A Brief Review of Jon Bream's Dylan: Disc By Disc

I'm just finishing Jon Bream's 2015 book about the first 36 studio albums of Dylan's career, a career whose influence pervades nearly aspect of modern culture, a culture that itself has been oscillating and ever shifting before our very eyes throughout the course of our lives. The book sets itself up as both a reference tool and orderly critique of the music of the Northland's native son.

The setup is this: each Dylan album, from his first to Shadows in the Night, is presented with a listing of the songs and several paragraphs of context. This is followed by a discussion between Jon Bream and various commentators, selected for their obvious knowledge about and appreciation for Dylan's music and career, Bream asking questions interview-style to two people with sometimes disparate points of view, more than 50 in all, each of them briefly introduced in the chapters and more elaborately in an appendix.

As I see it, this book can be a useful tool for people unfamiliar with Dylan's lesser known albums who wish to start collecting but don't know where to begin. The discussions help acquaint readers with many of the good tracks on these albums, but are also candid enough to shine a bit of light on which albums might not be suitable for first-time listeners. To this end Bream includes an Appendix 3 in which the albums are ranked, based on the opinions of our reviewers.

A partial overview of my Dylan library. 

It would be easy to say that the book could have been expanded, that there is not enough space in four pages per album to adequately cover his greatest albums. As I see it, that's not the aim of this book. Greil Marcus wrote a whole book on Like A Rolling Stone, and you can read Kevin Odegard's A Simple Twist Of Fate for the definitive review of Blood on the Tracks. In short, the book makes Dylan accessible without striving to be comprehensive. All writing involves setting down rules and Jon Bream's process made for an easy-to-follow summation of Dylan's studio history.

Here's an observation from one Amazon reviewer that I could relate to.

One (of the) the fascinating things about this book is the enjoyment mirrors the arc of Dylan's career. The setup, two people from different but knowledgeable backgrounds, commenting on the albums in chronological order from earliest to latest, works. And the first half of Dylan's albums recreate the incredible spark he brought with his genius. As he becomes, let's say nicely, less popular, the reviewers strain to point out the bright spots. It is amazing to have recounted all the songs he did that didn't have legs. But the masterpieces are fun to revisit. I really enjoyed this book.

Not only are the masterpieces fun to revisit, it's a heady experience to count how many truly great songs he produced over the years, right up through to Tempest, the last studio album of his own songs.

When it comes to ranking the albums I can't say I line up with the "experts" other than to note that their top five could safely be considered five of the top ten albums ever produced. Blonde On Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, Highway 61 Revisited, Bringing It All Back Home, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan--in case you want to know. (The other five would include the Beatles Sgt. Pepper, The White Album... what else? Thriller?)

Local Dylan fans might be interested in learning that a number of the contributors have had connections to the Northland's Dylan festivals, including Paul Metsa. Eric Andersen, who put on a concert here last summer with Scarlet Rivera, is also featured, along with the Twin Cities' Kevin Odegard who weighs in on Tempest in addition the album he wrote about, Blood on the Tracks.

I see that I neglected to mention that for the Dylan fan there are a pallet-load of photos throughout, more than enough new and original snaps to satisfy. My only criticism has to do with the marbled paper effect which occasionally makes reading a challenge in low-light conditions.

About the Author: Jon Bream has been a journalist covering the music scene for the Minneapolis Star Tribune since 1974. Here's where you can find Mr. Bream's book on Amazon. He's also written about Hendrix, Neil Diamond, Prince and other notables, most notably Led Zeppelin.

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For what it's worth, Duluth Dylan Fest is three weeks out now. It might be a good time to purchase tickets for the various events that require them, from the Hibbing Bus Tour to the Blood on the Tracks Express, and our kickoff event featuring Robbie Vee and his Rock & Roll Caravan.

