Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s Chimes of Freedom

(Paperback)

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Bob Dylan's abrupt abandonment of overtly political song writing in the mid-1960s caused an uproar among critics and fans. In Wicked Messenger, acclaimed cultural-political commentator Mike Marqusee advances the new thesis that Dylan did not drop politics from his songs but changed the manner of his critique to address the changing political and cultural climate and, more importantly, his own evolving aesthetic. Dylan's anguished, self-obsessed, prickly artistic evolution, Marqusee asserts, was a deeply creative response to a deeply disturbing situation.

Reviews

"Marqusee deals honestly with the many contradictions of Dylan's art and politics, without trying to simplify them or wish them away. And he reminds us why, after more than 40 years of recording and performing, Dylan, though all his ups and downs, still kicks open the doors of our minds." - Anthony Arnove, in the Socialist Worker"

Author Bio

Mike Marqusee is the author of numerous groundbreaking books on politics and popular culture, including Anyone But England, War Minus the Shooting and Redemption Song. Born and raised in the US, he has lived in London since the 1970s. He currently lives in Stoke Newington.