Listening to Bob Dylan (University of Illinois Press), by Larry Starr
Larry Starr is correct in saying that Bob Dylan’s words have been analyzed more often than his music. And he adds something even more pertinent: Although Dylan’s lyrics have been anthologized as poetry, they are inseparable from their music and performance. Furthermore, Dylan’s words and music were never carved in stone but continue to evolve in concert and recordings.
Compact and cogent, Listening to Bob Dylan is directed to the general public, not musicologists. Starr describes Dylan’s sophisticated development of nuances, musical stress points that shift the tone of his performance and the meaning of his words. He analyzes Dylan’s “second voice,” the harmonica that paraphrases and sometimes digresses from the melody. Starr draws examples by closely listening to familiar (and occasionally less familiar) tracks from Dylan’s enormous catalog.
