Concert Vol
Bob Dylan In America
One of America’s finest historians shows us how Bob Dylan, one of the country’s greatest and most enduring artists, still surprises and moves us after all these years.Sale at book sale
Growing up in Greenwich Village, Sean Wilentz discovered the music of Bob Dylan as a young teenager; almost half a century later, he revisits Dylan’s work with the skills of an eminent American historian as well as the passion of a fan.Drawn in part from Wilentz’s essays as “historian in residence” of Dylan
This book, by Sean Wilentz (who wrote the liner notes for “The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall”), is a combination of fact, interpretations, and constructive criticism. Taken together this gives a good, sometimes unique look into Bob Dylan’s music in relation to the era (s) that influenced him. His relationship to Dylan goes back to the early days when his father owned a bookstore important to the “beat” generation of writers (Dylan first met Allen Ginsberg in Wilentz’ uncle’s apartment, upstairs from the family bookstore), and just down the street from The Gaslight Cafe and Cafe Wha?, important to Dylan’s (and many others) burgeoning career.
The author places Dylan, beginning in the early 60′s, in the context of America and the changes and influences that were already beginning to happen, and would increase rapidly throughout the decade and beyond. Wilentz takes a good, but selected, look at Dylan’s writing and his growing performance style throughout specific times in Dylan’s career, up to the present time, while not focusing at length on Dylan’s place in American life, through the eyes and ears of listeners.
The author had access to unreleased recordings, and even the studio logbooks and notes from Dylan’s career, and unseen photographs which help immensely in formulating an in depth look into both Dylan’s writings and performances. Wilentz has done a good job in putting all of his research into an easy to read (but not strictly chronological), interesting, and informative book. Of great interest, after writing about Aaron Copland’s combination of left-leaning politics and music, in the first portion of the book, is how Wilentz places Dylan’s work in the context of “The Beat Generation”, writers, particularly Allen Ginsberg, and a number of others from this period.
The author makes a strong connection between “the beats” and Dylan’s early, burgeoning writing style by going back in history to the 1950′s, when Ginsberg et al, were becoming an albeit small, but influential force in America. The author places into this context two of Dylan’s best albums-”Bringing It All Back Home”, and “Highway 61 Revisited”.
The vast portion of the remainder of the book is taken up with selected eras of Dylan’s work, beginning with Dylan’s mid 60′s recordings and concerts, and the recording of “Blonde On Blonde” and later concerts (Rolling Thunder Review for example).
The author doesn’t dwell on the early 60′s to a great extent because so much has already been written about this particular time. Wilentz then looks at Dylan selectively up through and into the 90′s after his, arguably, fallow period, and how he looked for inspiration in early forms of folk music and country blues. Using individual songs, (“Delia”, “Lone Pilgrim” for example), Wilentz paints a good overview of Dylan during this period with his chosen examples of Dylan’s work. The author concludes with his critical look at “Love And Theft” at the turn of the century, and ends with Dylan’s “Christmas In The Heart’ album in 2009-which created quite strong opinions on both Dylan and his current work.
The book starts with Aaron Copeland, whose music Dylan uses as an introduction to many of his live performances and then goes on to scrutinize much of Dylan’s musical heritage. The second part of the writing commences with a concert the author attended in 1964 at New York’s Philharmonic Hall; goes through the years and decades of Bob Dylan’s music examining his styles and interpretations and ends with the Christmas recording of 2009.
Those associated professionally with Bob Dylan are well covered, as well as some of his dealings with films such as `Don`t Look Back` and ‘Masked and Anonymous`. At times the chronology is a bit jumpy, but nothing that would confuse a reader. There are 28 pages of selected readings, notes and discography and a well done index. There are numerous black and white photos interspersed with the readings, that really help with appeal and understanding as do some well placed footnotes.
About the Author
Valentine Concert Vol 118 file 01
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