Product Description

Dylan is a musical and political icon. From his early days of protest songs, like Blowing in the Wind, The Times They Are A Changing - to his revolutionary Subterranean Homesick Blues, and Like a Rolling Stone, the country Lay Lady Lay, the religious Slow Train Coming, the confessional Idiot Wind, his songs have spoken to generations, had a huge influence on such artists as John Lennon, Lou Reed, Mark Knopfler and been regarded by writers and critics such as Andrew Motion and Craig Raine as a poet who stands alongside such figures as Ginsberg and Walt Whitman.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #370980 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 624 pages

About the Author
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941, Bob Dylan is without question one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. He not only revolutionised popular music by incorporating poetry in his folk and rock compositions, he also helped create a more inclusive and progressive consciousness in American culture.

Customer Reviews

Lyrics as Poems
This tome contains all of the lyrics up to and including "Love and Theft". Dylan's lyrics have always been held in high esteem, but usually as performed with music. Most of Dylan's albums don't come with lyric sheets, so this is the only way to study the lyrics in depth. The question is, how do they stand up on their own in a chunky book like this?

The answer is quite well. Many of the lyrics are too familiar to read without hearing the music that goes along with them as you read them. It is difficult, for instance, to read Mr Tambourine man without that melody floating to the surface.

Presented in this naked way it is easier to see the influence of figures like Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg on some of his work.

Can you read this book as poetry? In most cases you can, the familiarity of the songs not withstanding. The effect of lyrics as varied as "Desolation Row" and "Every Grain of Sand" take on new resonances when read in this way. Reading them allows you to go back and hear the songs with new insight.

So, who is this book for? Well the obvious group is Dylan fans. For them this is an essential companion to the albums. Fans of poets like Ginsberg and Whitman would also find much that is rewarding in this volume. Its variety of lyrical approaches makes this a useful demonstration on how to construct an effective lyric.

The book is well presented sectioned into the albums with addenda of lyrics associated but not included on the relevant album. There is an index of Publishers and Copyright Dates at the back of the book which serves as an alphabetical list of songs so you can find them quickly.

All in all a quality, well bound book that is well worth the price tag.

His Royal Bobness
Well basically, if you're a diehard Bob freak like me, this is an absoloute must-have item. Ever listened for years to a Bob song, thought you knew the lyrics, then discovered you'd been singing something completely different all this time? I certainly did. Only a couple of songs, but having bought a copy of this book, I smiled at my own stupidity when I finally read the correct lyrics.

A lovely edition, very well presented, and highly recommended.

Genius
It doesn't matter how many times you flick through this book you will never cease to be astonished by the quantity, quality, the depth of feeling and knowledge Bob Dylan brings to his work. To say he is the voice of a generation is both a cliche and an under-estimation of his contribution to 20th century literature. If Dylan is not awarded the Nobel Prize there's even more wrong with this world than his lyrics often detail on our behalf. Genius is a word that should be rarely used. This is that rare occasion.