To some, it might appear incredible that it has taken us six entire episodes of “How Music Changed” to cover Bob Dylan’s first six albums. It might appear as though we are belaboring the point by paying too close attention to each nuance. I, however, feel quite contrary to that point.

I would argue that the previous five shows could barely contain the essence of Dylan’s relevance, and that we hardly wasted a single second of our allotted one-hour time slot. By constantly changing and metamorphosing himself through a multitude of changes, Dylan may be the single most influential musician of the ‘60s, and possibly of the entire 20th century. Today’s show drives that point home.

Our sixth episode on Dylan covers approximately two months of Bob Dylan’s life, but it was a tumultuous two months, full of events and aftershocks that still cause the world to tremble. We start with his last acoustic tour of Europe, which had been met with considerable resistance by those unable to accept his musical growth. D.A. Pennebaker filmed this tour and the footage was assembled for a stunning documentary entitled “Don’t Look Back.”

Upon his return to the States, he recorded a rambling diatribe of loathing entitled “Like a Rolling Stone,” which became his first top 10 hit, despite its 6-plus minute length. He appeared at the Newport Folk Festival for the third year in a row, but this time he brought along an electric band to accompany him, a move that upset quite a few people, and shocked almost everyone. He then assembled many of the same players to record an album made up almost entirely of rock and roll arrangements, calling the album “Highway 61 Revisited,” and then released yet another top 10 single.

We try desperately to fit all of this information into one program, with only 7 ½ songs. It’s a virtual impossibility, but we hope you listen to hear how hard we tried.

Ballad of a Thin Man

Like a Rolling Stone

Tombstone Blues

It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry

Highway 61 Revisited

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

Positively 4th Street

Desolation Row (edited due to time limitations)