Pre-eminent Dylanologist to Speak at Daemen College

Pre-eminent "Dylanologist" to Speak at Daemen College

Author Michael Gray's "Song & Dance Man" Cited as the Definitive Study of the Work of Bob Dylan

April 5, 2001Contact: Mike AndreiDirector-College Relations(716) 839-8472

"The Essential Bob Dylan," which offers 30 songs on two CD's, boils the legendary singer's 40-year career down to a couple of hours. Michael Gray, on the other hand, spent most of the 1990s working on the massive third (and final) edition of his work, Song & Dance Man, described as the definitive study of the work of Bob Dylan. A grant from Britain's prestigious Royal Literary Fund enabled him to complete the 944-page book in 1999. It was published in London that year, and promptly sold out in April 2000. A reprint published in May sold out in November, followed by a second reprint in December. Gray will talk about his seminal work on Bob Dylan at Daemen College 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 26, in 202 Schenck Hall. Admission is free.

In North America, Song & Dance Man was published by in March 2000 and is being relaunched in April 2001, in anticipation of Dylan's 60th birthday May 24. This 1999-2001 edition studies the work of an artist whose writing and music challenges and crosses many boundaries, including: fusing the poetic power of traditional folk ballads with the force of electric music; Dylan's use of blues lyric poetry (the subject of a huge chapter that is at the heart of the book -- "Even Post-Structuralists Oughta Have The Pre-War Blues"); his inward and prolific use of the King James Bible and blend of radical creativity; and, even, some conservative tendencies.

"Bob Dylan's 40 year body of work is also interesting for his oscillation between periods of enormous international popularity and periods of being dismissed as 1960s Man," says Gray. "Through it all he has maintained an obdurate refusal to become "showbiz", and has drawn in new young listeners in generational wave after wave. There is always a significant number of students and other young people at his still-unpredictable concerts."

Michael Gray's book has been given exceptionally good reviews in magazines of many different kinds, all stressing that this was and is a definitive work by any standards. In Britain since the book came out he has been giving talks on campuses, at literary festivals, city libraries and arts centers, as well as holding signings in bookshops. These talks - from "Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll" through "Dylan & the Beat Poets" to "Grace & Redemption in the Work Of Bob Dylan" - have proved a highly popular mix of wit, erudition, loud music, professionalism, and spontaneity.

Gray comes to Daemen College fresh from appearances in the UK at the Bath Literature Festival; the Belfast Between The Lines Festival and York City Screen Arts Centre; and US college dates nationwide, including two in Dylan's home state of Minnesota.

Here's some of what the critics and reviews have said about Michael Gray's Song & Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan"

GREIL MARCUS"Extraordinarily useful; I have always admired Gray's reach, tone, and acuity but the research here is just amazing."

THE TIMES, London, 1 April 2000"This huge work is overwhelming... It's all been written in the book, sang Bob Dylan. Now it really has."

UNCUT, London, Feb.2000"The third (and allegedly final) edition of Michael Gray s pioneering tome & runs to a colossal 900 pages and confirms once again Gray s position as the doyen of Dylan scholars... even in its initial modest form, [it] was profoundly significant... a revelation... thrilling... His book invented a new school of rock criticism which made most of the writing that had gone before seem superficial, irrelevant and trivial... The third edition of Gray s lifetime study displays an almost insane degree of scholarship... quite dazzlingly brilliant... an intellectual tour de force... anyone who is remotely curious about the richness of the man s extraordinary imagination will find Gray s work an essential companion."

Q, London, Feb. 2000"This book is an event... the vibrant complexity of its ideas ties synapses in a sheepshank... delivering prodigious analyses of Dylan s artistry and his polymath sources in pre-war blues, nursery rhymes, fairy tales and Hollywood movie dialogue... Gray maintains a ruthless integrity regarding Dylan himself."

RECORD COLLECTOR, London, Feb. 2000"The original Song & Dance Man was a pioneering piece of rock scholarship& Written with great intelligence and passion& the result was the first important book about a rock artist s output, not just their life& But these 250 pages are merely a fragment of the 900-page monster which Gray has [now] unleashed& magnificent& soaked in insight& gems of perception on almost every page."

BLUEPRINT, British blues magazine, Vol.2, no. 33, March 2000"Fascinating, scholarly and very readable& an absolute must for Dylan admirers& The longest and most relevant chapter for Blueprint readers [ Even Post-Structuralists Oughta Have The Pre-War Blues ], is& packed solid with informative and enthralling reading. A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book by an author who writes knowledgeably, with style and with great insight - very highly recommended to all."

DIRTY LINEN, US music magazine, Aug/Sept 2000"Gray remains passionate about his subject. His writing is both scholarly and readable. This is an entertaining, educational, funny, infuriating book& His opinions are strong, and he delivers them with surgical precision& Song & Dance Man III is a must-read for Dylan enthusiasts and a fun, literate exploration for the casual fan."

ANDREW MOTION, British Poet Laureate, choosing it as one of his 3 Best Books of the Year, Observer, Nov. 26, 2000"Wonderful. The best book there is on Dylan, now better than ever."

STEPHEN SCOBIE, University. of Victoria, Canada & author of Alias Bob Dylan"Indispensable... His research is formidable, and his knowledge encyclopedic... great cogency, confidence and authority... a quite splendid critic... Gray can explain how the text [of a Dylan song] works poetically. It's a rare gift... [his] expositions of 'Every Grain Of Sand', 'Angelina', 'Jokerman' and 'Under the Red Sky' are utterly definitive... at the heart of this book is some of the finest critical writing ever done about Bob Dylan."

ON THE TRACKS, the US Dylan fanzine, Sept. 2000"This is a generous book... solid analysis... lucid discussions.... Like few other books about Dylan, this one will stay at hand for a long, long time."

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