Self Portrait is the boldest act of self-definition ever made by a major singer/songwriter. Fed up with fans’ insistence on making him their countercultural guru, Dylan took a drastic detour. On this double album dominated by covers, he brings his Nashville Skyline croon to traditional folk (“Little Sadie"), ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll (The Everly Brothers’ “Take a Message to Mary”), and tunes by his contemporaries (Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”), making a striking statement about his identity by placing himself in this idiosyncratically curated context.