Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan And the 1960s

by Mike Marqusee

Bob Dylan’s abrupt abandonment of overtly political songwriting in the mid-1960s caused an uproar among critics and fans. In Wicked Messenger, acclaimed cultural-political commentator Mike Marqusee advances the new thesis that Dylan did not drop politics from his songs but changed the manner of his critique to address the changing political and cultural climate and, more importantly, his own evolving aesthetic.
Wicked Messenger is also a riveting political history of the United States in the 1960s. Tracing the development of the decade’s political and cultural dissent movements, Marqusee shows how their twists and turns were anticipated in the poetic aesthetic—anarchic, unaccountable, contradictory, punk— of Dylan's mid-sixties albums, as well as in his recent artistic ventures in Chronicles, Vol. I and Masked and Anonymous.
Dylan’s anguished, self-obsessed, prickly artistic evolution, Marqusee asserts, was a deeply creative response to a deeply disturbing situation. "He can no longer tell the story straight," Marqusee concludes, "because any story told straight is a false one."

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Politics, Criticism

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Mike Marqusee was an American-born writer, journalist and political activist who has lived in Britain since 1971. He was the author of numerous books including If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew, Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the Sixties, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, Anyone but England: An Outsider Looks at English Cricket, a novel, Slow Turn, and a collection of poetry, Street Music. He was a regular correspondent for a range of publications including The Guardian, Red Pepper and The Hindu.

Reviews

[Andy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This my video review of two great books about Bob Dylan that focus mainly on the artist’s work from the 1960s. ‘Wicked Messenger’ locates Dylan within the political context of the times (which were a-changin’) whereas ‘The Chameleon Poet’ examines his songs more from a literary perspective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA3V5...

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books i have read in a long while, and it is all the more a treat as i picked it up at random in a bargain book bin at Pages in Toronto (is it true that store has gone under?!??)

Dylan is one of my fave musicians, and i am already interested and know something (and have my own opinions on) the history of the u.s. left, and i think that certainly contributed to how much i got out of this book. It was such a rich treat that more than a few times i'd pick it up to snatch a few pages before going to sleep, and would find myself still awake and engrossed hours later (and groggy the next day).

Marqusee places Dylan within the context of his day, showing how he was repeatedly just a few years ahead of his time (like those protesty songs were mostly written when the movement was still small amongst white youth, by the time it peaked he was already writing his less didactic more symbolic stuff). But better than that - esp. for a musical ignoramus like me - he places him within the context of the left musical tradition, debates about social patriotism and the conservatism of popular front politics, Adorno's critique of pop culture, and also within the context of other musicians, ranging from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger to Joan Baez to Bruce Springsteen.

Seriously, if you're on the left and you know and like Dylan's music, this book is a major treat.

[columbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

He doesn’t get it like I do but slay book

[Reuben Woolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good book for my dissertation for the same reason it’s not a great book for the average Dylan reader. Marqusee’s approach of reading Dylan against the political movements of the 60s is admirable and a really useful viewpoint, but it leads to a tunnel vision that draws him to the wrong conclusions on a number of Dylan’s songs. I respect the idea that in order to read politically someone who eventually tried to shy away from politics, you need to, in a sense, ‘misread’ them, but that’s a tightrope walk that requires you to a) be completely conscious of the places where you are misreading and b) have infallible politics yourself, and Marqusee falters a little on both counts. That said, it’s an interesting and useful book, and if people have more than a surface-level Dylan interest, or are happy to read with a generous pinch of salt, I think it has a lot to offer.

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the revised and updated version of the book "Chimes of Freedom".

I am a huge Dylan fan, and I am fascinated with rock and roll and it's history, so I was pretty excited to find this book, and it totally delivered the goods. Taking what is arguably Dylan's most intensely creative period (from 1962 to about 1967), Marqusee places the songs in the historical context where they were written and performed, giving younger Dylan fans like me a very fresh take on the music. He also goes into details about Dylan's sudden rise to fame and subsequent fall from grace with the more traditional folk musicians. Unlike other so-called Dylan experts who attempt to decode his lyrics and analyze the very mercurial singer, Marqusee shows a great respect for Dylan's boundaries, and while he very intelligently brings to light some of the songs' meaning, he refrains from over-doing it, leaving in some of the mystery just unresolved enough.

