Dylan’s self-titled debut album was made in a matter of hours, it cost $402 to record (according to producer John Hammond) and it serves as an introduction for anyone wanting to explore Dylan’s first steps as a professional musician. On his first LP, recorded at New York’s Columbia Recording Studios, on November 20-22, 1961, Dylan sang topical folk songs, accompanying himself on harmonica and guitar. The album contained only two originals (“Song to Woody” and “Talking New York”) and eleven cover versions, mostly old folk and blues numbers.

Dylan takes an arranger’s credit on many of the traditional songs, but a number of them can be traced to his contemporaries. For example, the arrangement of “House of the Rising Sun” was developed by Dave Van Ronk, who was Dylan’s close friend at the time. A significant portion of the album is possessed by the style and spirit of Woody Guthrie, whose influence as a singer and guitarist hovers over “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “Pretty Peggy-O”, as well as the two originals here – the savagely witty “Talkin’ New York” and the poignant “Song to Woody”.