About the Book
Counting Downis a unique series of titles designed to select the best songs or musical works from major performance artists and composers in an age of design-your-own playlists.
For fifty years, Bob Dylan’s music has been a source of wonder to his fans and endless fodder for analysis by music critics. In Counting Down Bob Dylan, rock journalist Jim Beviglia dares to rank these songs in descending order from Dylan’s 100th best to his #1 song. Surveying the near six-decade career of this musical legend, Beviglia offers insightful analyses into the music and lyrics and dishes out important historical information and fascinating trivia to explain why these 100 rank among Dylan’s best to date. At the same time, a portrait of the seemingly inscrutable Dylan emerges through the words of his finest songs, providing both the perfect introduction to his work and a comprehensive new take on this master of American songwriting.
This work will appeal to the legions of Bob Dylan fans who have taken to analyzing his music. Unlike other Dylan books, which vary between the academic and the journalistic, Counting Down Bob Dylan uniquely renders Dylan’s music approachable to new fans by highlighting the powerful emotional forces that fuel his dazzling lyrics.
Table of Contents:
The Countdown
100. “Roll On John”
99. “Love Sick”
98. “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine”
97. “Rainy Day Women #12&35”
96. “Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)”
95. “Hurricane”
94. “Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)”
93. “Abandoned Love”
92. “All Along The Watchtower”
91. “Up To Me”
90. “Forever Young”
89. “John Brown”
88. “Mr. Tambourine Man”
87. “One Too Many Mornings”
86. “This Dream of You”
85. “Is Your Love In Vain?”
84. “The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar”
83. “Lay Lady Lay”
82. “Tempest”
81. “Farewell, Angelina”
80. “Isis”
79. “My Back Pages’
78. “Going, Going, Gone”
77. “Ballad In Plain D”
76. “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”
75. “Goin’ To Acapulco”
74. “High Water (For Charley Patton)”
73. “’Cross The Green Mountain”
72. “Shooting Star”
71. “Angelina”
70. “I Want You”
69. “I’ll Remember You”
68. “Gates of Eden”
67. “To Ramona”
66. “Caribbean Wind”
65. “I Shall Be Released”
64. “Rambling, Gambling Willie
63. “When The Deal Goes Down”
62. “Ballad of A Thin Man”
61. “I’m Not There”
60. “Mississippi”
59. “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)”
58. “Million Dollar Bash”
57. “Thunder On The Mountain”
56. “If You See Her, Say Hello”
55. “Masters of War”
54. “Highlands”
53. “Girl From The North Country”
52. “Sign On The Window”
51. “Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)”
50. “When The Ship Comes In”
49. “Dark Eyes”
48. “Pay In Blood”
47. “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”
46. “Simple Twist of Fate”
45. “It Ain’t Me Babe”
44. “Tweeter And The Monkey Man” ()
43. “Workingman’s Blues #2”
42. “Black Diamond Bay”
41. “Ain’t Talkin’”
40. “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”
39. “Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)”
38. “Foot of Pride”
37. “Sara”
35. “Subterranean Homesick Blues”
34. “Sugar Baby”
33. “Brownsville Girl”
32. “Blowin’ In The Wind”
31. “Most of The Time”
30. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
29. “Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie”
28. “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
27. “Ring Them Bells”
26. “She’s Your Lover Now”
25. “Things Have Changed”
24. “I Threw It All Away”
23. “One of Must Know (Sooner Or Later)”
22. “Highway 61 Revisited”
21. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”
20. “The Ballad of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest”
19. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
18. “Positively 4th Street”
17. “Just Like A Woman”
16. “Lily, Rosemary, And The Jack of Hearts”
15. “Red River Shore”
14. “Tangled Up In Blue”
13. “Visions of Johanna”
12. “Chimes of Freedom”
11. “Boots of Spanish Leather”
10. “Like A Rolling Stone”
9. “Tears of Rage”
7. “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”
6. “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
5. “Not Dark Yet”
4. “Idiot Wind”
3. “Desolation Row”
2. “Blind Willie McTell”
1. “Sad-Eyed Lady of The Lowlands”
Appendix: …And 100 More
About the Author :
Jim Beviglia writes for the print and online editions of American Songwriter magazine, concentrating on features about classic artists and reviews of new albums. Jim also maintains a blog as his alter ego, The Countdown Kid (http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/), where he counts down the best songs of rock 'n' roll's greatest artists.
