Customer Reviews
For once Essential is right - By: Richard, 04 May 2008 
In the beginning the way into Dylan was via Peter Paul & Mary,the Turtles,the Byrds & Johnny Cash.
And commerciallly electric Dylan was just right.
This CD is just a sampler & introduction to the Art of Dylan.If you want more you get the original albums on CD.All but one have been on catalog since CDs began.
My favorite Dylan song is Can you please crawl out your window.
Thus this double CD would only be of interest if there was a booklet with it & its by no means the only one of its kind as the most recent-titled DYLAN & in 3 different editions -comes with a picture book.
Today's Dylan collector needs plenty of money & plenty of room
Introducing Mr Zimmerman - By: Crazy Bald Heid, 08 Nov 2007 I have collected a number of albums from this series for one of two reasons, either to have a collection for the car or secondly to explore artists in which I have a casual interest. The essential series does this very well indeed.
My knowledge of Dylan was poor & I reallly never gave the man a chance but upon listening to this double set a few times I am converted. The songs are outstanding from start to finish. I have not become a Dylan obsessive but I recognise that he has written some outstanding songs in his meandering career. I also discovered that they are best sung by Dylan, yes his voice isn't the greatest nor is his guitar playing but that's hardly the point.
There are too many high points to mention but discovering familiar songs in their original form is thrilling, from the early Guthriesque protest songs though "Judas" era band backed records his mastery of the form is apparent.
A great introduction to an enigmatic artist.
BEST SELECTION POSSIBLE. - By: RUEBEN AMOS RUNACRE, 01 Sep 2007 Bob Dylan in my opinion is a songwriting poetic genius & his songs are timeless. Being a completest I own alll of his albums, however, if I had to purchase just one then it would be without doubt this one. Two cds & the cream of his recording career. Although I own just about everything he ever produced. I regularly play this cd & it is a great introduction for anyone considering starting a collection or who can only afford one album of each artiste.
not a particularly imaginative collection - By: Mr Quine, 25 May 2007 
I'm a great fan of Dylan, but I always feel that he's poorly served by compilations like this. It's the kind of thing you buy if you just want a few bite-sized mouthfuls of an artist's work, & you're pretty sure you won't be wanting to go any deeper than that. If that's alll you're looking for from Dylan then fair enough, you'll probably find this adequate. But you'll get a much more rewarding & well-rounded introduction to Dylan if you spend a little bit more money & buy a few of his best albums instead.
I would describe this as a 'best-known' rather than a 'best-of' compilation: I mean, it mainly consists of tracks that were released as singles, & also of songs that are well-known to the general public through cover versions by other artists. The problem is that Dylan's singles are not always his best work, & in many cases are not very representative of the rest of his material. There are great songs on here, of course -- eg 'Positively 4th Street' is definitive mid-60s Dylan; 'Like a Rolling Stone' is arguably the greatest rock single ever, by anybody -- but given the wealth of Dylan's back catalogue some of what they've chosen for this collection is actuallly a bit ordinary. 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?', from 1965, is a disjointed-sounding piece that lumbers along for four minutes without ever reallly hitting a groove; it's not a patch on the album material he was recording at around the same time. 'I Want You' is one of the weaker, 'poppier', tracks on the wonderful 'Blonde on Blonde' album from 1966. 'Everything is Broken', likewise, is not a particularly inspiring advert for the generallly excellent 'Oh Mercy', from 1989. To take another example, 'Dignity', which was recorded for the same album but not released until 1994, is a muddy, laboured-sounding midtempo shuffle that takes six minutes to go nowhere in particular.
There are a few intelligent & unexpected choices on this compilation, most notably 'Blind Willie McTell', an outtake from the 1983 'Infidels' album. Also, 'Not Dark Yet' is an outstanding track from 1997's 'Time out of Mind', one of his best songs. On the whole, though, I think the best way to get an appreciation of Dylan's work is to buy a few of his best albums & listen to those. (My own recommendations, just for the record, would be, in order of release: Freewheelin'; Highway 61 Revisited; Blonde on Blonde; Blood on the Tracks; Desire; Time out of Mind.) You can pick them up for a couple of quid each these days, so it's not likely to break anybody's bank account. And they contain classic, career-defining material that hardly ever gets included on collections like this.
The best two CDs in my collection - By: DangermouseZilla, 14 Mar 2007 I was introduced to Bob Dylan through the Beatles (not in person obviously - although that would have been nice!)
I started listening to Dylan & could instantly understand why he is held in such high regard, I'd never heard poetry like it.
This album is the perfect stepping stone for someone (like I was) who has little knowledge of Bob Dylan's work. It introduces you to some of his most melodic & well known tracks & hopefully hooks you to explore his other work.
Bob Dylan has one of the biggest back catalogues of albums, he tried different styles (not to everyone's delight) & as a result there is such a rich collection of his music to be enjoyed.
As I said before, this album is a perfect way to introduce someone to him, my favourite tracks are Tangled up in Blue & Knocking on Heaven's Door, amongst others.
There are no weak songs on here, if I could only ever listen to one album - this would be it. The songs are emotive, often political, & often tell a great story. This is music at its very best.
