Is Blues a good place to start with Bob Dylan?

Yes, Blues is recommended as a starting point for new Bob Dylan listeners. Electric blues shuffles and weathered voices stretch across decades, from sharp-edged satire to haunted reckonings with American history. Released in 2006, Blues is a compilation tracing Bob Dylan’s engagement with blues from his mid-1960s electric recordings through 2001’s Love and Theft. It brings together familiar album cuts and the once-unreleased 1983 recording Blind Willie McTell, first issued on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 in 1991.

Blues works well if you're into bluesy storytelling with depth, reflective moments for introspection and for late-night listening.

How many songs are on Blues?

Blues has 12 tracks, running approximately 48 minutes.

Released 20 years ago

Blues

Bob Dylan · 2006

48 min · 12 tracks · blues

Electric blues shuffles and weathered voices stretch across decades, from sharp-edged satire to haunted reckonings with American history.

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Top tracks — play these first

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She Belongs to Me Start here — establishes the sonic palette early
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Leopard‐Skin Pill‐Box Hat — A biting fashion satire rides a loose electric blues, making the music’s swagger part of the joke.
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Meet Me in the Morning — From Blood on the Tracks, this slow blues sets romantic estrangement against a patient electric-guitar groove.
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Gotta Serve Somebody — Its insistent groove and repeated moral ultimatum bring the religious convictions of Dylan’s late-1970s work into focus.
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High Water (For Charley Patton) — Banjo and a driving rhythm carry flood imagery and references to the Mississippi blues singer into an unsettling vision of disorder.
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Blind Willie McTell — Piano and acoustic guitar frame a sequence of historical scenes, with the blues singer’s name returning as a measure of what the song cannot fully contain.

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

65 /100

Treeline

Higher than 39% of albums we've rated

The album showcases Dylan's storytelling through blues while blending original and classic material.

What we noticed

Several tracks employ a slow, deliberate tempo, allowing for extended instrumental sections that emphasize the blues influence.

Composition 25% of the score: 6/10
Craft 20% of the score: 7/10
Durability 25% of the score: 6/10
Distinctiveness 18% of the score: 7/10
Sequencing 12% of the score: 5/10

Influence 4/10

Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Is this for you?

Good fit if you like

bluesy storytelling with depth
reflective moments for introspection
for late-night listening
engaging narratives with rich imagery

Maybe skip if you

seekers of instant gratification
prefer upbeat, fast-paced tracks

Where this album fits

In the catalog: Late Career Highlight — Continues Dylan's resurgence, showcasing his lyrical depth and musical versatility.
Themes: American blues legacy· societal disillusionment· gospel-infused rock
Career context: Released in 2006, Blues is a compilation tracing Bob Dylan’s engagement with blues from his mid-1960s electric recordings through 2001’s Love and Theft. It brings together familiar album cuts and the once-unreleased 1983 recording Blind Willie McTell, first issued on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 in 1991.
Stylistic neighbors: Leonard Cohen· Neil Young· Johnny Cash