Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History

 

Bob Dylan’s iconic 1962 song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” stands at the crossroads of musical and literary traditions. A visionary warning of impending apocalypse, it sets symbolist imagery within a structure that recalls a centuries-old form. Written at the height of the 1960s folk music revival amid the ferment of political activism, the song strongly resembles―and at the same time reimagines―a traditional European ballad sung from Scotland to Italy, known in the English-speaking world as “Lord Randal.”

Alessandro Portelli explores the power and resonance of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” considering the meanings of history and memory in folk cultures and in Dylan’s work. He examines how the ballad tradition to which “Lord Randal” belongs shaped Dylan’s song and how Dylan drew on oral culture to depict the fears and crises of his own era. Portelli recasts the song as an encounter between Dylan’s despairing vision, which questions the meaning and direction of history, and the message of resilience and hope for survival despite history’s nightmares found in oral traditions.

A wide-ranging work of oral history, Hard Rain weaves together interviews from places as varied as Italy, England, and India with Portelli’s autobiographical reflections and critical analysis, speaking to the enduring appeal of Dylan’s music. By exploring the motley traditions that shaped Dylan’s work, this book casts the distinctiveness and depth of his songwriting in a new light. 

 

Alessandro Portelli (Autor)    

 

HƏrd Rain: Bob Dylan, 0ral Cultures, and the Meaning of History

 

Alessandro Portelli (Author)

VA • Vanguard Records. Make It You Sound, Make It Your Scene [4 Vols]

 

 

The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia

 

The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia is one of the most wide-ranging, informed, entertaining, provocative, and compulsively readable books ever written about popular music. It's the culmination of over thirty years of dedicated research and scholarship by Michael Gray.

Inside these pages, you'll find a world of ideas, facts, and opinions. It's a world in which Baudelaire flows on from the Basement Tapes and A.S. Byatt looks out at the Byrds; in which Far from the Madding Crowd follows Ezekiel and Bob Geldof introduces Jean Genet; and in which Hank and William Carlos Williams stand side by side while J.R.R. Tolkien trails the Titanic. Most of all, of course, it's a world in which everyone and everything interconnects, in endlessly fascinating ways, with one of our greatest living artists: Bob Dylan.

"Michael Gray... probably Dylan's single most assiduous critic." -New York Review of Books

"Fans of Bob Dylan have a multitude of choices when it comes to biographies and retrospectives, but author Michael Gray outdistances them all with this voluminous collection of all things Dylan. ... Insightful and entertaining, Gray's tome will broaden appreciation of the artist, his influences and his legacy." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"...has all you need to know, and more" -Richard Corliss, Time

"This is no mere catalog of facts, but a work of oceanic immersion. It has wit, opinion, style, and asks to be read, not just consulted." -Village Voice

"Deeply impressive...destined to be the most important Dylan book, bar none."-Gerry Smith, The Dylan Daily

"Utterly idiosyncratic." -Janet Maslin, New York Times

"Amazingly well-researched and surprisingly readable work." -Library Journal (starred review)

"Door-stopping detail." -Toronto Star

"Magnificent...won't just astonish readers with its detail about Dylan's work...contains so many insights and refutes so many myths about the rock 'n' roll era in general that it's invaluable as both a reference guide and a personality study." -Nashville City Paper

"Comprehensive and up-to-date." -Slate

 

  Michael Gray (Author)

 

Etta James & Bob Dylan • Marriott Hotel

US soul singer Etta James, best known for the tracks At Last and I’d Rather Go Blind, died on January 20, 2012, aged 73. It was announced in 2011 that the singer had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was undergoing treatment. James began singing in a group aged 14, before she embarked upon a solo career where she signed to the legendary Chess Records label. The BCC reported that legendary producer Jerry Wexler once called her “the greatest of all modern blues singers”.

This is an after-hours jam session with Bob Dylan and Etta James and her band. The Bob Dylan Examiner reported that “In the early hours of the 10th, Bob Dylan joined Etta James and Shuggie Otis on stage at the Providence Marriott Hotel. You can almost hear Dylan smile as he kept repeating the same suggestive verse of “I’m A King Bee” (The one about “making honey”).”

Thanks to the person who shared this on Dime in 2005; and to everyone who kept the show alive.

Recorded live at the Marriott Hotel, Providence, RI; July 10, 1986.
Very good to excellent soundboard

 

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La cantante de soul estadounidense Etta James, más conocida por los temas At Last y I'd Rather Go Blind, murió el 20 de enero de 2012, a los 73 años. En 2011 se anunció que a la cantante se le había diagnosticado leucemia y estaba en tratamiento. James comenzó a cantar en un grupo a los 14 años, antes de emprender una carrera en solitario en la que firmó con el legendario sello Chess Records. El BCC informó de que el legendario productor Jerry Wexler la llamó en una ocasión "la más grande de todas las cantantes de blues modernas".

Se trata de una jam session a deshoras con Bob Dylan y Etta James y su banda. El Bob Dylan Examiner informó de que "en las primeras horas del día 10, Bob Dylan se unió a Etta James y Shuggie Otis en el escenario del Providence Marriott Hotel. Casi se puede oír a Dylan sonreír mientras repetía la misma sugerente estrofa de "I'm A King Bee" (La de "hacer miel")."

Gracias a la persona que compartió esto en Dime en 2005; y a todos los que mantuvieron vivo el espectáculo.

Grabado en vivo en el Hotel Marriott, Providence, RI; 10 de julio de 1986.
Caja de resonancia de muy buena a excelente.