Bob Dylan fans point to the one album in his discography they think is ‘underappreciated’

Fans of the legendary songwriter Bob Dylan believe they have found the one album in his discography that is “underappreciated”.

While the veteran performer has plenty of underrated albums to choose from, listeners believe one from his 1960s heyday does not receive enough love. A post to the r/BobDylan subreddit saw users share their thoughts on the album, which followed all-time greats like Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. The user asked: “What is Bob’s most unappreciated album? This question is a tough one for me, due to choosing between John Wesley Harding and Street Legal.

“I gave the edge to John Wesley Harding, due to it being a catalyst for alt/rock country that Gram Parsons took to another level. This album came out before The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and Gram was inspired by Bob. I think this album doesn’t get the recognition for its influence in pioneering a genre.” Listeners agreed that it was an underappreciated part of his discography, and have since suggested the album may be his very best.

One user wrote: “One could easily make the argument that this is his best album, at least from a writing standpoint. He basically took all the ideas that were flying around his head on the previous three albums and whittled them down to their barest essences. To me it is a remarkable transformation, as if Moby Dick were somehow turned into an 80-page novella without losing any of its power, impact, or meaning.”

Another added: “I would veer in that direction, too. I think John Wesley Harding is a masterpiece. And it arrived out of the blue, a complete u-turn from what people must have been expecting from Dylan at this stage of his career and this point in the 1960s.

“If it weren’t for the fact that so many other artists were putting out extraordinary albums, original and mould-breaking, at this exact time, then I think John Wesley Harding would have received more attention. But Dylan had vanished, and other bands had closed in on the space he left open.

“And the level of expectation must have been immense for Dylan, and to reemerge with a stripped-down set of country-infused ballads must have been very surprising. It took a while before the world caught up to the pivot towards country-rock.” Dylan would follow John Wesley Harding with further country-like ballads on Nashville Skyline in 1969.

Other users have suggested that later points in Dylan’s career are where his most underrated works can be found. One user wrote: “John Wesley Harding is a good candidate, but, I’d vote for Love and Theft. Time Out of Mind is better, but Time Out of Mind is hailed as his late era masterpiece, as if it’s the only one. Time Out of Mind was the last album to get called ‘his best since Blood on the Tracks,‘ which used to be a common practice for every release, if anyone recalls.

“It became the new benchmark and the only album that deserves the title of ‘his best since Time Out of Mind‘ is the album that followed it, Love and Theft. Love and Theft never even had a chance to be praised as a masterpiece. It was released on 9/11/01, we all know what happened that day.”