One of the music worldrsquo;s pre-eminent critics takes a fresh and much-needed look at the day Dylan ldquo;went electricrdquo; at the Newport Folk Festival; timed to coincide with the eventrsquo;s fiftieth anniversary.On the evening of July 25; 1965; Bob Dylan took the stage at Newport Folk Festival; backed by an electric band; and roared into his new rock hit; Like a Rolling Stone. The audience of committed folk purists and political activists who had hailed him as their acoustic prophet reacted with a mix of shock; booing; and scattered cheers. It was the shot heard round the worldmdash;Dylanrsquo;s declaration of musical independence; the end of the folk revival; and the birth of rock as the voice of a generationmdash;and one of the defining moments in twentieth-century music.In Dylan Goes Electric!; Elijah Wald explores the cultural; political and historical context of this seminal event that embodies the transformative decade that was the sixties. Wald delves deep into the folk revival; the rise of rock; and the tensions between traditional and groundbreaking music to provide new insights into Dylanrsquo;s artistic evolution; his special affinity to blues; his complex relationship to the folk establishment and his sometime mentor Pete Seeger; and the ways he reshaped popular music forever. Breaking new ground on a story we think we know; Dylan Goes Electric! is a thoughtful; sharp appraisal of the controversial event at Newport and a nuanced; provocative; analysis of why it matters.
#877949 in eBooks 2017-07-14 2017-07-14File Name: B00OM1HY34
Review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A novel approach to analyzing Wagners worksBy CaldogFor the Wagner enthusiast a must read; if you can get past the verbosity. Here is no musical analysis; this volume has nothing in common with the numerous leitmotif anthologies that have been written (and recorded) since the composers day. Rather it is a view of the music dramas in terms of the psychological and philosophical motivations of the characters. Serious Wagner scholars may challenge Tanners conclusions whereby he views all the works as coming out of a common theme - hero and rescue; and the role of art. Tanner sees the operas from Das Rheingold on as working through the pessimistic lenses of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.Oddly; there is no mention of "Die Sieger;" Wagners prose sketch of a Hindu/Buddhist drama which closely matches Parsifal. Rather Tanner views Parsifal entirely in Christian terms; ignoring the subtle Buddhist themes. Indeed Wagner became interested in eastern religion; vegetarianism and antivivisectionism. Tanner makes no mention of this; and gives scant attention to Wagners devotion to the Greek dramatists. Since Wagner was a gifted composer it seems unlikely that his operas can be given a just account without fully describing his use of music to fill out the psychological and philosophical aspects of the dramas.Other reviewers have commented on the incomprehensible style in which this book is written. Did Tanner attempt to imitate Wagners prose with some choice Anglicanisms thrown in for good measure ("vouchsafe" - really?). Occasionally sentences seem to sag under their own weight defying common rules of grammar.In much of the Wagner literature; there is often a rather shallow discussion of the dramas in terms of character and message. Tanner seeks to remedy this; and hopefully others will follow his path as well.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy Tanya PattersonAn interesting overview of other Wagnerians view point re Richard; who still remains an eclectic personality to day.2 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Laboriously tortured EnglishBy Purple WizardWhile the concepts in this book are edifying; the language in which it is written is; at times; almost incomprehensible. One wonders whether the author first wrote this in German and then translated it into English; and then while translating added parenthetical asides that hadnt occurred to him in the original writing.
