Customer Reviews

Alias Bob Dylan: Revisited (Non Fiction)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read the first version of this book (Alias Bob Dylan) twice over the years. This version is a major revision of the first book with only some overlap. It would be great if the two versions were republished in a single book integrating the text of both. As it is, I'd recommend you read both versions.

Scobie is an admitted fan but this does not seem to impair his objectivity, particularly since he goes far deeper than the "is this album or song better than that one" type of criticism that often makes the work of lesser music critics fairly superficial. "Alias: Revisited" is not only one of the best analyses of Dylan's art, easily surpassing higher profile works like Michael Gray's "Song and Dance Man" or even Paul Williams' excellent "Performing Artist" series, but also one of the best works of literary criticism I've come across.

Scobie is an academic and the way he draws on the ideas of Derrida make the philosopher's work surprisingly accessible. I found one of the major chapters, an analysis of the text of "Visions of Johanna" absolutely thrilling. This is what literary criticism should be!

Contrary to the review below, this book, and Scobie's first book (Alias: Bob Dylan) are not 'complimentary'. As far as I can tell, the first book is reprinted in its entirety in Alias: Bob Dylan Revisited. The second book does contains a substantial amount of new and interesting material, so if you're going to get one of them, I'd highly recommend the second book.