The guitarist who Bob Dylan said could play rings around him: “The best I’d ever heard”
As far as acclaimed songwriters go, you can’t get any more accomplished than Bob Dylan. Having won almost every award available under the sun, he’s proven himself to be a master of the written word and can effortlessly weave melodies around his enticing storytelling. While many artists since he first emerged have claimed to look up to Dylan as a songwriting inspiration, very few are able to say that they’ve been able to match his levels of brilliance.
However, it’s fair to say that he’s far from being the greatest instrumentalist of all time. There are so many other guitarists who are able to do what he does and more, and while some have made their millions through demonstrating technical brilliance and flair, Dylan has always been a fan of simplicity, never showing off too many neat tricks when it comes to playing his instrument. As for his harmonica playing, it’s something of an acquired taste, but you wouldn’t want to hear it any other way.
What he did in his music was always fitting with the style of music he made, often preferring to be understated and not showy in any way. If he had been about flashiness, he’d have sounded somewhat out of place, and this is crucial to his appeal in a sense. Dylan would not have the same impact if his work was littered with complex lead breaks, as they’d have distracted the listener from the brilliance of his lyricism, and that’s ultimately his greatest strength.
That doesn’t mean to say that he didn’t work with some exceptional guitarists during his career, and he was blessed to have had many accomplished players in his presence who performed on his records. Among those is one whom he regards as head and shoulders above anyone else he has ever heard in the past, and the amount of adulation Dylan gave him is something that was reserved just for this one individual.
Thanks to the 2005 documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, we’re treated to never-before-seen insights into the folk legend’s life and career through interviews and archival footage. In Martin Scorsese’s film, he sings the praises of who he considers to be the best guitarist in the world—his good friend and former collaborator, Mike Bloomfield.
When Dylan came to writing and recording Highway 61 Revisited, he realised that it was the appropriate moment to begin working alongside other musicians and performers rather than continuing to record by himself. As a blues musician, Bloomfield had been instrumental in trying to get Dylan to play in a similar style, but Dylan himself thought that his abilities were something he wouldn’t be able to match himself.
“When it was time to bring in a guitar player on my record,” Dylan recalled, “I couldn’t think of anybody but him. I mean, he just was the best guitar player I’d ever heard.”
The two had known each other for a few years prior to working together on Highway 61 Revisited, but Dylan had always been in awe of the guitarist’s abilities. “He just played circles around anything I could play,” Dylan would later reveal to Louder Sound. Dylan isn’t usually one for effusive praise, so if he says Bloomfield is the best, then you’ve got to go along with it.
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