Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume II (1971/2013) [SACD]

Where Dylan’s first Greatest Hits took its title literally, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 is a greatest-hits album only in the loosest sense of the term. While the double album does contain several genuine hits — “Lay Lady Lay,” “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You,” the non-LP “Watching the River Flow” — it is largely comprised of album tracks that became classics, either through Dylan’s own version or through covers. These include “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “All I Really Want to Do,” “My Back Pages,” “Maggie’s Farm,” “She Belongs to Me,” “If Not for You,” and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” among many others. There are also various rarities scattered throughout the 21 songs, including a live version of “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” from 1963, a live take of “The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo),” and the Basement Tapes songs “I Shall Be Released,” “Down in the Flood,” and “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” While some of the cuts may not be immediately familiar to some listeners, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 in many ways is a more accurate picture of the depth and breadth of Dylan’s talents, making it an excellent introduction. And it’s not just for casual fans, because the rarities and sequencing are revealing for even devoted Dylan fans.