Dylan - 9780760346594

The complete discography of Bob Dylan - a poet to some, a revolutionary to many, but American musician to all.

People have been debating about Bob Dylan for decades. Is he the voice of a generation or an unlistenable voice? There's no question that he is the most revered and influential American songwriter to emerge since 1960. But Dylan's singing voice is another story--at times it's raspy, nasally, unpolished and, more recently, ragged, gravelly, and croaky. For better or worse, the sound of his voice has been as distinctive as his songs. Admirers embrace his voice as wise and knowing, with phrasing that can be either studied or free-wheeling depending on his mood.

In 2015, the unpredictable Rock and Roll Hall of Famer threw another curveball by releasingShadows in the Night, his first-ever collection devoted to the songs associated with another artist, Frank Sinatra. Is this tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes as surprising as when Dylan went electric in 1965 or when he became a Jesus freak in the late 1970s?

Dylan: Disc by Disc answers those questions by taking an in-depth look at each of Dylan's thirty-six official studio recordings. Music-industry insiders discuss each album with moderator Jon Bream, the veteran critic from Dylan's home-state newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The participants include such music figures as Questlove of the Roots, Rodney Crowell, Jason Isbell, Suzanne Vega, Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding), longtime Dylan pal Eric Andersen and Minnesota musicians Tony Glover and Kevin Odegard, both of whom have been in the studio with Dylan. Critics who debated Dylan's discs include Robert Christgau, Anthony DeCurtis, Alan Light, Joe Levy, Holly George-Warren, Joel Selvin, Jim Fusilli, Geoffrey Himes, Charles R. Cross, and David Browne. Other participants include professors from Boston University, Syracuse University, Pomona College, University of Minnesota, Connecticut College, University of Iowa, and San Francisco State; DJs from New York's WNYC and Chicago's WXRT; and museum curators who have put together exhibits on Dylan.

Dylan: Disc by Disc is beautifully illustrated with LP art, period photography, and memorabilia, as well as performance and candid offstage photography. The book contains information about the recordings and session musicians and provides context and perspective on Dylan's life, concerts, and career.

Dylan: Disc by Disc provides Dylan fans with a compelling, handsome, one-of-a-kind retrospective on a music legend.