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Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973 (Cappella Books)
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| List Price: | $29.95 |
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Product Description
The first of two volumes, this companion to every song that Bob Dylan ever wrote is by far the most comprehensive book on the words of America’s greatest songwriter. Here you’ll find not just opinionated commentary or literary interpretation, but facts, first and foremost. Clinton Heylin is the world’s leading Dylan biographer and expert, and he has arranged the songs--including a number that have never been performed--in a continually surprising chronology of when they were actually written rather than when they appeared on albums. Using newly discovered manuscripts, anecdotal evidence, and a seemingly limitless knowledge of every Bob Dylan live performance, he has uncovered a wealth of information about the songs, leaving no stone unturned in his research.
Here we learn that the middle verse of “Blowin’ in the Wind” was written much later than the first and third verses; that “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” was based on a complete distortion of the facts of the case; that “Mixed Up Confusion,” despite being Dylan’s first single, was composed later than many of his early masterpieces; that “Fourth Time Around” was a direct response to John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood”; and much more.
Reading this volume will fundamentally change how you hear Dylan’s songs and will make you want to revisit the man’s lesser-known masterpieces. This is an essential purchase for every true Bob Dylan fan--and perhaps your most essential purchase, for, as a guide to the man’s work, it will never be surpassed.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #64528 in Books
- Published on: 2009-04-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 496 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781556528439
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
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 Dylan’s 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 performer’s 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 they’re recast by their author on stage decades later. --Gordon Flagg
Review
"The only Dylanologist worth reading." - The New York Times. "Arguably the world's greatest rock biographer." - The Irish Independent. "The most exhaustive, balanced and intelligent account of Dylan's accomplishments that anybody is likely to provide." - Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph. "This epic portrait could hardly be bettered." - The Independent."
Review
"One of the most important volumes in the already groaning Bookshelf of Bob" —Houston Press
"A magnum opus that anyone curious about, fascinated by, and devoted to His Master's Voice will want to read and ponder." —Jonathan Cott, author, Dylan, and editor, Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews
"An exhaustive look at one of the 20th century's best and prolific songwriters…uncovers tons of info about these timeless tracks." —Cleveland Scene
"An excellent supplement to a good Dylan biography . . . including Heylin's highly empirical Behind the Shades." —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
"Comprehensive . . . obviously written very lovingly." —PopMatters.com
"Revolution in the Air, like its precursor, Ian McDonald’s Revolution in the Head about the Beatles' recordings, is an invaluable guide to have by your side as you traverse this monstrous body of work." —NUVO
Customer Reviews
Sadly disappointing
Just received this today (from amazon.de) - and I'm sadly disappointed by the pretentious and rather sloppy research.
Nothing really new here - no really new insights, but mostly a repetition of material found elsewhere already and treated in a more reliable and considerably more scholarly way in books like Michael Gray's The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia or Oliver Trager's Keys to the Rain.
Add to this Heylin's rather condescending tone, everybody else's research (in his eyes) seems to be faulty and cannot be trusted - just savor this rather pompous statement:
"Needless to say, the Internet has also provided endless opportunities for the unpublishable, self-appointed "expert" to pontificate on the man and his art, but I have felt little inclination to fuel their self-importance, with a citation here." (p. 451)
As condescending (or outright arrogant) Heylin is in (several) statements like these throughout the book whenever other people's research/work is concerned, he obviously has no scruples whatsoever to exploit the websites of these "unpublishable" peons (in his eyes) rather extensively, presenting their findings in a way that suggests that these are his own without crediting his sources appropriately, thus rendering his book as academically rather useless, even bordering on plagiarism.
A particularly blatant example is to be found on p. 136. Heylin writes that "Judy Collins, in a 1996 email regarding the two songs, confirms that 'the Seven Curses are related to Anathea'" and extensively quotes from this email, creating the impression that he had been the recipient of it, whereas he "lifted" this email (without credit to his source and proper attribution) verbatim from [...] whose webmaster (and not Heylin) had received it from Judy Collins back in 1996.
It is this obvious lack of scholarly ethics (not crediting sources that one considers "below par" while at the same time using and exploiting them for one's own gain and "glory") which exposes Clinton Heylin as what he claims others to be: a basically "unpublishable" (his book is rather boring to boot), mostly self-appointed "expert".
Do yourselves a favor and do not fuel Heylin's self-importance by buying this hyped and pretentious product (except for a comparison to those by Michael Gray, Oliver Trager, or Derek Barker's Bob Dylan: The Songs He Didn't Write and Todd Harvey's The Formative Dylan -- all of those present an unbiased scholarly approach devoid of the obvious hybris found throughout Heylin's book, a clear distinction between these authors' own research with properly attributed and credited citations from sources and websites consulted and not merely "exploited" without proper credit as in Heylin's case).
To sum it up: Pretentious and hyped in advance but found to be scholarly totally unreliable (sources not credited properly in academic fashion). Sadly disappointing....
Brings it back home to what matters: the songs
I agree with part of the two previous reviewers' comments: Heylin is unnecessarily self-hyping, especially for a biographer. He inserted himself (and what appears to be a perpetual grumpy-older-guy persona) into his biography of Van Morrison ("Can You Feel The Silence?"), ruining what otherwise would have been an enjoyable read for me.
Similarly, he has so many axes to grind with other Dylan writers in his preamble to "Revolution In The Air," you feel he wants a fight with them more than to speak the truth about his subject -- which is Dylan, not those other writers.
Still... this book is so rich. First, it concentrates on the songs. Not "the legend." And it mostly leaves critical comments about specific songs behind, instead just detailing circumstances and background behind their writing. That levelheadedness is valuable in the hothouse bubble of Dylan criticism.
And this book just reminds you where the hothouse really was -- in Dylan's inspired brain. Especially in the 60s which is most of what this first volume covers. (A second volume is planned.) It focuses your attention on Dylan's amazing crawl from copying Woody Guthrie to... replacing him, if you will. An amazing journey.
And the journey is all about those songs. I found it a fascinating read and very hard to put down. I recommend the book highly, even with the caveats about Heylin's personality mentioned above.
Revolution with the facts
I got to page 41 and had to put this book down. I find it hard to believe Clinton Heylin who wrote Behind The Shades actually wrote this. Page 28 he misquotes "Song To Woody." Page 35 he erroneously states that Dylan wrote three songs on Bob Dylan (the first album, and he never identifies the third song). On pages 40 & 41 he credits Dylan with writing "Just As Long As I'm In This World" including lyrics about fiery fingers and a fiery band straight from Reverend Gary Davis' "I Am The Light Of This World", a well known blues song. Heylin has lost all credibility by page 41 so why would I waste my time on the rest of the 482 pages. I am extremely disappointed!
