Folk Music, Greil Marcus
Folk Music, Greil Marcus
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Folk Music
A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs

Author: Greil Marcus

Narrator: Ian Porter

Unabridged: 7 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022


Synopsis

Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs
“Marcus delivers yet another essential work of music journalism.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Further elevates Marcus to what he has always been: a supreme artist-critic.”—Hilton Als
Across seven decades, Bob Dylan has been the first singer of American song. As a writer and performer, he has rewritten the national songbook in a way that comes from his own vision and yet can feel as if it belongs to anyone who might listen.
In Folk Music, Greil Marcus tells Dylan’s story through seven of his most transformative songs. Marcus’s point of departure is Dylan’s ability to “see myself in others.” Like Dylan’s songs, this book is a work of implicit patriotism and creative skepticism. It illuminates Dylan’s continuing presence and relevance through his empathy—his imaginative identification with other people. This is not only a deeply felt telling of the life and times of Bob Dylan, but a rich history of American folk songs and the new life they were given as Dylan sat down to write his own.

About Greil Marcus

Greil Marcus has written many books, including Mystery Train, Lipstick Traces, The Old, Weird America, and The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs. With Werner Sollors he is the editor of A New Literary History of America. He was born in the Middle West, in San Francisco, and lives in Oakland, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Janelle

This is not really a biography, it’s more about how Bob Dylan and his songs fit into the history and traditions of folk music. It was an enjoyable read. I’m a fan of Bob Dylan but in no way an expert (either on Dylan or folk). The author clearly is and it was interesting to read this sprawling book.......more

Goodreads review by Andy

I don't have much interest in Dylan's music after Desire, 1976, so only four out of the seven songs used as chapters for the book were engaging personally. Fortunately, these four are by far the longest. There are few bigger Dylan fans than Greil Marcus. Four of his nineteen books concern him, and h......more

Goodreads review by David

This is not really a biography of Bob Dylan. Rather, it’s an author writing whatever comes to mind, demonstrating his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of folk music, when he listens to these songs. I get it, you know a lot about folk music. You like writing long sentences and making all sorts o......more

Goodreads review by Craig

The primary job of this kind of book for someone who knows Dylan's life and music as well as I do is to take them back to the songs with fresh ears and an expanded sense of where the music's power comes from. Folk Music definitely succeeds in that mission. The seven songs of the title--ranging from......more