Listening to Bob Dylan

Listening to Bob Dylan

Larry Starr

Book - 2021

"Listening to Bob Dylan seeks to reposition music and musical performance as central, essential aspects of Bob Dylan's art. Countering the tendency on the part of many scholars, journalists, fans, and casual listeners to regard Dylan primarily or even exclusively as a poet, or as a writer of lyrics, Starr presents Dylan's work as a complete package and a personal, unique synthesis of words, music, and performance. Starr aims to provide an unpretentious guide that will help readers enjoy Dylan's music and music performance to the fullest. By way of clarifying Starr's methodology, consider the question "How does it feel?" By itself it's an everyday, unremarkable expression: a salesperson hoping that the... new shoes are fitting properly; a doctor or dentist assessing a patient's condition. Now imagine these same words being sung at you intensely by another person: "How does it feeeeel?" This is no longer that everyday question. Shaped by a familiar melody, rhythm, and vocal color, this can be one thing only, an evocation of Bob Dylan performing his iconic "Like a Rolling Stone." The words "How does it feel?" become "Like a Rolling Stone" only when Dylan's characteristic melody, rhythm, and vocal style are synthesized with them, becoming parts of an inseparable whole. The book is organized conceptually, in terms of what might be called listening focus: turning detailed attention first to Bob Dylan's varied vocal styles, then to his harmonica playing, then to the compositional elements of his songs, then to his choices of instrumentation, and so forth. This allows the reader to build a repertoire of listening experiences"--

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Subjects
Dylan, Bob, > 1941- > Criticism and interpretation.
Popular music > United States > Analysis, appreciation.
Published
Urbana : University of Illinois Press [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Larry Starr (author)
Physical Description
ix, 136 pages ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 123-124) and indexes.
ISBN
9780252086021
9780252043956
  • Not by Words Alone
  • Folksinger, Bluesman, Rocker, Crooner : The Many Voices of Bob Dylan
  • His Other Voice : Bob Dylan's Essential Harmonica
  • Bob Dylan as Composer, I : Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm
  • Bob Dylan as Composer, II : Musical Form
  • Accompanying Bob Dylan : Instruments, Instrumentalists, Singers
  • Arranging an Album
  • Bob Dylan in Live Performance : Documenting a Musical Shape-Shifter
  • Bringing It All Back Home (Pulling It All Together).
Review by Choice Review

Starr (emer., Univ. of Washington) has written a brief but fascinating analysis of Bob Dylan's myriad musical accomplishments. Because Dylan won a Nobel Prize for literature, scholarship on him usually focuses on his word compositions. But Starr points out in chapter 1 (of nine) that Dylan's "lyrics, his music, his singing, and his playing are all bound together in the creation of an appropriately celebrated whole that is much more than the mere sum of its parts" (p. 10). Chapter 2, "Folksinger, Bluesman, Rocker, Crooner," covers some of his vocal stylings. Chapters on Dylan as composer, accompanist for singers and instrumentalists, album arranger, live performer, and much more follow. Starr draws numerous examples from Dylan's released albums into 2020 and from concert performances. Though the examples are somewhat technical, there are no musical notations, as Starr's intent is to communicate to a broad, nonspecialist audience. There are plenty of helpful examples of Dylan's vast musical genius in this groundbreaking study, which includes a "very selective bibliography." Dylan biographies continue to pour off the presses, but Starr's approach is fresh and stimulating. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Ronald D. Cohen, emeritus, Indiana University Northwest

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Given that Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, one might assume that a study of the artist would read his lyrics as poetry. However, Starr (emeritus, music history, Univ. of Washington; George Gershwin) asserts that any consideration of Dylan's work must be decidedly holistic and should incorporate analysis of both his live and studio performances. Starr discusses Dylan's vocal variations (folk singer, bluesman, rocker, crooner), his use of the harmonica as a musical voice, and even his silences. The author's technical analysis is helpful but never overwhelming, and his self-awareness keeps in check what could easily be a love letter from an overenthusiastic fan. There is much here to engage listeners, and readers will find themselves compelled to dip into, savor, and perhaps rediscover the prolific six decades of Dylan's back catalogue. Dylan is a master shapeshifter, and Starr an excellent guide. VERDICT A fascinating, worthwhile study of Bob Dylan as poet, vocalist, composer, and performer. If you're looking for a guide to Dylan's methods, his genius, and what's on the tracks, don't think twice.--Bill Baars, formerly at Lake Oswego P.L., OR

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