The Aaron Copland / Bob Dylan connection


Do I have your attention now?!

I am about 2/5th's the way into an amazing book that anyone with the slightest interest in American art forms should find well worth his or her time. It was written by Sean Wilentz, a Professor of American History at Princeton, and author of a few books on that subject. But the book I'm reading is entitled Bob Dylan In America, and it is, hands down, the best writing on Dylan I have yet to read. And I have read a lot about Dylan!

Wilentz starts the book by laying out the context within which Dylan's work will be examined and discussed, starting with the very American music of Aaron Copland. I guarantee you, you have never before heard what Wilentz has to say about the connection between that composer and Dylan. The next section is about the overlap between the Beat writers and the Folk singers of the late 50's and early 60's, but not without tracing their origins back to the 1930's. The relationship between Dylan and Allen Ginsberg is discussed in great detail, and continues into future chapters. It is fascinating stuff.

Wilentz finally gets to Dylan himself, and provides details on the writing and recording of Bob's first six albums, as well as the live shows coinciding with them, culminating in by far the best examination of his masterpiece, "Blonde On Blonde", I have read. Every song, every recording session, every musician involved (there are some surprises!), all examined with fanatical attention to detail. I thought I already knew a lot about the album, but I learned much more than I already knew. Absolutely fantastic!

I do believe this may be the best book I have ever read on the subject of, not just Dylan, but of any artist. I found it at my Public Library, but I'm going to buy a copy. That I'll want to read it again I have no doubt.


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@jafant: If Columbia (and Bob, one supposes) keeps to chronological order, I guess the next bootlegs will be 80's material, not a favorite Dylan decade of mine.

I picked up the latest Dylan release, a triple CD (only) package entitled 1970. It contains unreleased material recorded during the New Morning and Self Portrait album sessions, and is not essential. Mostly early takes of songs that are far inferior to the released versions. But it's cheap (around $20), so what the heck, may as well have it.
bdp24

Excellent! Keep me posted should you read about the next Bootleg release.

Happy Listening!
Well Dylan fanatics, the Clinton Heylin book, The Double Life of Bob Dylan; A Restless, Hungry Feeling 1941-1966, is finally on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. Or at least it was (I bought the only copy) at my local branch. And it shouldn't have been, as street date is not for a coupla days.

Heylin has written a lot of books on Bob, and it considered the best writer on the subject:

- Robert Hilburn: 'If you really want to know the story of Bob Dylan (and everybody should), this is where you must start."

- Rolling Stone: "British writer-historian Clinton Heylin is perhaps the world's authority on all things Dylan."

- New York Times: "The only Dylanologist worth reading."

- Graham Nash: "So, you want to know more about Bob Dylan? Read Clinton Heylin's new book. You'll get all you need."

- Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth): "Whether you've read one book on Bob Dylan or one hundred, THIS is the one you want to read and refer to from this day forward. It leaps a couple light-years ahead with much newly revealed material and deep scholarship. If somebody's got to tell the tale, we can all thank our holy electric pickups and mystical typewriter keys that it was up to Clinton Heylin."

If after reading the above quotes you aren't compelled to immediately find a copy, you REALLY aren't interested in Bob Dylan. ;-)
bdp24;

Not sure what you mean by your assertion that Americana "rejected the hippie ethos". . . 

There are striking parallels between the music of The Band and early 70's  Dead, for example.