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In the right hands, this combination of the authoritative and the personal can be potent indeed. Wilentz was 13 when he saw Dylan — 23 at the time — play at the Philharmonic. So Wilentz was formed, in part, by the artist who was formed by — and, in turn, made — the history the professor teaches and writes.
As Wilentz points out, while it's often said that Dylan "owns the s", he is "largely a product of the s and s". This isan understatment, or at least compresses the time span at Dylan's disposal: We start well — by going backwards. Since the influence of Woody Guthrie is well known and celebrated by Dylan himself, Wilentz explores a pervasive but less explicit connection with Aaron Copland. Copland might not have been an influence on the young Dylan but he was in the air — on the airwaves — and he forms an interesting precedent in the way that his early "left-wing Popular Front politics" gave way to widespread acceptance "among the general public as well as concertgoers".
It's interesting, it's informative — and it's a bit of a plod. The passion of the fan is ingrained with the habits of the professor: The problem is that Wilentz must have wanted his conclusions to be more drastic — Copland anticipated Dylan "in ways that help make sense of both men's achievements" — than these discovered coincidences permit. Perhaps it's the historian's uneasiness in the realm of the suggestive and tentative that leads him, elsewhere, to buttress the coincidental with a hint of something else.
Sends a shiver up the causal spine, dunnit? The chapter on the relationship between the folkies and the Beats — particularly Dylan's with Ginsberg — is the best in the book. It's here that the convergence of historical understanding and personal experience generates a current that animates characters, setting and period. Ditto the section on the Philharmonic concert.
The stuff on the recording of Blonde on Blonde is fascinating — how could it not be?
A narrative inventory of which songs were attempted on which day, it has less in common with the purpose of the preceding chapters than it does with the equivalent section in Behind Closed Doors , Clinton Heylin's history of Dylan in the recording studio. The chapter on the Rolling Thunder Revue reels between reminiscence Wilentz went to one of the gigs , research into the historical precedents of the Revue's carnival aesthetic and Dylan's interest in film.
Nor should the influence of Norman Raeben be forgotten: Thereafter, the feeling that various pieces have been recycled and stitched together gr ows hard to ignore.
The hope, presumably, is that the sheer mass of content — from Infidels to the nadir of last year's Christmas songs — will distract readers from the Sellotape holding the whole endeavour invisibly together. If there is a consistency, it is in the ever-present whiff of the classroom. Take the chapter on Blind Willie McTell. Wilentz has found out everything you could want to know about the singer on whom Dylan based his greatest song of the past 30 years. But then he quotes a line of Greil Marcus's — "Perhaps the most entrancing challenge in 'Blind Willie McTell' is to hear in its namesake's music what Bob Dylan heard" — and it's like a flash of sunlight breaking into a gloomy archive, threatening to turn everything to dust.
We are, it must be noted, still playing to Wilentz's strengths. A hilarious account of Glenn's adventures as a police cadet from the time he thought of the idea as a teen to his first calamitous months on the beat. Review "Among those who write regularly about Dylan, Wilentz possesses the rare virtues of modesty, nuance, and lucidity , and for that he should be celebrated and treasured Doubleday; 1st edition September 7, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video.
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There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Critical analysis of not just Bob Dylan's Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Critical analysis of not just Bob Dylan's songs but also his many influences. Analysis is given from mainly historical, cultural, and political perspectives; and I feel like I get so much more Dylan's music after reading it.
An added bonus is that the author analyzes and references many obscure Dylan songs and influences which has broadened my listening and knowledge options. One person found this helpful. The author inserts himself in the story where its appropriate simply because he is part of the story.
As the author states early on, he had the good fortune of living in the NY neighborhood when Dylan showed up. I absolutely recommend the tale this author meticulously unfolds about the life and times of this incredible talent. I don't think I'll ever listen to Dylan"s music with the same ears again I have been influenced by Bob Dylan since , so its saying a lot for me to make these comments. Wilentz's penchant for inserting himself into the narrative is tiresome, this collection of essays is absolutely indispensab.
Although Wilentz's penchant for inserting himself into the narrative is tiresome, this collection of essays is absolutely indispensable for any student of Bob Dylan.
Is beautifully written and full of wonderful surprises. Having followed Bob Dylan's music for now over 30 years, it sometimes seems that it has come out in a place and in a way that is completely unexpected. This book does an interesting job of knitting together the various phases and stages of Dylan's performing and recording career, along with some historical digressions on the musicians that appear to have influenced Dylan's songwriting and music.
Wilentz has a good ear and has spent considerable time and attention to the music played on the records and in concert. No, no, no it ain't insightful soap opera. Missing is the in depth analysis of those who once knew a vagabond minstrel that they heard mutated into a mystical lyrical maestro who sung of esoteric life philosophies.
No, no, no this work does not flow with the juices of an exciting tabloid expose. No, no, no, it ain't here babe. It's more about the music and the man, man. It does, however, examine the musical metamorphosis of a popular music icon with what some view as an unfortunate scholarly flair. In case it isn't clear, I enjoyed the book for what it is. It was what I was looking for and I give it 5 stars for delivering the goods.
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Amazon Inspire Digital Educational Resources. A great historian has written a history of the culture that formed him. The stuff on the recording of Blonde on Blonde is fascinating — how could it not be? Bob Dylan is also widely well-read, drawing inspiration from literature, poetry, biography and history. Wilentz's defense of the plagiarism charges leveled against Dylan, and how Dylan's appropriations can be viewed as part of the "folk process," indeed of literary method through the ages, and of how Dylan's appropriations don't meet the legal standard of plagiarism.
Best bio so far. Liked that there was a lot of focus on the world gone wrong era. Wilentz opens his book with an attempt to connect Dylan to Copland that isn't very convincing but does provide an interesting look into the Popular Front of the s and later folk movement spearheaded by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Wilentz is on more solid ground when he explores Dylan's connection to the Beats in the succeeding chapter, in particular Allen Ginsburg, who I guess can be credited with opening up Bob to a broader plain of music, which eventually led Dylan away from the "folkies.
Concert at Philharmonic Hall. So, for Dylan aficionados you may have felt you have read much of this before. Not to worry though, there is fresh material, such as his wonderful explorations of many of Dylan's classic songs like Nettie Moore and Blind Willie McTell. Wilentz jokes that he became the "Historian in Residence" for the official Bob Dylan website, and he also notes the many concerts he has been to over the years, including the 64 Concert and one of the 75 Rolling Thunder Revue stops in New Haven, Connecticut, giving him an inside view of Dylan and his musical process that few others have.
He notes the extensive conversations he had with Al Kooper and other persons who played with Dylan over the years, and notes the collaborative work he did with Greil Marcus. Nevertheless, Wilentz is first and foremost a historian, not a musicologist, so his attempts to dissect Dylan's music sometimes fall flat. At nearly 5 hours, Renaldo and Clara, is more a test of patience than an epic account of the concert. What makes this cultural biography stand out are the valuable insights into Dylan's unique compositional process that has befuddled critics over the years, even leading to calls of plagiarism.
But, as Wilentz points out, Dylan has tapped into the heart of American music and added to it influences from far and wide that is fully in keeping with the folk tradition. Like Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan is a "link in the chain," and a very important one. Excellent history book especially for a Dylan lover like me. See all 55 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 7 months ago. Published 1 year ago. Published on September 21, Published on August 8, Published on January 1, Published on December 31, Published on December 10, Published on December 1, Wilentz treats us to a "very in-depth" look Published on August 10, What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
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