Review :
Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs is the first publication in a new series titled Counting Down that ranks and discusses the best songs by famous musicians. This foundational volume tackles the iconic Bob Dylan and his nearly 60-year career. Beviglia has scoured Dylan’s catalog and has come up with not just a list, but an actual ranking of his best songs from 100 to 1. Unlike other 'best of' lists that can be found online by the hundreds, this publication provides its value in the analysis of each song. Counting Down Bob Dylan does not simply count down one person’s opinion of Dylan’s best songs, but provides a mini-essay for each song that includes interesting facts, historical information, and more. These mini-essays provide insight into the songs themselves as well as into Dylan as a figure. Beviglia obviously spent quite a bit of time researching these songs. . . .Counting Down Bob Dylan is an entertaining and informational read. The text is very easy to follow and also includes an index and a short list of an additional 100 songs. This book could serve as a great introduction to those interested in Dylan or a great source of previously unknown trivia for Dylan fans.
From 'Roll on John,' off the 2012 album Tempest, to 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,' off the 1966 album Blonde on Blonde, Beviglia counts down what he deems to be the 100 best songs written and officially recorded by the legendary Bob Dylan. While necessarily subjective in his selection, he sought to separate songs from any personal relevance they may have for him and also considered such intangibles as cultural impact or staying power. For each song he includes a one-to-two page commentary, examining themes, lyrics, the role of the song in Dylan's career, and other such matters. At the end of the volume, he includes a list of the next 100 best songs of Dylan, sans any commentary.
I had the opportunity to read the new book by Jim Beviglia called Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs and much to my surprise I enjoyed it. What I really liked about it was its format. Beviglia doesn’t just do a random countdown of his favorite songs but he writes why he feels the way he does and includes some pretty in-depth stories and song break-downs to back up his explanations. Right away I realized that he researched the subject and is incredibly knowledgeable about music in general. Beviglia writes intelligently and that made this read extremely interesting. He understands music and it’s lyrics like few writers I have read. He is able to state his feelings and passion in a way that anyone can understand. Even though I have never heard most of these songs, I am now curious to listen to many of them just to get a better feel for them. Time to get out the iTunes gift-card. ... If you love music you will enjoy how Beviglia breaks each song down by lyrics and the music itself. You will listen to Dylan tunes in a whole new way once you gain an understanding of the songs meanings or implied meanings in some cases. Many of the stories involve other bands and musicians such as The Beatles and Eric Clapton. I think because of that you will savor the book, weather you’re a Dylan fan or not. The print version is a hardcover and it is also available for an e-reader. No matter what your taste in rock and roll or folk music Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs should prove to be an enjoyable read for all music lovers. I recommend this interesting and insightful book.
Maintaining that Dylan's music 'is more than a code that needs cracking,' Counting on Dylan repeatedly extols the pleasure principle – and some fans may say, And what's wrong with that? Without giving the game away, I can say that Dylan's material in the 1960s and 70s dominates the higher echelons of Beviglia's top ten and that the number one spot caused a critical spat between Michael Gray and Christopher Ricks. Get a copy of Counting Down Bob Dylan and reconnect with the simple pleasure from the great man's work.
Jim Beviglia’s Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs is ideal, in the case of this title, for browsing and reading up on one’s favorite tunes of this major American musician and poet. That Dylan has been accorded the latter distinction seems a foregone conclusion. This is a fun read for anyone who has been enthralled by the work of this popular music icon who has been entertaining global audiences for a half-century and is still going strong. The 100 are ranked in ascending order, beginning with 'Roll on John' in last place and honoring 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' as #1. Each song is given two-pages of analysis, commentary, historical background, and justification of occupying a place in this honor role from the singer’s oeuvre. A list of the next 100 finest, a bibliography, and an index conclude the volume.
Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs is a work that is bound to spur debate among the throng of the Dylan faithful, so much so that Jim Beviglia instinctively began to duck before the ink on his tome was dry. . . .[It] is a captivating work for the casual observer, the 'Dylanologist,' and those filling all spaces in between. The tracks were chosen from the released catalog and not from unofficial 'bootleg' releases, and each song receives a concise essay. Like a miner seeking gold, Beviglia often strikes a vein of ore in affording proper justification for his picks in his summations. That is not to say that the list is definitive, or that all will nod in agreement with his choices. The charm in such a work is to set a foundation for discussion amongst the passionate. The work is designed to lead the reader into a comparison of his own opinions with those expressed by the author, and those of other fans.
Enumerating Dylan’s top 100 songs with brief explanatory essays is a daunting task and will surely provoke controversy among the musician’s legion of followers. Yet music blogger Jim Beviglia...embraces the challenge of this assignment with selections and explanations that will both disappoint and delight the Dylan fan base. . . .While the prose employed by Beviglia is usually light and breezy, he takes Dylan and his music seriously. . . .Dylan has written extraordinary love songs, as Beviglia attests, putting forward “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” (1966), dedicated to Sara, as Dylan’s greatest song. In explaining this choice, Beviglia writes, “It says ‘I love you’ more completely, more passionately, than any other song I know” (185). This emotional conclusion. . . . is likely to be a satisfying one for the “uninitiated” Dylan audience which Beviglia hopes to attract.
