Uncancelable
Colin Irwin, Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
New York : Billboard Books, 2008
Legendary Session
1.
You’ve been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books… And dropping a barbell he points to the sky saying, “The sun’s not yellow it’s chicken” … But the second mother was with the seventh son … You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you … Now when all the clowns that you have commissioned have died in battle or in vain …And the Good Samaritan, he’s dressing he’s getting ready for the show … I need a dump truck mama to unload my head … I started out on burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff … Don’t say I never warned you when your train gets lost …
2.
The message of My Back Pages was there would be no more messages. Irwin, 40
Highway 61 changed everything, but what had changed Bob Dylan? He went from protest singer to wayward folkie to avatar of the rock era, during the 12 months in which he burnt brighter than any star since Elvis Presley. It didn’t matter what was on the other side of the doors he was kicking down, because once he stepped through, nothing would ever be the same again. Folk imploded, rock expanded, pop art mingled, the mainstream succumbed and show business was turned on its head: for songwriting, arrangements and lengths there is a before Highway 61 and an after. 8 Read the rest of this entry »