Bob Dylan came from nowhere, said Jon Pareles in The New York Times. Fewer than 60 people saw his New York concert debut in 1961. 'œLess than two years later, he was the reigning star of the protest-song movement and folk revival,' on his way to a permanent place in pop-culture lore. Now, with Bob Dylan's American Journey he has landed a show in one of the country's most esteemed museums. The Morgan Library's look at his early career 'œincludes staples of rock-museum craft: instruments, discs, posters.' But surprises abound. Listening stations let you compare Dylan's songs to his folk sources. Manuscripts show Dylan's momentary inspirations 'œwritten or typed on whatever paper was at hand,' but constantly reworked. For instance, only four words'”'œHow does it feel?''”survived the initial draft of Like a Rolling Stone.
But haven't we heard all this before? said Alan Light in The New York Sun. 'œThe Bob Dylan creation myth is familiar by now,' having been rehearsed recently in Dylan's memoir Chronicles, Volume 1 and Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary No Direction Home. Bobby Zimmerman from Hibbing, Minn., remakes himself as Freewheelin' Bob of Greenwich Village, winning the civil-rights fight and getting the Beatles high along the way. But by concentrating on historical context, this show misses what made Dylan so unique as an artist. 'œHe was more than just a lucky accident of timing, more than the sum of his influences.' The high points are when we see and hear Dylan for ourselves, as in a recording of that inauspicious 1961 debut. 'œHe sounds shockingly confident, even cocky.' He had reason.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talksspeed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 daysspeed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideastspeed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
If/Thenfeature Tony-winning Idina Menzel “looks and sounds sensational” in a role tailored to her talents.
-
Rocky
feature It’s a wonder that this Rocky ever reaches the top of the steps.
-
Love and Information
feature Leave it to Caryl Churchill to create a play that “so ingeniously mirrors our age of the splintered attention span.”
-
The Bridges of Madison County
feature Jason Robert Brown’s “richly melodic” score is “one of Broadway’s best in the last decade.”
-
Outside Mullingar
feature John Patrick Shanley’s “charmer of a play” isn’t for cynics.
-
The Night Alive
feature Conor McPherson “has a singular gift for making the ordinary glow with an extra dimension.”
-
No Man’s Land
feature The futility of all conversation has been, paradoxically, the subject of “some of the best dialogue ever written.”
-
The Commons of Pensacola
feature Stage and screen actress Amanda Peet's playwriting debut is a “witty and affecting” domestic drama.