Bob Dylan is a genius songwriter. And the truth is that this extraordinary ability could be seen from the outset of his outstanding career. Long-term Dylan fans will revel in hearing some of the greatest songs of the era sung again by a different kind of "new Bob Dylan." But for younger fans of what we call rock 'n' roll, the film will be revelatory. At the very start of his career, as a mere stripling in musical terms, the man who was born Robert Zimmerman delivers songs and lyrics for the ages, That is one of the marvellous lessons to be learned from the outstanding film, A Complete Unknown. So let's look at five of the most brilliant and epoch-making songs – a royal flush from a songwriting cardsharp that that simply must be heard...

‘Like A Rolling Stone’

Where better to start than the classic song which inspired the film’s title?

It’s hard to think of a Dylan track with a more enduring legacy than this hugely influential, rule-breaking hit record. The first single from 1965’s Highway 61 Revisited, ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ tops a plethora of ‘Best Songs of All Time’ lists, has had a music publication named after it, and in 2014, the original handwritten lyrics sold at auction for $2.5m.

You get the point: it’s a big deal! Which makes the A Complete Unknown version all the more impressive. Timothée Chalamet rises to the occasion and confidently delivers this lyrically rich and less than affectionate account of a bourgeois socialite’s apparent fall from grace. The band play their part too, as the song’s whirling organs and raw rock n’roll capture the wild essence of Dylan’s first album to embrace loud, electric instrumentation from start to finish.

Timothée Chalamet in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. Photo by Macall Polay, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

'Girl from the North Country'

Originally written after his first ever visit to the UK and appearing on his sophomore LP The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, this tune was later rerecorded as a duet with Johnny Cash for 1969’s Nashville Skyline. Now, thanks to A Complete Unknown, Dylanites can get pretty close to imagining what it would have been like if Mr Zimmerman ever sang the number with Joan Baez.

Though the two (as far as we know) never performed the song together in real life, and there are other cute liberties taken with chronology involved, the wonderful harmonies in the film version properly suspend disbelief, treating viewers to a wonderfully poignant ‘what if’ moment. Monica Barbaros delivers a stellar performance – as indeed she does throughout, as Dylan’s confidante and sometimes lover Joan Baez - who’s deservedly regarded as a folk legend in her own right.

Monica Barbaros in A Complete Unknown. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

'Folsom Prison Blues'

Speaking of Johnny Cash, The Man in Black is one of a number of Bob Dylan’s heroes to be portrayed in A Complete Unknown - joining the likes of Woodie Guthrie (Scott McNairy) and Pete Seeger (Edward Norton).

Their inclusion reflects the film’s ability to tell not only Dylan’s story, but also that of the wider, extraordinarily vibrant music scene of the early-to-mid ‘60s, and to set it in the context of the shifting sands in society at the time. Cash was a frequent public defender of a young Dylan’s artistic choices, and the two shared a four-decade long friendship.

Written in 1955, the song ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ is a certified classic. The country legend famously made a habit of opening his gigs with the number, including a show at the titular prison in 1968. Boyd Holbrook, like his co-stars, does an excellent job at evoking the inimitable Cash voice, with a ripping twist on the singer's deep croon topping off an energetic all-round performance.

‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’

The second single from his first ‘electric’ album Bringing It All Back Home (1965), is a legend unto itself. In truth, you’d be hard-pressed to find a finer example of Dylan’s famous lyrical dexterity.

John Lennon was reportedly so captivated by the track, and Dylan's marvellous delivery of the cascading lyrics, that he was left questioning his own abilities. Keen-eyed music nerds will also be aware of Radiohead’s nod to the tune on their 1997 opus Ok Computer. It was, of course, also immortalised by the famous proto-video shot by D.A.Pennebaker as part of the documentary movie Don't Look Back.

Fast-paced and blues-laced, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues' is dripping with references to ‘60s politics and life, from phone-tapping to the era’s counterculture and recreational drug use. There's also the fact that Dylan delivers the original vocal at breakneck speed, in what could be considered an early precursor to rap music.

The hardest thing for Chalamet on this one, therefore, was keeping his breath. The actor maintains the required pace, and then some, providing one of the most true-to-original renditions in the entire movie.

Director James Mangold and Timothée Chalamet on the set of A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. Photo by Macall Polay, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

‘Blowin‘ In The Wind’

This is arguably one of the finest examples of the maturity, thoughtfulness and charged political energy of Dylan's early catalogue. The tune – astonishingly written when Robert Zimmerman was only 20-years-old – puts forth a series of rhetorical questions on subjects like freedom, war, humanity and equality, culminating in a protest song that was hugely relevant in the 1960s – but feels worryingly resonant also in the present day.

Unlike ‘Girl From The North Country’, 'Blowin' In The Wind' has been performed as a duet by the real Baez and Dylan down the years. Baez has also been partial to a solo rendition of the track too. For many, it became a soundtrack to the times...

The film version does these two extraordinary icons of a pivotal time justice, standing as another shining example of Chalamet and Barbaros’ impressive ability to blend harmonies, and have listeners doing aural double-takes.

Monica Barbaros Timothée Chalamet in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

• A Complete Unknown opens in cinemas January 17. Listen or order A Complete Unknown (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Timothée Chalamet here.