Library Rock's Backpages

Bob Dylan: Planet Waves

Simon Frith, Let It Rock, March 1974

WHEN IT COMES to the critical crunch it ain't necessarily the Dylanologists who as the right questions. Sure they knew about Dylan when they were spotty-faced folkies and we despised anything with an acoustic guitar, but it was us who welcomed the "new" Dylan, them who had the doubts. And later, when Dylan was a movement not a cult, it was them who were stuck with Self Portrait and New Morning (won't get fooled again), and us who knew to give up after John Wesley Harding. Dylan came, heard and conquered; if he wanted to go and strut a different tune that was his prerogative and our loss. But there was not reason to follow; no need to tiptoe through the garbage.

Total word count of piece: 843

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.