The Essential Bob Dylan

The Essential Bob Dylan is a compilation by Bob Dylan, released as a double-CD set in 2000, part of Columbia Records' "The Essential" series. The Essential Bob Dylan spans from 1963's "Blowin' in the Wind" (taken from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) to 2000's "Things Have Changed" (Dylan's Oscar-winning song from the motion picture Wonder Boys).

The Essential Bob Dylan
Greatest hits album by Bob Dylan
Released	October 31, 2000
Recorded	1962–1999
Genre	Folk rock country
Length	121:27 (Standard edition) 147:33 (2009 standard edition) 154:52 (UK/Australia edition)
Label	Columbia Legacy
Bob Dylan chronology
The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2 (2000) The Essential Bob Dylan (2000) Live 1961–2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Essential Bob Dylan has proven to be a solid seller in Dylan's catalog, reaching No. 67 in the US and peaking at No. 9 in the UK.

The British and Australian releases include all of the tracks from the US edition plus several more. It has been reissued in 2009 and 2016 with varying track listings.

Track listings

All songs written by Bob Dylan except where noted.

Standard track listing

Disc 1
No. Title Length 1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 2:45 2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 3:37 3. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 3:11 4. "It Ain't Me, Babe" 3:32 5. "Maggie's Farm" 3:51 6. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" 4:16 7. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 5:26 8. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 2:17	No. Title Length 9. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:07 10. "Positively 4th Street" 3:52 11. "Just Like a Woman" 4:50 12. "Rainy Day Women ♯12 & 35" 4:34 13. "All Along the Watchtower" 2:30 14. "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" (Recorded 1967, as part of the "Basement Tapes" sessions with The Band) 2:17 15. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" 2:39 Total length: 56:09
Disc 2
No. Title Length 1. "Lay Lady Lay" 3:16 2. "If Not for You" 2:39 3. "I Shall Be Released" 3:01 4. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" 2:43 5. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 2:30 6. "Forever Young" 4:56 7. "Tangled Up in Blue" 5:40 8. "Shelter from the Storm" 5:01	No. Title Length 9. "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan, Jacques Levy) 8:32 10. "Gotta Serve Somebody" 5:23 11. "Jokerman" 6:14 12. "Silvio" (Dylan, Robert Hunter) 3:05 13. "Everything Is Broken" 3:13 14. "Not Dark Yet" 6:27 15. "Things Have Changed" 5:08 Total length: 65:18
Disc 3 (limited edition 3.0 version, October 2009)
No. Title Length 1. "Thunder on the Mountain" 5:55 2. "Mississippi" 5:21 3. "Blind Willie McTell" 5:52	No. Title Length 4. "Make You Feel My Love" 3:32 5. "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" (Dylan, Hunter) 3:51 6. "Dark Eyes" 5:07 Total length: 26:06

British and Australian track listing

Disc 1
No. Title Length 1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 2:45 2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 3:37 3. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 3:11 4. "It Ain't Me, Babe" 3:32 5. "Maggie's Farm" 3:51 6. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" 4:16 7. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 5:26 8. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 2:17 9. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:07 10. "Positively 4th Street" 3:52 11. "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" 3:32	No. Title Length 12. "I Want You" 3:07 13. "Just Like a Woman" 4:50 14. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" 4:34 15. "All Along the Watchtower" 2:30 16. "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" 2:17 17. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" 2:39 18. "Lay, Lady, Lay" 3:16 19. "If Not for You" 2:39 20. "I Shall Be Released" 3:01 21. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" 2:43 22. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 2:30 Total length: 76:57
Disc 2
No. Title Length 1. "Forever Young" 4:56 2. "Tangled Up in Blue" 5:40 3. "Shelter from the Storm" 5:01 4. "Hurricane" (Dylan, Levy) 8:32 5. "Changing of the Guards" 7:04 6. "Gotta Serve Somebody" 5:23 7. "Blind Willie McTell" 5:52	No. Title Length 8. "Jokerman" 6:14 9. "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" 5:22 10. "Silvio" (Dylan, Hunter) 3:05 11. "Everything Is Broken" 3:13 12. "Dignity" (Original version) 5:58 13. "Not Dark Yet" 6:27 14. "Things Have Changed" 5:08 Total length: 77:55

