Gospel According To Bob Dylan

During a Bob Dylan concert at the Royal Albert Hall in the mid-’60s, a heckler in the audience shouted “Judas!” at the performer. Few musicians, however, have stayed as loyal to their vocation as Bob Dylan, according to Gilmour (Gods and Guitars), an associate professor of New Testament and English at Providence College in Manitoba, Canada. Gilmour has written much about rock music, and his perspective is always fresh and intelligent. Dylan is a fertile subject for theological analysis since the musician has never shied away from biblical and other religious imagery in his songs. The author states that listeners are going to bring to Dylan’s songs their personal religious experience and find within Dylan the man and Dylan the musician what they desire to discover, including spiritual significance. The author digs into Dylan’s life story and, as a true fan himself, captures the genuine love that fans hold for the music icon. Gilmour’s approach to the subject transcends simplistic theological analysis of songs and does much to enhance the academic credibility of pop culture studies. Fans of Dylan and rock music in general will be pleased with this treatment of a living legend.