ISIS MAGAZINE LIMITED

Bob Dylan has been a prolific graphic artist since the 1960s, and his graphic art is marked by the same constant drive for renewal that characterises his music. Never content to remain static in a single form of expression that he has already cultivated, he is constantly experimenting and testing new artistic techniques and expressions. This book of the exhibition at the National Gallery of Denmark encompasses some 100 works, including completely new works to be seen in public for the first time. Bob Dylan has recently delved into painting in acrylic, and the exhibition is the first to document this new direction in the artist’s work, showing larger format paintings alongside drawings. Dylan’s works are often created during his exhaustive touring, and his motifs bear corresponding imprints of the environments and people that he crosses in his life. As a graphic artist he functions as a phenomenal observer who depicts the immediately banal and everyday facets of life in such a way that they appear fresh and new for the viewer.

The Author

John Elderfield was the leading art historian and chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA. He received the Eric Mitchell Prize for his book on twentieth century art, and was also recipient of a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres awarded by the French Government. Kasper Monrad is an art historian and the author of several books.

by Sean Wilentz

Growing up in Greenwich Village in the 1960s Sean Wilentz discovered the music of Bob Dylan as a young teenager. Almost half a century later, now a distinguished professor of American history, he revisits Dylan’s work with the critical skills of a scholar and the passion of a fan. Drawing partly on his work as the current historian-in-residence on Dylan’s official website, Sean Wilentz provides a unique blend of biography, memoir and analysis in a book which, much like its subject, shifts gears and changes shape as the occasion demands. Beginning with Dylan’s explosion onto the scene in 1961, this book charts his career and the evolution of his astonishing output and places it firmly within a vivid musical and cultural context. It examines the influence of the Popular Front ideology and of Beat aesthetics, as well as the debt and sometimes surprising connections to other composers and performers – as diverse as Aaron Copland and Blind Willie McTell. The result is a broad and brilliantly illuminating appreciation of Dylan as both performer and songwriter up to the present day.

Sean Wilentz has had unprecedented access to studio tapes, recording notes and rare photographs – many of which are reproduced here. This remarkable material allows him to tell Dylan’s story – and that of such masterpieces as Blonde on Blonde – with unrivalled authenticity and richness.

(Two Riders, UK 2009)

The latest in the ongoing and very popular Wyvill and Wraith series of tour books. “So Far Away From Home”, covers Dylan’s touring exploits in 2009. Includes setlists for all the 2009 shows.

(See below for older issues and special prices on multiples)

by Clinton Heylin

Following on from Revolution in the Air this is the second volume in Clinton Heylin’s survey of the songs of Bob Dylan. Still on the Road begins in 1974 with “Blood on the Tracks”, the album filled with masterworks such as ‘Tangled Up in Blue’ and ‘Simple Twist of Fate’ that heralded a watershed in Dylan’s creative journey, and continues to chart his never-ending fascination with music and the art of song up to 2006’s “Modern Times”. 494 pages.

A Midwest Framework to the Songs of Bob Dylan by David Pichaske.

Using Dylan songs, biographies, criticism, Minnesota history, and the work of other Midwest writers, David Pichaske burrows below the accretions of New York and California, as well as records and books and the world of postmodern art to track the continuing presence in Dylan’s work of the Midwest, Minnesota, and the Iron Range. To a remarkable extent, Dylan’s origins help determine his subjects, his language, his ideas, images, and metaphors. His roots are reflected in his use of the pastoral tradition, with its suspicion of the city, redemption in Nature, and almost Transcendentalist mysticism; in his politics, and in his role as Bob Dylan the prophet, preaching the American jeremiad to a nation gone wrong. Song of the North Country is a beautifully written and erudite book that provides endless new insights into the work of one of America’s foremost poets and performers

by Sid Griffin

In the fall of 1975 and spring 1976, Bob Dylan led a travelling band of musicians around America on the two legs of the Rolling Thunder tour. Along for the ride were Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, David Blue, Kinky Friedman, T-Bone Burnett, Allen Ginsberg, Sam Sheppard, Mick Ronson, and dozens more musicians, friends, family and hangers-on. The circus was documented in the film “Renaldo and Clara”, the live album “Hard Rain”, and a TV concert special of the same name, while in between the two legs of the tour Dylan released the classic “Desire” album. It is this period of heightened creativity and personal drama that Dylan-authority, author, and musician Sid Griffin examines in ‘Shelter from the Storm’. Interviewing many of the tour’s participants including musicians Roger McGuinn, T-Bone Burnett, Kinky Friedman, Arlo Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and tour manager Louie Kemp, Griffin mixes meticulous musical analysis into a gripping narrative in this definitive account the Rolling Thunder years.

by Sid Griffin

The Basement Tapes were recorded during 1967, a year in which Dylan went publicly quiet yet wrote more classic songs than in any other year. In one 94,000 word book you can now read EXACTLY what Bob and The Band were up to at Big Pink as well as where, why and how they made this timeless music. Featuring interviews with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Roger McGuinn, Joe Boyd, Manfred Mann, Band producer John Simon, Ronnie Hawkins and many more.

by ISIS editor Derek Barker

550 songs over 512-page, lavishly illustrated with 230 images.

