at the heart of this book is some of the finest critical writing ever done about Bob Dylan.’ BRYAN APPLEYARD, Sunday Times, London: ‘Serious Dylan criticism. expositions of ‘Every Grain of Sand’, ‘Angelina’, ‘Jokerman’ and ‘Under the Red Sky’ are utterly definitive. Gray can explain how the text works poetically. His research is formidable, and his knowledge encyclopedic. * * * * * ‘ STEPHEN SCOBIE, University of Victoria, Canada & author of Alias Bob Dylan: ‘Indispensable. But anyone who is remotely curious about the richness of the man’s extraordinary imagination will find Gray’s work an essential companion. Of course there will always be those who prefer simply to enjoy the songs rather than to analyse them. the final chapter is an intellectual tour de force.
A similar essay on the use of nursery rhyme and fairy tale. a quite dazzlingly brilliant essay on Dylan’s use of imagery borrowed from The third edition of Gray’s lifetime study displays an almost insane degree of scholarship. His book invented a new school of rock criticism which made most of the writing that had gone before seem superficial, irrelevant and trivial. even in its initial modest form, was profoundly significant. It runs to a colossal 900 pages and confirms once again Gray’s position as the doyen of Dylan scholars. His evaluations are refreshing and accurate.’ UNCUT, London: ’Now comes the third (and allegedly final) edition of Michael Gray’s pioneering tome, which helped launch the Zimmerman book industry. Michael Gray writes exuberantly, critically and is never lost for a judgment. His precision identifies the essence of Dylan. provide insight into Dylan’s methodology and reveal hidden layers. dissects Dylan’s songs to reveal their literary and musical origins.
Now it really has.’ NEWSDAY, US: ‘Illuminating, wry and exhaustive.’ DER BUND, Switzerland: ‘Gray’s monumental study. ‘‘It’s all been written in the book,’’ sang Bob Dylan. I am enjoying it hugely and learning from every page.’ THE TIMES, London: ‘In examining the influences that shaped Dylan into one of the most influential post-war artists, Gray draws on everyone from Elvis to Eliot, Robert Johnson to Rimbaud. It is wonderfully comic and serious and sharp. anyone who is interested in the artistic impact of music on an intellectual level will jump at the chance to have a truly highbrow discussion about rock’n’roll.’ CHRISTOPHER RICKS: ‘Immense and immensely illuminating. Gray’s book proves that scholarship can be fun to read.’ ROLLING STONE: ‘Monumental, endlessly illuminating.’ BLOOMSBURY REVIEW, US: ‘An engaging, intellectual discussion of the passion, pain and trends that have poured out of Bob Dylan. The best book there is on Dylan, now better than ever.’ THE NEWS & OBSERVER, US: ‘Notably, there is a fat, new edition of Michael Gray’s huge and wonderful critical work, Song & Dance Man.
I have always admired Gray’s reach, tone, and acuity but the research here is just amazing.’ ANDREW MOTION, British Poet Laureate, The Observer, London: ‘One of my three best books of the year. FROM REVIEWS OF SONG & DANCE MAN III: THE ART OF BOB DYLAN by Michael Gray GREIL MARCUS: ‘Extraordinarily useful. Michael Gray is recognised as a world authority on the work of Bob Dylan and is an expert on rock’n’roll history and the blues, with a special interest in pre-war blues. A special reprint appeared in the US in April 2001, when Gray delivered talks at a number of US universities a fourth reprint was published in New York and London in 2002 and a fifth in 2004. The massive Song & Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan was published by Continuum in March 2000. In 1996, Michael Gray co-authored The Elvis Atlas: A Journey Through Elvis Presley’s America, published in hardback in New York by Henry Holt. A selection of pieces on Dylan, All Across the Telegraph: A Bob Dylan Handbook, published in 1987, was co-edited by Gray and included work by several distinguished academics in the fields of English & American Literature and Music. It is now recognised as a classic in its field. His pioneering study of Bob Dylan’s work, Song & Dance Man, first published in the 1970s in Britain, America and Japan, was the first full-length critical study of this crucial 20th century cultural figure. Taylor and the legendary American guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
Leavis, and where as a student journalist he interviewed, among others, the eminent British historian A.J.P. He graduated in History & English Literature at York University, England, in the 1960s, where he studied under the controversial, brilliant critic Dr. About the Author MICHAEL GRAY is a distinguished critic, writer and broadcaster.
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