With {^Another Side of Bob Dylan}, {$Dylan} had begun pushing past {\folk}, and with {^Bringing It All Back Home}, he exploded the boundaries, producing an album of boundless imagination and skill. And it's not just that he went electric, either, rocking hard on {&"Subterranean Homesick Blues,"} {&"Maggie's Farm,"} and {&"Outlaw Blues"}; it's that he's exploding with imagination throughout the record. After all, the music on its second side -- the nominal {\folk} songs -- derive from the same vantage point as the rockers, leaving {\traditional folk} concerns behind and delving deep into the personal. And this isn't just introspection, either, since the surreal paranoia on {&"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"} and the whimsical poetry of {&"Mr. Tambourine Man"} are individual, yet not personal. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, really, as he writes uncommonly beautiful love songs ({&"She Belongs to Me,"} {&"Love Minus Zero/No Limit"}) that sit alongside uncommonly funny fantasias ({&"On the Road Again,"} {&"Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"}). This is the point where {$Dylan} eclipses any conventional sense of {\folk} and rewrites the rules of {\rock}, making it safe for personal expression and poetry, not only making words mean as much as the music, but making the music an extension of the words. A truly remarkable album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide