10 60s Albums That Shaped Rock
9. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Prior to the mid-60's, Bob Dylan was everyone's favorite folk singer. His way with words on hot-button issues of the day made him one of most popular voices of his generation. So when he took a quantum leap from his normal sound, everyone stood up and took notice.
On Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan made the conscious effort to deliver songs with a feel that moved away from folk and more towards the rock music of the day. While Dylan did face some public outcry for this, the record contained some of the most scathing lyrics of Dylan's career. "Like A Rolling Stone" serves as a blunt reflection on the cultural revolution of the time, while songs like "Ballad of a Thin Man" and "Tombstone Blues" capture the uneasy turmoil everyone was feeling as a result of the Vietnam War starting.
This is the album where Dylan went from speaking for his audience to speaking to his audience. Highway 61 still serves as one of the albums any songwriter studies to understand just how important lyrics can be. While Dylan would have several masterpiece records after this album, Highway 61 is when he became one of the most legendary artists of his time.