedly hated?
byu/Dr-Memestein inbobdylan
A third wrote: “All his albums have at least one or two good to great songs but I think the ones most would agree on are Down In The Groove and Knocked Out Loaded. I also think Under The Red Sky is pretty bad but a decent album may be hiding under the lame production on the songs.”
Inevitably, some did defend both Knocked Out Loaded and Down in the Groove. One user suggested that, between the two albums, was an album worth of serviceable material from Dylan. They wrote: “I think Knocked Out Loaded and Down in the Groove could be combined into a single serviceable album on par with Empire Burlesque, Under the Red Sky and Self Portrait.
“Although in the same universe, with better song selection from available outtakes Self Portrait and Empire Burlesque could have much better than they ended up.”
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