Book Review Spotlight: Clinton Heylin Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957–1973 and The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan

-- Library Journal, 02/25/2009

The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan. Cambridge Univ. Apr. 2009. c.185p. ed. by Kevin J.H. Dettmar. index. ISBN 978-0-521-71494-5. pap. $24.99.
Heylin, Clinton. Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957–1973. Chicago Review. Apr. 2009. c.496p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-55652-843-9. $29.95. MUSIC

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 surprising—e.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, 1960–1994 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

Click here for additional reviews.