Originally posted by oscar jubis
Right, his subject matter was always quite varied, not particularly political. Even "Freewheeling" features 8 out of 13 songs that have not a single political verse. The five "protest songs" therein are: "Blowin' in the Wind", "Masters of War", "A Hard Rain's", "Oxford Town" and "Talkin' WW III Blues". I've noticed several Dylan songs look back on relationships that have ended.
True, Freewheelin' Bob Dylan isn't entirely a "protest song" album, but five protest songs on that album sure beats the zero found on his first two "electric" albums, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. That said, Highway 61 remains my favorite Dylan album due to its brilliant wordplay and imagery, as well as the wonderful melodies in its songs.


Ed Bradley mentioned this during an interview of Dylan for the program 60 Minutes last year, but Scorsese gives no sense of just how prolific the young Dylan was as a songwriter.
He was both prolific and brilliant (am I overusing that word?) in his songwriting. This wasn't a guy churning out mediocre music.


Several sources indicate the dvd set includes 8 songs performed in their entirety. I wtached it on PBS so I don't know firsthand. Please check the extra features on the discs and let me know.
I checked again, and the concert footage "extras" on the DVDs simply skip to the footage shown in the film itself. So you saw the same thing I did.