Greil Marcus on Dylan

Thanks to Gil White:

“Thanks for the review of Highway 61 Revisited; I look forward to reading it. Your favourable comparison of the new book with the recent Greil Marcus book struck a chord with me: for all his stature in the Dylan writers’ guild, Marcus is a difficult read. I struggled through Like A Rolling Stone, just as I did with Invisible Republic, his book on the Basement Tapes.”

I take Gil’s point – I, too, find Marcus’s prose heavy going at times. Sometimes, you feel, he would benefit from more muscular editing. But I share the view that Marcus’s books are must-haves. The Basement Tapes book, in particular, is well worth the effort – jam-packed with revelations and insights, it’s an essential companion to the bootleg version of the landmark sessions.



Gerry Smith