4 Bob Dylan Songs From the 60s That Deserve Way More Love

The output delivered by Bob Dylan in the 60s will go down in history as one of the greatest decades amassed by any artist. Considering how many stone-cold classics he delivered, it’s no surprise that there are some excellent songs from that stretch that haven’t received a ton of exposure.

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We’re here to rectify that. The following four songs would make an excellent start to any unheralded Dylan playlist you might want to undertake.

“Restless Farewell”

In 1963, Bob Dylan’s sophomore album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, made him a sensation in folk music, as it displayed his astounding writing skills. (His debut album was mostly cover songs.) The Times They Are A-Changin’, released in early 1964, solidified that standing and then some. Dylan’s knack for protest songs was on full display throughout the record. But he ended it with a somewhat personal track that speaks to his need to always keep moving forward. Its mentions of the “dirt of gossip” and the “dust of rumor” show that he was already bristling under public scrutiny. This lovely, poetic track made a memorable appearance when Dylan played it for Frank Sinatra at the latter’s 80^th birthday celebration.

“I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)”

Another Side Of Bob Dylan is underrated as a whole, so you can understand that some of its tracks fall by the wayside. Interestingly enough, “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)” did receive its share of the spotlight when Dylan played it during his incendiary electric performances of the mid-60s. When he sang it then, he spat the words out with a vengeance, as if directly challenging the naysayers in the crowd. But the original acoustic take found on Another Side Of Bob Dylan holds an offhand charm. In this setting, you can clearly distinguish the tongue-in-cheek humor peeking through his complaints. If you can’t locate it, Dylan helps you by briefly breaking into hysterics before continuing with his lyrics.

“One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)”

This song actually gained a reputation as being a bit of a flop. Dylan had enjoyed solid singles’ success with his move to a more rock-oriented sound. But “One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)” absolutely tanked when released as a single in 1966, failing to even reach the US Top 100. Who knows why, because it’s an incredible song. On a track featuring luminaries like Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, and Al Kooper among the players, session legend Paul Griffin steals the show with his hard-charging piano work. Meanwhile, Dylan sings of a bygone relationship and all the crossed signals that helped to doom it. In the chorus, he hopes that he and his ex can, at some point, gain some perspective from the heartbreak.

“Tell Me That It Isn’t True”

Nashville Skyline arrived as one of the first huge surprises in Dylan’s recording history. Remember that his previous album before that was John Wesley Harding, which, while muted, at least contained some of the lyrical complexity of his mid-60s classics. By contrast, this was an album of country songs that said what they had to say directly in a hurry. Within that structure, Dylan showed that he could be a master craftsman instead of a visionary when needed. “Tell Me That It Isn’t True” is the kind of effortless weeper that most Nashville songwriters would give anything to deliver. In three verses and a middle eight, Dylan captures the devastating paranoia of a guy who’s hearing one too many infidelity stories about his lover.

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