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Bob Dylan: American Troubadour Donald Brown. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Most Dylan students are familiar with critics' explorations of the enigmas that surround the man. Many have traced recurring themes in his work, analyzed his multiple personas, and have even criticized some of his eclectic and unconventional efforts. Donald Brown's Bob Dylan: Troubadour offers a new twist that bears consideration. Brown posits that Bob Dylan is the embodiment of "the fond myth of ramblin' troubadour, a vagabond in service to music" (6). Dylan told Jonathan Cott in a 1978 interview, "I didn't create Bob Dylan.. .Bob Dylan has always been here..." (Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews, 2006, p. 269), a comment that Brown suggests indicates Dylan is a spirit or role (4) rather than a person, a concept of sorts rather than a single musician. He carefully weaves this thesis throughout and offers detailed analytical support through in-depth discussions of songs and albums. The author further proves and strengthens his thesis by situating Dylan in the musical, historical, and socio-political contexts that surround each of the...