Highway 61 Revisited: Bob Dylan’s Road from Minnesota to the World

by Colleen J. Sheehy (Editor), Thomas Swiss (Editor)

The young man from Hibbing released Highway 61 Revisited in 1965, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or is it? From his roots in Hibbing, to his rise as a cultural icon in New York, to his prominence on the worldwide stage, Colleen J. Sheehy and Thomas Swiss bring together the most eminent Dylan scholars at work today-as well as people from such far-reaching fields as labor history, African American studies, and Japanese studies-to assess Dylan's career, influences, and his global impact on music and culture. With a special focus on his Minnesota roots, including Greil Marcus's spectacular tour of Dylan's hometown, authors also take into account his most recent work and Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home. The first cultural and historical geography of his dramatic rise, storied career, and unmatched iconic status, Highway 61 Revisited maps the terrain of Bob Dylan's music in the world.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Roderick Mcgillis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays by various hands, and as you would expect the essays are uneven. The most interesting material deals with Dylan's complex relationship with race in America. Also of interest is the examination of Dylan's 'voices'. One essay especially delves into this aspect of Dylan's performance in an overly complicated, but not uninteresting, way. All in all, a worthwhile collection. I read all the essays, only one of which I did not finish. Did I come away knowing more about Dylan than when I began? Perhaps.

[Peveril · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hiy and miss essays on dylanesque subjects. More misses than hits for me.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty essays explore Dylan's intersection with American culture.

Comments that stuck with me:

— Bob Dylan, in the early sixties, saw the end of the traditional msic people who recorded in the twenties and thirties. Delta and Appalachian musicians fixtures in clubs, colleges and festivals. "Those old songs are my lexicon," he said.

— "The first thing that turned me onto folk singing was Odetta," said Dylan.

Until recently, I was a casual fan of Dylan, knowing his famous songs, his trajectory and having seen him twice. But Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track recalibrated my appreciation of him through its breadth of documenting his five hundred studio tracks. Then his seventy-fifth birthday came round this week, which was another fine time for reflecting on his contributions to music and our culture. Now for a couple more books and tunes ...

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of readable academic essays. Good stuff on Dylan's Northern Minnesota background and the "Love and Theft" and Modern Times albums. Also lots of quotes from Chronicles Vol. 1, which I haven't read yet.

[Melissa]

Papers from a symposium on Dylan held at the Weisman Art Museum of the University of Minnesota in 2007. Found it today for 70% off in the Weisman's own gift shop!