I finished this book very satisfied, and I now listen to some of my favorite tunes with a new ear, and it makes them even better. I recommend this book to any fan of Dylan, and mostly to those who want a closer look at an important time of cultural and social changes, and the effect it had on one of the greatest musician of the century.

[Rohan Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvel of a work

[sdw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because a friend was reading it for class, and I was procrastinating. I did not give it a careful read. I read enough of it to know what I thought. The problem is that there is a cult around Bob Dylan that I have never been a part of. Don’t get me wrong. I like his music. But I like most music, but I only know the lyrics to his most popular songs (Mr. Tambourine Man, The times they are a changin', you get the idea...) I think in terms of books on Bob Dylan, this is among the best I have seen. I TA’d a class on the 1960s – and saw a fair number of student papers on Dylan, so I know how autobiographical and lyric focused many books are. This book tries instead to put Dylan in his cultural milieu. It tells the story of political transformation in the 1960s, as much as it tells the story of Bob Dylan. Indeed, the question fueling the book seems to be Dylan’s own political transformation. Apparently the narrative about Dylan is that he started out political, and then got less political as he got popular. This book argues that he became disillusioned with traditional definitions of the political, and saw him self increasingly an outsider interested in his own artistic expression. Yet this desire to remove oneself from society and express one’s creativity is echoed in the increasing politicization of the counter-culture, and even in movements like Black nationalism, where cultural expression becomes explicitly and implicitly political, and where the boundaries of traditional political action are challenged. I like how much the book said about the context that Dylan moved in. I like how much the book said about singers I am more familiar with (Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen). If you like Bob Dylan, you’ll like this book. If you are ignorant about music like me, you still might like this book. But if you aren’t looking for a book about Dylan or the 1960s cultural changes, this book probably isn’t for you.

[Luke]

This book is for anyone interested in Bob Dylan, folk music, or American history-- particular the history of the American Left. Marquesse examines the politcal nature of Dylan's work in the Sixties--eschewing the neat narrative that says Dylan turned his back on political commentary when he "went electric"--and shows not only how his music reflected the times but also how the times in many ways reflected his music! Great close readings of the lyrics for the most part too, but Marquesse falters with his readings of some of the love songs and the spiritual songs on John Wesley Harding. A lot of the books on Dylan tend to be kind of weak. This one isn't.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. It gives a detailed and insightful look into the culture that Dylan came out of and reflected, and also gives probably the best breakdown of the poetic techniques of his songwriting I've read. And the end of the book offers an insightful look at how Dylan has been grappling with his own artistic legacy and the legacy of his era in his more recent works. So much insight its going to make your anus bleed. Interesting from both a historical/cultural aspect as well as a creative/artistic one.

[Stephan Ferreira · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've partially read this. I bought it for Kevin, from the MFA bookstore in Boston. It wasn't destined for greatness. It sat wrapped for about half a year before I gave it to him. Then just recently when he was packing up to move back it was offered back to me on his 'leaving-behind' pile. I think its a bit presumptious but I couldn't see it given up.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote a review for SW. They accepted it, told me Anthony Arnove was writing a review for it though. His wasn't published for six months after I submitted mine, AND it hit the same points. I wish I was a lefty-intellectual rock star.

[Ned · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just plain great if you dig Dylan and that period of his life. I really enjoyed Marqusee's choice of touching on other artists in parallel to shine more light on Dylan by comparison. Also, loved the history of the '60s, a necessary background to the start of Dylan's career.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the best written Dylan books I have read. For someone not around for the era, I found it interesting to compare the historical/political context of the times to Dylan's writing.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent chronicle of of Bob's relationship to the tumultuous decade he helped define. Scholarly and well written, this is one of the better books on the complex, rich subject.

[Bill Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant dissection of Bob Dylan's art and its place in the society and politics of the American sixties that was marred only by my realization of what a tool Dylan must be, then and now.

[Peder Kvamme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great history of the 60s, politically and socially. However like many others the author jumps to conclusions and makes a ton of assumptions about Dylan, his motives and his beliefs.