Review by Choice Review
When folk icon Bob Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965, he made history. Instead of bringing out his acoustic guitar as expected, he brought out an electric Fender Stratocaster and proceeded to perform rock music. This proved to be a controversial act that inspired many legends, such as that audience response was uniformly hostile and that Pete Seeger wielded an axe in an attempt to cut Dylan's electric cable. Although neither was true, Dylan's perceived rebellion against the folk movement was divisive and strongly influenced the popular culture of the time. Wald is an expert on the folk revival, and here he masterfully explores how Dylan, who was steeped in many different kinds of music, became a rebel both inside and outside the folk and rock movements as he refused to be bound by any standards but his own. His relationship with Pete Seeger is a fascinating component of the story. This well-researched book is appropriate for students and scholars of American popular music and popular culture, and also for serious Dylan fans. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Donna Arnold, University of North Texas
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Fifty years ago, the music world was rocked and electrified when the 24-year-old Bob Dylan emerged onstage at the Newport Folk Festival with his Stratocaster and performed Like a Rolling Stone. Pete Seeger, whose role in the folk-music revival is comprehensively described here, was reported to have attacked the electric cables with an ax. Though apocryphal, the story, by its mere existence, exemplifies the earthshaking musical significance of Dylan's presumably total severance from the tradition that Seeger zealously guarded, though prolific music writer Wald looks closely at the mythology of that break (not nearly as complete as some would have it) and the unanimity of the crowd's displeasure. Some booed; many didn't. Wald contextualizes the deeply divisive event in illuminating detail: his history of the social and musical trends (emphasizing the blues, his specialty) leading up to 1965 is thorough and enlightening, and his description of the scene at Newport in those years vividly and touchingly captures a period and a mood. Some of this material has been covered before, but rarely has it been done so knowingly, lovingly, and felicitously. All the players, too, are here (Joan Baez, Dave Van Ronk, Johnny Cash, et al.), and, though nostalgic, the book makes a major contribution to modern musical history.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
The night that folksinger Bob Dylan (b. 1941) "went electric" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is a pivotal moment in 20th-century American music history. While much has been written about the event (e.g., Andrew Grant Jackson's 1965), this book places Newport in the context of the seismic shift that happened in popular music in the 1960s. Wald (How the Beatles Destroyed Rock `n' Roll) devotes the first 200 pages to the musical strands that led up to Newport with an emphasis on musician/activist Pete Seeger's career and the folk revival of the late 1950s. He discusses Dylan's early influences and writes engagingly about the folk scene in Greenwich Village in which the musician thrived. By 1965 Dylan was on the verge of becoming a rock star and that did not sit well with the folk purists at Newport. Wald, whose impressive research draws heavily on interviews with other musicians as well as many attendees, provides an encyclopedic account of the festivals in which Dylan participated and gives almost equal attention to the other performers. VERDICT Anyone interested in Dylan, folk music, or rock and roll will adore this volume. It might not resolve the questions of what really happened in Newport in 1965, but it comes very close.-Thomas Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock. The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that's Dylan's character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicianse.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfootgive the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book. An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one's personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
