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Baker's Dozen

Feelgood Hits! Wilko Johnson's Favourite Albums
Zoë Howe , August 8th, 2018 10:10

Wilko Johnson speaks to Zoe Howe about surviving cancer and his 13 favourite records, from Bo Diddley and the blues to the Doors, Beatles and Rolling Stones

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Bob Dylan - Highway 61
Well, obviously I've got to pick a Bob Dylan. To me, Dylan stands alone. I think he's slightly superhuman. There are so many I could pick 12 Bob Dylan albums probably.

This is Bob Dylan when he towered above everybody in the universe. These songs... the lyrics are so brilliant and he's got that classic sound. You know, Philip Larkin used to really love Bob Dylan, and he described his voice as 'cawing, derisive', and that's just what it is, like a big sneer at the universe. These songs are just so intense and funny and they sound great. There's something magic about it. That stuff back then with those musicians is his 'wild Mercury sound' which he never really captured again.