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Torrent Description
By the middle of the 1970s, Bob Dylan's position as the pre-eminent artist of his generation was assured. The 1975 album Blood on the Tracks seemed to prove, finally, that an uncertain age had found its poet.
Perverse or driven, Dylan refused the role. By the decade's end, the counter-culture's poster child had embraced conservative, evangelical Christianity. Fans and critics alike were confused; many were aghast. Still the hits kept coming. Then Dylan faltered. His instincts, formerly unerring, deserted him. In the 1980s, what had once appeared unthinkable came to pass: the 'voice of a generation' began to sound irrelevant, a tale told to grandchildren. Yet in the autumn of 1997 something remarkable happened. Having failed to release a single new song in seven long years, Dylan put out the equivalent of two albums in a single package. He called it Time Out of Mind. So began the renaissance, artistic and personal, that culminated in 2012's acclaimed Tempest. In the concluding volume of his groundbreaking study, Ian Bell explores the unparalleled second act in a quintessentially American career. It is a tale of redemption, of an act of creative will against the odds, and of a writer who refused to fade away. Time Out of Mind is the story of the latest, perhaps the last, of the many Bob Dylans. This one might yet turn out to have been the most important of them all. About the author (2014) Born, raised and educated in Edinburgh, Ian Bell is a past holder of the George Orwell Prize for political journalism and the award-winning author of Dreams of Exile, a biography of Robert Louis Stevenson. Formerly the Scottish editor of The Observer, he is a columnist with The Herald and the Sunday Herald. Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (January 1, 2014) Language: English ISBN-10: 1780576668 ISBN-13: 978-1780576664 Most Helpful Customer Reviews is a wonderful writer, with great insights into his subject and ... By Vincent on November 16, 2014 It is difficult to pan this book. Ian Bell, as in his previous book on Dylan, is a wonderful writer, with great insights into his subject and a meticulous sense of research. Having read just about everything on Bob Dylan, Bell's two books are undoubtedly among the better efforts I've read. However, as another reviewer has pointed out, it is also easy to be dissuaded by Mr. Bell's constant slide into nasty, subjective insights into Dylan and into other artists Dylan has collaborated with. It is admittedly impossible--and undesirable--to adhere to strict objectivity on Dylan and his work. Critical insights are appreciated, especially when they are written with the lucidity and dexterity that Mr. Bell possesses. Nevertheless, many readers--and i include myself--are going to be irritated by his constant slicing into Dylan's career and other artists Dylan obviously esteems. To some extent, this criticism holds true for Clinton Heylin's works, though Heylin doesn't extend himself so far and so frequently into such nasty attacks. The book could have used some editing and shortening, particularly with regard to the elements pointed out in this review. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the experience of engaging with Ian Bell's lively and expressive voice. Lots of excellent points here make this a worthwhile read, more so for the reader who already has a significant knowledge of Dylan. At least the knowing reader can disagree with the author, which will happen, I think, with some frequency. For anyone who hasn't read up on Dylan, there are better openings. 
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