This is the most controversial album in the Hollies' entire output. Graham Nash claimed he quit over the decision to record it, and critics hated it. And on its face, this is all understandable — the Hollies' distinctive high harmony singing and British beat sound were not a natural fit with Bob Dylan's songs, with their mix of earthy sensibilities and raw musicality. With one possible exception, the songs here are not presented in their ideal forms, but that doesn't explain the hostility with which the album was greeted, until one remembers the reverence in which Dylan was held at the time and the Hollies' status as a pop/rock group; in many critics' eyes, the Hollies cutting an album of Dylan songs was only a step removed from Herman's Hermits recording one. Yet the album has virtues, including Allan Clarke's powerful lead vocals and the soaring harmonies of Terry Sylvester and Tony Hicks, along with Hicks' lively and inventive guitar contributions to the album; additionally, the group's decision to draw from some of the less well-traveled corners of Dylan's songbook makes this a more interesting record than it might otherwise be.
The songs range from then new compositions such as "This Wheel's on Fire" to early, obscure pieces like "When the Ship Comes In." The latter is highlighted by Clarke's forceful singing and a lively contribution on banjo by Hicks. "I Shall Be Released" is nicely stripped down, played on acoustic guitars with soaring harmonies, with an understated embellishment of what sound like marimbas, topped by a steel guitar break played by Alan Parker. The overblown, orchestrated version of "Blowin' in the Wind" (in an arrangement by Manfred Mann's Mike Vickers) may be the worst version of that song ever cut and overstays its welcome by one chorus on a string- and horn-laden finale (that seems to be trying to mimic the fade out on "All You Need Is Love") that just lays there like musical indigestion, but the singing is simply extraordinary. "Quit Your Lowdown Ways" is well-sung and even better played, with some superb rockabilly-style acoustic guitar courtesy of Hicks. "Just Like a Woman" is one of the those tracks where one wishes it were possible to go back to the multi-tracks and wipe the orchestral accompaniment away, leaving only the band's moody, subdued performance, highlighted by Bernie Calvert's gospel-style organ. "The Times They Are a' Changin'" is done with bracing enthusiasm and an off-putting sense of drama. "All I Really Want to Do" has superb singing and a strange marimba accompaniment that somehow works. And then there is "My Back Pages," the best track on the album and the only one that sounds the way the Hollies of old would've done it, loose and flowing, with beautiful acoustic guitar at its center, a reed orchestra accompanying the band, Bobby Elliott beating the hell out of his snare, and Bernie Calvert's bass holding the beat. "The Mighty Quinn" has possibilities for about 30 seconds, until the excessively heavy orchestration comes in and wrecks whatever the group has accomplished in the way of rocking up the track. This album marked only the second round of sessions on which new member Terry Sylvester participated with the group. A 1993 CD reissue of this album included two live cuts with Graham Nash in the band, doing Dylan songs from his final days in the band. Released in America as Words and Music By Bob Dylan.