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A review by jwells
Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Fantastic in parts, but frequently tends to pile on the detail. Sometimes I loved that. For example, the chapter about the studio sessions of Blonde on Blonde is absolutely riveting, and I adored every last detail: Dylan, fueled by candy bars, rewriting lyrics all night, as the session players, paid by the hour, waited around, kicked their heels and played ping pong, until finally he called them in at four or five am, to struggle through a sleepy eleven-minute recording of the new version...
In other chapters, I found the details exhausting and off-putting. Even though Wilentz promises that we will understand later why all the details in early chapters on Aaron Copeland and Alan Ginsberg are there, I read them faithfully, and then finished the book, and I still think those chapters are far too detailed. We aren't reading this for the story of young Copeland's shifting political affiliations over the years. I didn't see Wilentz's argument for showing any strong influence Copeland might have had on Dylan (maybe some similarity, or some common influences, instead). I felt like I struggled through that chapter in particular for no reason.
Unfortunately, the Copeland chapter is chapter 1, and I bet it causes some readers to put this book down. If you are in that position, skip ahead and read about Ginsberg, or even to the Blonde on Blonde chapter. You won't need the Copeland stuff. Honest.
In other chapters, I found the details exhausting and off-putting. Even though Wilentz promises that we will understand later why all the details in early chapters on Aaron Copeland and Alan Ginsberg are there, I read them faithfully, and then finished the book, and I still think those chapters are far too detailed. We aren't reading this for the story of young Copeland's shifting political affiliations over the years. I didn't see Wilentz's argument for showing any strong influence Copeland might have had on Dylan (maybe some similarity, or some common influences, instead). I felt like I struggled through that chapter in particular for no reason.
Unfortunately, the Copeland chapter is chapter 1, and I bet it causes some readers to put this book down. If you are in that position, skip ahead and read about Ginsberg, or even to the Blonde on Blonde chapter. You won't need the Copeland stuff. Honest.