Thunder on the Mountain: 4 of Bob Dylan’s Hardest-Rocking Songs

The consensus is that Bob Dylan is the greatest singer-songwriter of all time. But we don’t often think of him as a rock and roller. This despite the fact that his move to electrified rock instrumentation changed pop and rock music forever.

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We took an exhaustive dive into Dylan’s catalog to come up with four songs where he rocks as righteously as anyone. Let’s look back at Bob the rocker.

“Obviously Five Believers”

By the time Dylan reached the Blonde On Blonde album in 1966, his third since going fully electric, he was already starting to hedge his bets a bit. Much of that double album is given over to softer ballads. But “Obviously Five Believers” captures the anarchic, rocking spirit that characterizes the previous two albums in his catalog. A mix of his old buddies (Robbie Robertson, Al Kooper) and Nashville studio vets that formed the band for this recording. And they make quite a racket. Robertson’s stinging guitar licks fight for space next to Dylan’s wheezing harmonica. Maybe this one’s rocking quotient stands out even more because it’s surrounded by quieter stuff all around it.

“The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar”

This song very nearly became one of those Bob Dylan tracks that get lost on the cutting-room floor. He only initially released it as a B-side. But when reissues of his 1981 album A Shot Of Love first started appearing a few years later, he made sure to include “The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar” on the track list. His studio band, which included aces like guitarist Danny Kortchmar and Jim Keltner, locks into a lurching groove that seems always ready to go off the rails but somehow hangs tight. Dylan plays into the effect by spitting out his wordy lyrics in haphazard fashion, somehow cramming the numerous syllables into each line.

“Honest With Me”

Dylan enjoyed a massive comeback with the album Time Out of Mind in 1997. But he wasn’t overly thrilled with the production of Daniel Lanois. He felt that Lanois’ atmospheric ways took some of the starch out of the recordings. When he returned four years later with Love And Theft, Dylan produced the record himself. And he managed that by mostly staying out of the way of the rollicking studio thrust of his band. This approach is evident on “Honest With Me”, a potent grinder that doesn’t let up much at all over the course of merely six minutes of run time. Dylan’s growling vocals are right in line with the musical spirit the track conjures.

“Pay In Blood”

On the album Tempest, released in 2012, Dylan changed up his styles at will from song to song. It felt thrilling to return to those mid-60s albums, which was when he was at his most musically adventurous. “Pay In Blood” certainly comes out of left field. It’s impossible to hear the song without thinking of the late 70s, early 80s Rolling Stones. The chunky main riff is reminiscent of many Stones’ songs. In the breaks, the guitarists weave around each other a la Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Even Dylan sings with more actorly expression than usual, perhaps taking cues from Mick Jagger. Even though the tempo is under control, the attitude of “Pay In Blood” is pure hard rock.

Photos by Brad Elterman/FilmMagic