The album represents Dylan's final turn away from the protest moment and "into the writer's innermost reality which increasingly meant the head-spinning experiences of a man suddenly coping with absurd amounts of fame," Polizzotti writes. As a result it was "…Dylan's most genuine album of the period, and possibly of his entire career," he says.
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, of the "penetrating emotional charge born of sound." Is it the final word on Highway 61 Revisited? Well, no - with Dylan there's really no such thing, is there?
If you're new to the entire 33 1/3 series (and if you're any kind of music-writing lover, correct that now!), an excellent primer is the new 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, which collects excerpts from the series' first 20 volumes in handy chunks. Everyone from Dusty Springfield to The Ramones to James Brown to Radiohead come under the critical microscope in this compendium. A variety of styles are on display, from a wry novella that celebrates The Smiths' Meat Is Murder to a reconsideration of the legacy of Abba Gold. The Decemberists' Colin Meloy delivers a wonderful, wistful evocation of his boyhood as a hymn to The Replacements' Let It Be, while myth and magic collide in a study of Led Zeppelin IV.
While some of the books work better than others, you won't find a finer way to get a feel for the entire series than this grab bag assortment. If anything, it'll make you want to pick up the entire series. It's where some of today's most interesting music writing is happening.
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