“The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” was released on May 27, 1963.  Although his first LP failed to chart, this second release reached Number 22 and was on the Billboard chart for 32 weeks.  This time the Little Sandy Review was quite unkind, using such  phrases as:

• melodramatic and maudlin
• affected and pretentious
• strangely foppish manner of singing
• dull and monotonous
• bad beatnik poetry
• no logical continuity or point
• wacky verses

The LSR didn’t count Dylan out, but hoped that he would veer closer to his folk roots.  It also reported that some copies were released that omitted “Girl From the North Country,” “Masters of War,” “Bob Dylan’s Dream,” and “Talking World War III Blues” and instead included “Rocks and Gravel,” “Let Me Die in my Footsteps,” “Gamblin’ Willie’s Dead Man’s Hand,” and “Talking John Birch Blues.”  Collectors items?