I thought if anybody could write an entire book about one song and make it interesting it would be Griel Marcus … and he has.
Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads treats the number one song of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine as a sonic event, ushered in by the mother of all drum cracks.
[Note: CBC says “Stairway to Heaven” is the number one rock song of all time, oh well … Mojo magazine didn’t even list LARS among its top 100 protest songs of all time, although Dylan’s “Masters of War” did top the list.]
Unlike most of his previous work, Marcus is not so much in his cultural critique mode as in his nostolgic fan mode. He doesn’t dwell on an analysis of the lyrics or the cultural impact of the song. Instead, this book is about sound and feeling; not unlike Chuck Klosterman’s ode to 80s glam/hair metal Fargo Rock City, if not as funny as Klosterman’s memior.
Along the way Marcus:
- treats us to some fabulous insights from Al Kooper, who wormed his way into organ seat for the recording of LARS;
provides a sympathetic view of Mike Bloomfield, the unofficial band leader for the recording, and his rapid decline as one his generation’s most talented musicians;
tells us that David Hendernson, author of Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child of the Aquarian Age has done the best writing on the subject of LARS;
illustrates the importance of producers Tom Wilson (LARS) and Bob Johnston (everything else on Highway 61 Revisited);
digresses on the relationship between LARS and the Pet Shop Boys’ “Go West”‘;
draws a line connecting “Desolation Row”, Vasily Rozanov, and Raoul Vaneigem;
and emphatically states that “Let it Bleed” and “Highway 61 Revisited” are the two best albums ever made.
The book’s epilogue contains a transcript of rehearal takes for LARS and, as usual for a Marcus book, the notes are as interesting to read as the main text (at least for me).
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