10 Almost Perfect Folk Rock Albums With One Bad Song

Folk and rock, were two genres that were never supposed to be joined. The America folk revival, reached its pinnacle in the early '60s, and existed in opposition to the more poppy, rock 'n' roll movement. Folk was seen as the music of the hip and socially conscious youth of America. It was the music for those with a political message, who rejected commercialism, and embraced social justice. Rock 'n' roll, was seen as pop drivel.

With the onset of the British Invasion in the mid '60s, however, rock 'n' roll, started to become popular in America. The Brits brought with them, a bastardised version of the blues - another American genre associated with the working classes, and their struggle for equality. Eventually this new take on rock, inspired American folk musicians to find common ground with the genre they had rejected.

Although other acts like the Byrds, were also attempting to fuse the two scenes, it was Bob Dylan's electric performance at Newport Folk Festival in 1965, the represented the symbolic creation of folk rock. His adoption of a rock backing band was seen as the biggest sell out move of the decade. But, it opened the door for a whole plethora of musicians, eager to expand the musical boundaries.

During the '60s Bob Dylan was considered a cultural messiah and political commentator. But once he achieved some level of recognition, he seemed eager to reject it. He crafted folk and protest ballads with an unrivalled skill, but once he was held up as a poster boy, he turned his back on the movement. After going electric, and with the release of Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde, he became a pop culture icon as big as the Beatles.

As the '60s drew on, Dylan became fed up with his image in the eyes of the public, and again changed direction. He exiled himself to Nashville, injecting a healthy dose of country into his brand of folk rock. And damn did he knock it out of the park with this ninth album. Fans might have been initially alienated by Dylan's adoption of a country croon, but the quality of the songs were such, that no one could remain mad at him for long.

You've got Johnny Cash adding his deeply resonate vocals to the opening track, and it only gets better with numbers like Lay Lady Lay. Luckily the dud of the record comes early, and soon enough you'll forget about it. Nashville Skyline Rag is nothing more than Dylan wailing on his harmonic while the band play a country jingle. It does something for setting the mood, but there's nothing distinctively memorable about it.