This year, our Bob Dylan Birthday Party will begin with a Poets of the North Country event from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Spirit of the North Theater at Fitger’s, a suitable tribute for the Nobel Laureate. This will be followed by The Basement Tapes Band from 9:00 to 11:00 PM at The Rex Bar at Fitger’s. Tickets for The Basement Tapes Band can be found here on Eventbrite.

Find the full week's schedule here on Facebook.

It's all good. Will we see you there?

A Dylan Reading List: 12 Recommended Favorites from my Bookshelf

Someone recently sent me a link to a list of 35 Dylan albums arranged from worst to best. As with all lists there's bias, and it always surprises me how low some of my favorite albums get ranked in such lists. For this reason I am not ranking this list of books about Bob Dylan, just sharing the titles. I own more books than I'm listing here.

There sure are a lot of Dylan books in the world. For fans who enjoy reading and not just listening to the music, here are some volumes that I own, a relatively small collection compared to some bookshelves I've seen.

Based on comments that I've heard, or read when I reviewed one or another of these, I already know there will be some naysayers that will scratch their heads on one or more. I share these because I myself got something out of each. So in no particular order, let's begin.

Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz 
Wilentz is a Princeton historian who provides a deep dive into Dylan’s influences, historical sources and insights to many of the songs that have defined who he is.

Dylan’s Visions of Sin by Christopher Ricks 
Ricks is a literary critic and scholar who is intimately acquainted with Dylan’s work, who as a past president of the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics offers the fruit of his lifetime of study to shine an original light on the lyrics and writings of this man whom he considers a contemporary genius.

Chronicles, Volume 1
Bob Dylan Not a chronology, Dylan’s autobiographical memoir features insights from key touchstones in his life. Inventive and entertaining, with surprising revelations.

No Direction Home by Robert Shelton
Shelton was a British music critic who helped launch the career of a young Bob Dylan. When published in 1986 it was declared the definitive unauthorized biography.

Behind the Shades Revisited by Clint Heylin 
Heylin is another English author who offered up this in depth bio 15 years after Shelton’s in time for Dylan’s 60th birthday.

The Dylanologists by David Kinney 
Kinney is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who turned his lens on Dylan’s fans and followers. Gets close to home, as in Dylan’s homes here in Duluth and in Hibbing.

Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star by Lee Marshall 
Lee Marshall's book on Dylan is an examination of the meaning of stardom and its impact. Bob Dylan happens to be the organism under the microscope here.

Restless Pilgrim: The Spiritual Journey of Bob Dylan by Scott Marshall 
Marshall’s book highlights the threads from Dylan’s various songs and interviews that show the vibrancy of his faith, which remained inseparable from the message of his life.

One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour by Andrew Muir 
Muir's book documents the Never Ending Tour in a manner I have not yet seen. A good read for fans.

A Simple Twist of Fate by Andy Gill & Kevin Odegard 
Gill, a British music journalist, and Odegard, a Twin Cities session musician, collaborated to present the backstory on the making of Blood on the Tracks, considered by many to be one of Dylan’s great recordings, with Minnesota players very close to home.

Performed Literature by Betsy Bowden
Bowden argues that Dylan is a singer-songwriter whose art, as collected and documented by his intended audience, is the live performance. I've met a few folks who dismiss her views but she's done some homework and given an original perspective that I found interesting.

Like a Complete Unknown by John Hinchey
Hinchey wanted to write about something that would interest him for a very long time and he chose to analyze the songs of Bob Dylan as poetry. His first book deals with the songs from Dylan's first decade, and I assumed he would continue but have not seen anything since. I like the book as a reference source to stimulate idea when I write about Dylan's early songs.

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I own quite a few more than are listed here, but thought I would throw in books that I enjoyed and that bring something more than just another overview of his life. There are quite a few of those.

If I' had more time, I would have included links to reviews from my blog and to where you can find them on Amazon. Since we all pretty much know how it work, ask Google.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Engage it.

PS: Check out my Dylan-themed pins here. It's a start anyways.