Bob Dylan Performing Artist 1960-1973
Review of 1st Volume of the Series/ The Early Years
Sep 9, 2009
Unlike most musician biographies, Paul Williams’ renowned 3-volume set entitled Bob Dylan: Performing Artist deals exclusively with the artist’s art, in this case Bob Dylan’s music. More specifically, these three extensive volumes examine the performance of the music.
William’s definition of performance includes not only Dylan’s live concerts, but the recording of albums as well (and not just “live” albums...all recordings). The author makes a convincing argument that, more than any other musician of his stature, Bob Dylan’s studio albums are “live” and “in the moment,” rather than neatly crafted, multi-tracked creations.
Author Paul Williams Sets Up Basic Ideas in The Early Years
The entire 3-volume set of Bob Dylan: Performing Artist runs to 1000 pages, but it is in this first volume, which covers 1960-1973 (what many consider to be the singer/songwriter’s prime years) that William’s sets up and explains the basic tenets regarding Dylan performances that he will use throughout the series, ideas that are crucial to a deeper understanding and appreciation of Dylan as well as these books.
Author Paul Williams was the founder and editor of Crawdaddy magazine, a rock journal that pre-dates Rolling Stone, and he knows of what he speaks. Besides interviewing Bob several times (a rarity), Williams has witnessed more than 140 Dylan shows.
Fan Expectations Often a Problem Regarding Bob Dylan
Among these ideas is the overarching issue of our—the audience/fan’s—expectations. Williams argues that fans place the expectation of hearing in the next album or performance what they heard in the last, and that this is a mistake when it comes to Dylan. As a constantly evolving artist, Bob not only moves on past his last work quickly, even his performance of a given song will be different from night to night.
It is in performance, then, that Dylan does the majority of his creating, according to the author. Even his studio recordings—as many of his fellow musicians, those who’ve played with him in the studio—have attested, are close to impromptu, ad lib performances, with little overdubbing.
Fans’ misplaced (or misunderstood) expectations, Williams says, are responsible for the seemingly endless criticisms of Dylan that began as early as 1965, when Dylan astounded and angered the “folk scene” by “going electric.” Rather than just absorbing the new work, which is often genius, we are expecting to hear old songs, done in old ways. This is also why his newer music is often not appreciated until later, in retrospect.
A Close Examination of Dylan Performances
Bob Dylan: Performing Artist The Early Years is by no means just a defense/justification of Dylan’s evolving work, however. It is primarily a close, performance-by-performance analysis of those songs and shows (and albums). This volume covers a lot of ground: from the singer/songwriter’s early Greenwich Village coffeehouse performances through 1974’s Planet Waves album.
While author Williams acknowledges his inability to cover every last performance, there is certainly more than enough here to satisfy. The author covers each album extensively, analyzing the performance of each song, then often compares those to live performances from the era, many of which come from bootleg recordings.
There Are No Hidden Meanings in Bob Dylan's Songs
This brings up another of Williams’ central tenets, the idea of deep or hidden meaning within the often-seemingly-cryptic lyrics. This is perhaps the biggest misunderstanding regarding Dylan and his music…that there is some secret meaning to especially the early songs like “Visions of Johanna.” There isn’t, and Dylan has been telling us there isn’t for nearly 50 years now.
Rather, these were the words that “came out” when Dylan exercised his almost performance-like, freeform mode of songwriting. That’s how central “performing” is to Dylan and his art, his music. And that’s what makes the Bob Dylan: Performing Artist series so crucial to an understanding of the artist. If only one of the three books was to be read, The Early Years/1960-1973 would be the recommended volume. But fans who have the time or interest should certainly read all three.
Williams, Paul. Bob Dylan: Performing Artist 1960-1973 , The Early Years 1990, Omnibus Press 310 pages (ISBN: 1.84449.095.5)
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