Revolution in the Air

February 15, 2009
These indispensable new books of Bob Dylan criticism carry on important critical traditions. Dettmar's ("Is Rock Dead?") compilation of critical essays and reviews, like "The Bob Dylan Companion: Four Decades of Commentary" and "Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader", among others, is being marketed as a classroom text to support the growing number of college courses offered on Dylan. Its 17 essays are divided between "Perspectives" (e.g., Dylan and religion, Dylan and gender, Dylan as a performer) and "Landmark Albums." In this latter section, an unexpected choice is "Infidels" (1983), ably critiqued by novelist Jonathan Lethem. The historian Eric Lott writes on "Love and Theft" (2001), a wickedly appropriate match-up since Dylan took his album title from Lott's book of the same name.

In his fourth book on Dylan, Heylin provides an encyclopedic account of every song written by Dylan, from his juvenile efforts in the late 1950s to songs from "Planet Waves" in 1973; a second volume is promised. The songs are arranged chronologically, according to the date written, and range in length from a few sentences to several pages. The longer entries are not surprisinge.g., "Like a Rolling Stone" gets eight pages, and "Blowin' in the Wind" gets five. The book's great value is the discovery of many songs that Dylan either never performed or exist only on hard-to-find bootlegs. For each of the 300 songs, the first known performance and studio versions are cited, and Heylin offers analysis from his close reading of Dylan's life and career. This fascinating book is a perfect companion to Heylin's "Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 19601994" and will have the same hypnotic effect on Dylan fans as Michael Gray's "The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia". Like the "Cambridge Companion", it is highly recommended for academic libraries.Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
Prolific Dylanologist Heylin makes his arguably greatest contribution with a painstakingly researched consideration of every song Dylan is known to have written, some 600, all told. Drawing from manuscripts, studio logs, concert recordings, and other sources, Heylin traces Dylans career by listing the songs in order of writing rather than public presentation. This first of two volumes collects everything from juvenilia predating his 1961 arrival in New York to his 1974 comeback album, Planet Waves. Even songs that were never recorded or performed are noted, but the major ones receive multipage write-ups that are, in essence, insightful, revelatory mini-essays. Documenting the mercurial performers transitions from Guthrie-influenced folkie to raging rocker to laid-back country singer, Heylin, who appears to have heard virtually all of the concerts Dylan has performed during the past 20 years of what has come to be known as the Neverending Tour, reveals how vintage songs take on new meanings as theyre recast by their author on stage decades later.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)