Chronicles of Bob: Dylan and Marley

The faces of popular music and popular culture the world over were changed by a couple of guys named Bob. Bob Dylan and Bob Marley were born during World War II, a time when the distance between Hibbing, Minnesota, and Nine Miles, Jamaica, was almost interplanetary. They may have shared a few common influences in the form of 1950s R&B, but their musical roots could otherwise not have been more different. And yet both were spiritual seekers, challengers of the status quo and spokesmen for their ideals (Dylan more reluctantly so).

Dylan's songs broadened rock's thematic and expressive range, directly or indirectly inspiring virtually everyone since the early '60s who wanted rock to be more than party music. As the global symbol of reggae and arguably its most gifted songwriter, Marley familiarized the rhythm of Jamaica and made the music a touchstone for the Third World's struggle for dignity.

Much-perhaps too much-has been written about both musicians. But a pair of new titles in a smartly-produced series from Taschen, Music Icons Marley and Music IconsDylan, encapsulates many key facts of their careers in decade-by-decade chronologies aglow with telling photographs. Each book is prefaced with a forward from authors Luke Crampton, Dafydd Rees and Wellesley Marsh that puts the artists in perspective and concluded with discographies and lists of awards and honors.

Dylan and Marley buffs will find no new insights or information, but for casual fans, the books will serve as succinct overviews. For once, the mishandled and misunderstood word "icon" comes close to being meaningful when applied to two of the last century's most influential songwriters.