Highway 61 Revisited remains a blueprint for artists with a deeper meaning behind their words. Those songwriters who leave subtle clues, little trails for listeners to follow on repeat listens. Bob Dylan is one of a select few who not only did this but did it consistently. His stream of consciousness across Highway 61 Revisited is a mesmerising experience. It was called “the album that changed everything” back in 2003. Sixty years on from its release, and it still has that effect. This is the route to follow for change. Dylan defied the folk expectations of his audience with a biting, electrified momentum which carried him to a legacy like no other. It is easy to gush over the brilliance of Dylan and get bogged down in the specifics of his sound, the history behind it. What is somewhat overlooked is the simpler, overall effect of the album.
From Mick Jagger to My Chemical Romance (the latter with a fascinating cover of Highway 61 Revisited), the influence of Dylan, particularly with this album, is clear. Few records have a better opening song. The first few bars of Like a Rolling Stone are liquid gold, as is the rest of the song. A truly perfect song from start to finish, opening an album of all-time greats. What changed it all goes beyond the songs as individual moments. The concept of the album as a whole piece is here. There is not a story overlapping these moments but a theme, that stream of consciousness so closely tied to Dylan’s real life, yet abstract enough to not reveal anything about the performer. Dylan at his best would edge into this territory, always on the cusp of sharing some detail of his life outside the studio, but never truly confirming it.
Blood on the Tracks is the best example of this, but Highway 61 Revisited offers that first true glimpse. He was a folk hero but had never truly been perceived as a person outside of that pushed-upon role. This is the start of a new style of album work. Stories could overlap. Themes and feelings could present an ongoing conversation with the listener that does not end once the needle lifts. It feels the same way now, and that comes from the confidence of Dylan, the tightness of the instrumentals around him, and, crucially, the fine line of reality and fiction being blurred. Dylan would do this plenty in future, but not with the same precision and mystery as he does here. Highway 61 Revisited can be cited as one of the first albums to give those in the rock and roll scene the license to push their sound that little bit further. Beyond dancing, further than love songs.
It’s not the first, of course, but it is certainly the best. Songs like Ballad of a Thin Man, Queen Jane Approximately, and Desolation Row, are tracks which lend Dylan this messiah-like image. It is a projection from his adoring fans rather than anything he has carved out himself, but it remains, nonetheless. Highway 61 Revisited set a standard for songwriters wanting to connect with their audience. Storytelling at its finest. But it also set a precedent in the studio which artists, even now, want to replicate. Dylan recorded Highway 61 Revisited in two blocks. A two-day period from June 15 to June 16, and then a break. He returned to record the rest from July 29 to August 4. In total, it took eight days.
Considering how long it takes to make music now, how difficult new tech can be, it remains a staggering achievement. That efficiency does not guarantee quality, but it does suggest there was a need for the music to come out. A feeling that it was about to burst and could no longer be contained. This has happened in recent years, with Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker saying the words for new album, More, were ready to come. Even that recording, from start to end, took three weeks. Getting an album finished in just over a week is not an expectation, but the speediness, the room for creativity and natural error which can be heard ever-so-slightly in Like a Rolling Stone can be the result. Further factors are at play, including the quality of material and session musicians, but most of all is the belief of a performer.
It is in hoping our favourite artists follow their creative gut feeling that we get these moments. Highway 61 Revisited is a rock and roll album because Dylan was tiring of acoustic music. D.A. Pennebaker, who had accompanied Dylan on a tour of the UK which left him close to quitting music, said: “I didn’t know that he was going to leave acoustic. I did know that he was getting a little dragged by it.” All too often will artists commodify their sound because to break from what audiences are familiar with is to challenge them. Only the best can make a change so large work for them, but then those who do not make the transition and fall back on their recognisable tone can be respected for trying.
Those who do not are working in antithesis to creativity. To dither is to at least question the relevancy and longevity of the music at hand. Certain bands in modern-day rock and roll would do well to question their sound, to see where else they can take it. Highway 61 Revisited is the sudden and successful shift to a new sound. It would be an “era” for some. Charli XCX converting her songs from opening slot Taylor Swift tones to an outstanding adaptation of the club scene and the thrill of losing yourself in dance is a decade-long change, but it is a change, nonetheless. Only the best, or at least the creatively inclined, will challenge their sound and continue pulling at the threads which tied their old work together. It is the sign of a songwriter or performer worth engaging with.
Dylan was not the first to do it, but he certainly set the standard with Highway 61 Revisited. Every lyric is an inspiration to someone, every riff a memorable moment, the album remains an extraordinarily unique piece of work. It’s a defining moment not just for Dylan but for the time, too. It has the same influence as The Velvet Underground, a band who are long cited as having sold very few records but affecting many future stars. The album that changed everything is still changing everything, because any artist worth a listener’s time is pushing themselves, consciously or not, to a standard beyond anything they have yet to experience. Their best works may be overwhelmed by a better one down the line, but an artist will never know it unless they pursue it. It’s an art that’s slowly being lost, but it remains alive and still refreshing on Highway 61 Revisited.
