Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties by Elijah WaldMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this story of Dylan’s folk concert surprise. Wald opens with a tease of the event to be fully described later – Dylan rocking. The author then dives into the history behind the event, with extensive bios of Dylan and Pete Seeger, name dropping dozens of others in the folk firmament in the late 50s and early 60s. Wald covers the business aspects, including concert promoting, as well as the music aspects. I found the variety of perspectives really helped set the stage for what was to follow – the night at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when Dylan broke the code and played rock and roll, backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In the frantic description of the concert, perhaps it was Dylan backing Butterfield. Nevertheless, things changed for Dylan and for folk music, as the prince moved on to conquer larger fields. I most enjoyed the stories of concert promoting, especially from the folk music collective, which isn’t a subject I’ve read a lot about. I also enjoyed a story I have read before, Dylan becoming Dylan. Here, there seems to be more direct quotes from sources including film. This has more of a feeling of immediacy than other Dylan-focused books I’ve read. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the focus of the book, the concert. There is a lot of back-stage intrigue, yet what exactly happened is not recorded. Wald weaves a narrative, explaining where he’s making conjectures and what he’s basing them on. This was nice work making a readable story of a confusing event where new paths in popular music were set.
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