Customers say
Customers find the book informative and interesting for Dylan fans. They appreciate the insightful analysis and thought-provoking perspective on popular music history. The writing style is described as well-written, readable, and enjoyable. Readers appreciate the author’s ability to provide a nice background to the rock and roll explosion of the late 1960s.
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THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. One of the music world’s pre-eminent critics takes a fresh and much-needed look at the day Dylan “went electric” at the Newport Folk Festival.
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 world—Dylan’s declaration of musical independence, the end of the folk revival, and the birth of rock as the voice of a generation—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 Dylan’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.
“In this tour de force, Elijah Wald complicates the stick-figure myth of generational succession at Newport by doing justice to what he rightly calls Bob Dylan’s ‘declaration of independence’ . . . This is one of the very best accounts I’ve read of musicians fighting for their honor.” — Todd Gitlin, author of The Sixties and Occupy Nation
Our Top Reviews
Reviewer: Michael Rossi
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent…and timely
Review: Fans of the new movie “A Complete Unknown” would do well to dive into Wald’s exposition on the scene itself. This was a great read: highly informative, fun, and compelling. Looking into more from Wald.
Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well, it’s complicated
Review: Since “Dylan Goes Electric” by Elijah Wald is listed as the source material for the movie “A Complete Unknown”, and since I enjoyed the movie more than any that I’ve seen in a long while, I had to read it. It is a readable and thorough history of the two folk music giants of the 60s, Pete Seeger and BobDylan. Although the narrative is sometimes shrouded in “too many words” and “too many details”, it seems to give an accurate history of those men and those times. Having been in college during those tumultuous years, I walked back through memory lane and had those memories both validated and sometimes corrected.This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is definitely for the diehard Dylan fan. I recommend Wald’s book for those folks.
Reviewer: E. Scott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great read
Review: After I saw the movies, decided to read the book. So far it’s a great history of Dylan. He has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager.
Reviewer: James Demas
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Music History Here
Review: Never was a big Dylan fan….but after seeing the movie I had to get more info and book fills in the gaps and good background for me.
Reviewer: J. Dollins
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Kaleidoscopic Look at the Rise and Fall of the Folk Revival
Review: Elijah Wald’s history of the folk revival of the early 60s gets to the heart of folk music through its “Rashomon”-esque approach to the story. Folk tradition is about celebrating voices and heroes. This book does both, providing the (often conflicting) perspectives of those who experienced the period while also building the stories of our heroes Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.Through contrasting these two men, Wald gives us not only insight into the movement and why Dylan’s shift in 1965 was so significant, but also how that conflict continued to play out in popular music. There’s a deep truth in here, shown in Seeger’s frustration with Dylan’s change: that one day all of the young rebels become someone else’s fascist.
Reviewer: Cindy S.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I love everything about Bob Dylan–especially this book
Review: Well, when Bob tells you to buy the book, you buy the book! Seriously though, I’ve seen the new movie about Dylan starring Timothee Chalamet several times, and Dylan himself recommended reading the book as well. I’m about a quarter of the way through it, and love it. A very enjoyable read, and I’m learning more about one of our state’s (Minnesota) living legends. Highly recommended.
Reviewer: Frank Paprota
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Repetitive
Review: Interesting to a point, but far too detailed for my taste. Also, the last two chapters are like groundhog’s day, he just keeps saying the same thing over and over again. Ok, I heard you the first time, I know what you think the meaning of that night was, there is no need to restate it 30 times.
Reviewer: applecore
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An accurate story
Review: The movie “A Complete Unknown” differs a lot from this book, which it is supposedly based on. While Timothy and Monica do a great job imitating the voices and sounds of Dylan and Joan Baez and the sound is outstanding, Dylan comes off as too much of a hero in the movie. After all, he didn’t have to bring his new electric sound forward at the Newport Folk Festival and humiliate his benefactor Pete Seeger who had been treated badly for many years by the government. And his electric performance was actually horrible even though it sounded great in the movie. Dylan turned a folk festival into a modern rock festival and all that entails, killing an event that Seeger and others had created and nurtured for years. He could have played his acoustic guitar one last time before going electric at his next event. The movie also indicates that Woody Guthrie, who Seeger visited regularly, approved of what Dylan did when he probably had no idea what happened. I think Baez understood Dylan perfectly. Her music seems to be out of fashion now which is a shame.
Reviewer: christopher luff
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Avec la sortie du film sur les débuts de Dylan “A complete unknown” (une des premières phrases du refrain de la chanson like a Rolling Stone.) Ce livre a inspiré le film et la montée de Dylan comme un “Icone” des début 60, et surtout la résurgence du “Folk Music” surtout d’origine Celtique/Gaélique/Grand Breton des Colons du 17/18ᵉ siècle mixer avec la musique Blues de leurs esclaves venus d’Afrique !Ce livre explique la passation de la guitare sèche, banjo, fiddle (violon du Far West ! style”Blue grass”), country, vers le côté électrique du genre Rock suite à la “British Invasion” de l’Amérique” des Beatles et des Stones, qui entre autres eux, ont été inspirés par Elvis et Chuck Berry., comme Dylan aussi…Il est évident qu’il faut bien connaitre et lire, l’anglais/américain pour apprécier ce livre. Thank you, Bob, outre un poète et aussi un merveilleux mélodiste et aussi un très bon chanteur l’air de rien, ce que beaucoup de gens oublient ; il a fallu 6 mois pour Timothée Chalamet, acteur pro., pour essayer de maîtriser le chant de Dylan, le résultat est bluffant, à écouter absolument la bande son du film, surtout avec les sons et enregistrement de 2024. “Thank you, Bob,” comme a dit un jour Mick Jagger un jour sur scène ou les Stones ont interprétés “Like a Rolling Stone”.
Reviewer: Thomas B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Got it as described. UK products come later to the EU and with a delivery extra but that’s the politicians fault, not the sellers
Reviewer: Andrés Poot
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Un texto fundamental que nos presenta el contexto de las personalidades y del momento histórico en que Bob Dylan surge y luego en el que cambia radicalmente su estilo musical.
Reviewer: Seymore
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Elijah Wald’s account of a major turning point during the 1960s is magisterial, encyclopedic and just plain fun to read. It’s a lovely companion to the movie, A Complete Unknown.
Reviewer: J. R. Connor
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Interesting but not an easy read.
Price effective as of Mar 25, 2025 04:53:45 UTC
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