‘Yesterday’ – The Beatles

Bob Dylan and The Beatles had an interesting relationship. As the two were battling for the public’s attention, Bob Dylan made his thoughts on the band and some of their songs known. One of the tracks that he took a dislike to was their classic ‘Yesterday’. Despite being one of their most popular tracks and something seen as timeless by a lot of Beatles fans, Dylan was never able to get on board.

“I would like to be accepted by the Hogtown Dispatch literary crowd who wear violets in their crotch and make sure they get all the movie and TV reviews and also write about all the ladies’ auxiliary meetings and the PTA gatherings, you know, all in the same column. I would like to be accepted by them people. But I don’t think I’m ever going to be, whereas The Beatles have been,” said Dylan, letting his thoughts (and what some could call jealousy of the band) be known. “The Beatles are accepted, and you’ve got to accept them for what they do. They play songs like ‘Michelle’ and ‘Yesterday’, a lot of smoothness there.”

‘Michelle’ – The Beatles

Another track by The Beatles that Bob Dylan mentioned he dislikes was ‘Michelle’. He wasn’t a fan of ‘Yesterday’ because he felt it lacked substance and was somewhat of a cop-out; however, when it came to ‘Michelle’, Dylan hated it because it was a blatant rip-off of his work. Many people previously said that the entire Rubber Soul album was John Lennon trying to sound like Bob Dylan, and it seems that Bob Dylan agreed.

Dylan spoke about the first time he heard Rubber Soul and how shocked he was at how much he had influenced the record. “What is this? It’s me, Bob. [John’s] doing me!” He said when discussing the record, “Even Sonny and Cher are doing me, but, fucking hell, I invented it.”

‘Ballad In Plain D’ – Bob Dylan

You have to give credit where it’s due; Bob Dylan is consistent with his criticism. As such, while he takes aim at a number of classic songs other people love, it only feels fair that he should also hate some of his own work. In this instance, it’s ‘Ballad In Plain D’, which was a track that spoke about domestic issues with Suze Rotolo, revealing insight into their relationship and also criticising her sister.

Dylan admitted later down the line that he regretted writing the song. “Oh yeah, that one! I look back and say ‘I must have been a real schmuck to write that.’ I look back at that particular one and say, of all the songs I’ve written, maybe I could have left that alone,” he said, “I wouldn’t really exploit a relationship with somebody. Whereas in ‘Ballad in Plain D’ I did. Not knowing that I did it. At that time, my audience was very small. It overtook my mind so I wrote it. Maybe I shouldn’t have used that.”

‘Heart of Gold’ – Neil Young

When we talk about great songwriters, we naturally think of Bob Dylan; however, it doesn’t take long for us to also think of Neil Young. After being in a variety of bands and making a huge name for himself in music, there is no questioning Young’s authority; however, Dylan was never a fan of one of Young’s biggest tracks.

“I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to ‘Heart of Gold’,” said Dylan, “I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I’d say, ‘Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me’.”

‘Knocking On Heavens Door’ – Guns N’ Roses

Given his impact, it’s hardly a surprise that so many different artists covered Bob Dylan. Some of the tracks he enjoyed; however, there were others that he despised, one of the latter was Guns N’ Roses cover of ‘Knocking On Heavens Door’. “Guns N’ Roses is okay, Slash is okay, but there’s something about their version of the song that reminds me of the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” said Dylan.

While he might not have been a huge fan of the song, Axl Rose once said that they only recorded the cover because Dylan had asked them to. “Bob asked me, ‘When you gonna record ‘Heaven’s Door’? And I said, ‘I don’t know, but we really love that song’,” recalled Rose, “And he said, ‘I don’t give a fuck. I just want the money.’ True story.”