10 Albums That Changed The Face Of Rock Music
5. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan (1965)
Bob Dylan didn't just change what rock was, he changed what music could be. Artists would no longer feel confined to the genre that had made them popular. Once Dylan turned his back on folk and picked up an electric guitar anything seemed possible. This record influenced everyone from Jimi Hendrix to the Beatles.
Dylan's idolisation of folk legend Woody Guthrie informed his early work to no end. He became the darling of the American folk scene; regaling listeners with insights of contemporary issues, from racial tension to war and poverty. But, he soon became shoehorned in with the protest movement. Ultimately, he felt dissatisfied with his poetic ramblings, set to borrowed and reworked folk melodies.
His answer was to pull back on the political commentary, imbuing his lyrics with far more nuance. But the biggest shift in tone came from the change in sound itself. Dylan opted to bring in a number of blues and rock n' roll musicians to beef up his music.
It was important change in direction, both for Dylan but also for modern music. Without this album, both the Beatles' Revolver and Rubber Soul would have sounded very different. Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground might never have excited. And, post-punk, art rock and folk-rock would be missing one of their most significant contributors.