In this book, Mark Polizzotti examines just what makes the songs on Highway 61 Revisited so affecting, how they work together as a suite, and how lyrics, melody, and arrangements combine to create an unusually potent mix.
Mark Polizzotti's previous books include the collaborative novel S. (1991), Lautréamont Nomad (1994), Revolution of the Mind: The Life of André Breton (1995), The New Life: Poems (1998), and a study of Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados for the British Film Institute (2006). His articles, reviews, and poetry have appeared in The NewRepublic, ARTnews, Parnassus, Partisan Review, and elsewhere. He is also the translator of over thirty books, including works by Gustave Flaubert, Marguerite Duras, André Breton, and Jean Echenoz. He lives in Boston, where he directs the publications program at the Museum of Fine Arts.
I've been listening to Highway 61 Revisited for 41 years now, but
Mark Polizzotti's 33 1/3 book sent me back to hear all the things
I've missed. His thoughtful and knowledgeable appraisal both
summarizes scholarship on the album and adds new ideas and details,
contributing to a deeper sense of how this landmark Dylan album
came to be.
*Trouserpress.com*
A few pages into Mark Polizzotti's Highway 61 Revisited, I was
amazed by how much he knew. A few pages after that, I was amazed by
how much I didn't. The whole book is a marvel of research and
insight, doled out in equal measure. Something was indeed happening
in the grooves of this seminal Bob Dylan album-and after reading
this compact yet loaded analysis, you will know what it is, Mr.
Jones.
*David Bianculli*
As one of the greatest albums in the history of recorded music, a
turning point that forever grafted the depth and integrity of folk
music into the flourishing tree of rock and roll, Bob Dylan's
Highway 61 Revisited has long deserved the kind of focused
treatment that Mark Polizzotti gives it with his examination for
the always excellent 33 1/3 series....The sheer volume of annotated
quotes and behind the scenes revelations that Polizzoti has dug up
is mind numbing, but the material flows together well, and the
studious nature of the examination is never less than enlightening.
It's an essential read for anyone who wants to engage the mythology
behind the man and the album.
*Under the Radar*
Polizzotti's book does an excellent job gathering information from
the cream of the Dylan books and coming up with his own conclusions
as he examines what might be Dylan's finest hour ... While hardcore
Dylanites might nitpick with some of his conclusions, Polizzotti's
book offers an opinionated, engaging primer to a classic album that
gave some new insight to this Dylan fan. It's often beautifully
written, with the author's palpable awe for Dylan coming
through.
*Blogcritics*
Polizzotti's illuminating new analysis of Dylan's landmark 1965
album...speculates on the genesis of the songs, examines their
lyrical content and, more prosaically, outlines the recording
process. With considerable insight, he places the great album in
the context of what was happening in Dylan's world in the
mid-1960s. This might seem like an oft-ploughed furrow but, armed
with a formidable intellect, Polizzotti makes some telling original
observations. He writes with intelligence and flair. And his text
has a depth which would fully engage you over several slow, careful
reads.
*Dylan Daily*
I can recommend Mark Polizzotti's short book Highway 61
Revisited...You might think everyone had written plenty about this
album already... but the enviable achievement of this book as a
whole is to say fresh things, and with a nicely clipped, energetic
turn of phrase...[Some passages] fundamentally offer a truth I've
never quite heard said before, even after more than 40 years of
talk and writing.
*bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com*
This is a small book (only 161 pages) that punches well above its
weight. The author, Mark Polizzotti, knows his stuff, and has
researched in detail: the bibliography and endnotes demonstrate the
depth of his reading, and the text itself is densely packed with
minutiae about the recording of the album. He is especially strong
on the dissection of the musical layers in each of the album's
songs, examining what each musician brings to individual tracks,
and I'm sure I won't be alone in coming away from many of his
descriptions of the songs' evolutions in the studio with a new
understanding of what actually went on...It is more than enough for
me that Polizzotti writes calmly and insightfully, in an elegant
and highly readable style that manages to be balanced, generous and
enthusiastic all at the same time, no mean feat...As a monograph
this book works extremely well in its concision, being timely proof
that books about Dylan do not need to be able to double as
doorstops to be worthwhile. If you prefer your writers on Dylan not
to be long-winded or pompous (or continually belittling others),
then this will be a book you will appreciate. It's a good read,
first and foremost. It would also serve as an excellent
introduction to Highway 61 to any Dylan newcomer, who would be
delighted, I'm sure, to find it in their Christmas stocking.
*bobdyanisis.com*
For me, the most rewarding thing about the book was Polizzotti's
personification of many of the people involved in making Highway 61
Revisited...Dylan's life during this period has been documented so
thoroughly at this point, in films like Don't Look Back and No
Direction Home and books like Chronicles Vol. 1, but Polizzotti
manages to stay focused and has delivered a book that is as
insightful as it is concise.
*Being There*
Polizzotti's key contribution is to return our attention to the
music, to remind us that however much we scrutinize the lyrics,
Dylan's musical contribution is just as important...[He] leads us
into the studio, reviews the recording sessions, and analyzes the
various takes. In doing so, he shows how a song develops
musically—much like looking at early drafts of a novel. Studied in
this way, our understanding of each song is enriched.
*American Quarterly*
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