2010 version

Disc 1
No. Title Length 1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 2:48 2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 3:39 3. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 3:13 4. "It Ain't Me, Babe" 3:34 5. "Maggie's Farm" 3:53 6. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" 4:16 7. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 5:28 8. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 2:19 9. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:09 10. "Positively 4th Street" 3:54 11. "I Want You" 3:05	No. Title Length 12. "Just Like a Woman" 4:52 13. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" 4:36 14. "All Along the Watchtower" 2:32 15. "Lay, Lady, Lay" 3:18 16. "If Not for You" 2:41 17. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" 2:45 18. "I Shall Be Released" 3:04 19. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 2:32 20. "Tangled Up in Blue" 5:43 21. "Forever Young" 4:58 Total length: 79:19
Disc 2
No. Title Length 1. "Shelter From the Storm" 5:02 2. "Hurricane" (Dylan, Levy) 8:33 3. "Gotta Serve Somebody" 5:25 4. "Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" 4:04 5. "Jokerman" 6:15 6. "Everything Is Broken" 3:13 7. "Blind Willie McTell" 5:53 8. "Not Dark Yet" 6:29	No. Title Length 9. "Make You Feel My Love" 3:32 10. "Dignity" (Alternate version) 5:36 11. "Things Have Changed" 5:08 12. "Mississippi" 5:21 13. "Thunder on the Mountain" 5:53 14. "When the Deal Goes Down" 5:01 15. "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" (Dylan, Hunter) 3:52 Total length: 79:17

2014 version

Disc 1
No. Title Length 1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 2:49 2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 3:41 3. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 3:14 4. "It Ain't Me, Babe" 3:36 5. "Maggie's Farm" 3:57 6. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 5:28 7. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 2:20 8. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:11	No. Title Length 9. "Positively 4th Street" 4:09 10. "Just Like a Woman" 4:52 11. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" 4:36 12. "All Along the Watchtower" 2:33 13. "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" (Recorded in 1967, as part of the "Basement Tapes" sessions with The Band) 2:19 14. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" 2:41 15. "Lay Lady Lay" 3:21 16. "If Not for You" 2:40
Disc 2
No. Title Length 1. "I Shall Be Released" 3:05 2. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" 2:46 3. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 2:31 4. "Forever Young" 4:58 5. "Tangled Up in Blue" 5:43 6. "Hurricane" (Dylan, Levy) 8:34 7. "Ring Them Bells" 3:02 8. "Gotta Serve Somebody" 5:26	No. Title Length 9. "Jokerman" 6:17 10. "Not Dark Yet" 6:29 11. "Things Have Changed" 5:09 12. "Make You Feel My Love" 3:33 13. "Mississippi" 5:23 14. "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" (Dylan, Hunter) 3:51 15. "Duquesne Whistle" (Dylan, Hunter) 5:44 16. "When the Deal Goes Down" 5:00

2016 vinyl version

Side One No. Title Length 1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 2:49 2. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 3:41 3. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 3:14 4. "It Ain't Me, Babe" 3:36 5. "Maggie's Farm" 3:57 6. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 5:28 7. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 2:20

Side Two No. Title Length 1. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:11 2. "Positively 4th Street" 4:09 3. "Just Like a Woman" 4:52 4. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" 4:36 5. "Lay Lady Lay" 3:21 6. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 2:31

Side Three No. Title Length 1. "Forever Young" 4:58 2. "Tangled Up in Blue" 5:43 3. "Gotta Serve Somebody" 5:26 4. "Jokerman" 6:17 5. "Make You Feel My Love" 3:33

Side Four No. Title Length 1. "Things Have Changed" 5:09 2. "Mississippi" 5:23 3. "When the Deal Goes Down" 5:00 4. "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" (Dylan, Hunter) 3:51 5. "Long and Wasted Years" 3:46

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[2]	67

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums[3]	37
French Compilations[4]	16
UK Albums Chart[5]	9

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian Top 50 Albums[6]	36

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Norwegian Top 40 Albums[7]	5

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Netherlands Top 100 Albums[8]	78
US Catalog Albums[2]	23

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Finnish Top 50 Albums[9]	30

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Swedish Top 60 Albums[10]	57

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Spanish Top 100 Albums[11]	90

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Greek Top 50 Albums[12]	49

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[13]	3× Platinum	210,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[14]	Gold	25,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[15]	Gold	25,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[17]	Platinum	1,314,000[18]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. The Essential Bob Dylan at AllMusic
2. "The Essential Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
3. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
4. "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (PHP). InfoDisc (in French). Search for "Bob DYLAN" on the drop-down menu to see results.
5. "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 2nd June 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
6. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
7. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
8. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
9. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
10. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
11. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)" (ASP). Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
12. "Bob Dylan – The Essential (Album)". Greek Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
14. "Italian album certifications – Bob Dylan – The Essential Bob Dylan" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 14, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "The Essential Bob Dylan" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
15. "IFPI Norsk Platebransje" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
16. "British album certifications – Bob Dylan – The Essential Bob Dylan". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 25, 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Essential Bob Dylan in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
17. "American album certifications – Bob Dylan – The Essential Bob Dylan". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 25, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
18. Paul Grein (August 7, 2013). "Week Ending Aug. 4, 2013. Albums: Robin Thicke, Call Katy Perry". Yahoo Chart Watch.