Trager v Gray: a tale of two encyclopedias

Writing and editing copy for The Dylan Daily is an enjoyable diversion from real life, but, like any writing task taken seriously, it always involves checking – facts, names, titles, and, especially, spellings: is it Scarlett or Scarlet? The Times They Are A-Changin’, or is there another “g” in there? And surely that tiresome little Ulster DJ on BBC Radio 1 was wrong tonight in playing and discussing a Dylan song he called Everybody Must Get Stoned?

You go for years without a Dylan fact-checker, and then two come along at the same time. Oliver Trager beat Michael Gray into print by some margin, so I’d been using his Definitive Encyclopedia well before this autumn’s launch of Gray’s competitor tome. But I’ve been consulting both books frequently since then.

So, Trager or Gray? Which is more useful? More authoritative?

In a nutshell, I find both encyclopedias invaluable. They have different strengths – I use Trager more on albums and song detail, but turn to Gray for his focus on people and places. Luckily, the two are complementary. And I couldn’t do without either.

If you don’t yet own the new(ish) Dylan encyclopedias by Oliver Trager and Michael Gray, I suggest you print out this article, scrawl “Vital – buy both” in red in the margin and leave it lying around at home, where some significant other is likely to see it before s/he does her/his Xmas shopping.



Gerry Smith