ISIS is very pleased to be able to announce that Derek Barker’s book “The Songs He Didn’t Write: Bob Dylan Under The Influence” was voted as one of the ten best music books of 2009 by UNCUT.

Barker's book was also chosen as the third best music book of 2009 in Record Collector magazine.  “Songs...” was the only Dylan book to make either of the above charts.

Monumental chronicle of the songs which made Dylan tick and the ultimate Theme Time Radio Hour companion ... This marvellous exercise is testament to Barker’s dedication and knowledge of his subject ... revealing more about its illusive subject’s ways and workings than a shelf-load of variations and theories on the well-trodden story ... Indispensable. *****  Kris Needs – Record Collector

A well-researched, endlessly entertaining and Fascinating book **** Allan Jones – Uncut

Eighteen months in the making, “The Songs He Didn’t Write” contains detailed information about the 550 songs which Dylan has covered either in the studio or in concert from his early party gigs through to the present day.

Each entry catalogues when and where the song was performed, the year of the tour and the date and venue of the first and most recent performance. Also included is the background to the song, from whom Dylan might have learned it, and in most cases a short biography of the artist in question. Much more than just another Dylan book.  All Reviews

by Leonard Cohen

This biography reveals new insight into the legendary songs of Leonard Cohen. Covering each stage in his prolific career, his early years as a poet and author in Canada, his relocation to New York City and subsequent impact within the folk and rock scenes, his years spent in a Buddhist monastery, and his recent rediscovery by a new generation of fans. Balancing his literary and musical influences with themes of religion, depression, sex, politics, and complex interpersonal relationships, fresh perspectives are highlighted through interviews with colleagues who have never before gone on record. His recent release of new music, current revival in popularity, and first tour in 15 years are fully detailed and cited as one of the most dramatic periods in the life of this eloquent songwriter. There are numerous mentions of Dylan throughout the book including an entire appendix comparing Cohen and Dylan’s work. 272 pages, plus 16 pages of photos, some previously unpublished. 

Popular series of year by year booklets covering all Dylan's touring activities. Includes detailed tracklistings, guest appearances, statistics, memorabilia and great colour photographs.

AROUND THE WORLD (2008)  I'M GONE (2007)  WALK THE HARD ROAD (2006)   OVER THERE AND BACK (2005)  YOU CALLED AND I CAME (2004)  GOT TO RUN (2003)  WATCHIN' THE ROADS (2002)  GO AN EXTRA MILE (2001)  PASSING THROUGH (2000)  DOWN THE ROAD (1999)  ROLLING DOWN THE ROAD (1996) ONWARD IN MY JOURNEY (1988)  GOING AROUND (1989)      

All other volumes are sold out

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A Guide To Tarantula by Robin Witting (Exploding Rooster Books, 1995) Revised Edition

Described by one reviewer as a “Michelin Guide” to that most impenetrable of books, Dylan’s great unacknowledged masterpiece, Tarantula. Originally published in 1994 and revised and updated in 1995, “The Cracked Bells: A guide to Tarantula” (Revised Edition) is an excellent quality large-format A4, 185-page book by author and Tarantula obsessive Robin Witting. This outstanding piece of work – a feast for Tarantula buffs – has been out of stock for a number of years; this is your chance to grab one of the remaining copies before they all disappear.

Pocket Tarantula by Robin Witting (Exploding Rooster Books, 1996)

Originally published in 1996 and out of stock for a number of years, “The Meaning of an Orange: Pocket Tarantula” is a small A5-format, 60-page booklet by author and “Tarantula expert” Robin Witting. Robin describes this publication not as a “feast” (as was “The Cracked Bells”) but as a “packed lunch”. “The Meaning of an Orange” looks a “slices” of Dylan’s wonderful orange; amplifying aspects covered in “The Cracked Bells” as well as discussing fresh facets of Dylan work that have been revealed by Witting’s ongoing research in to “Tarantula”.

by Robin Witting (Exploding Rooster Books, 2005)

Nicely produced A5 booklet analysing the complex work that is Tarantula. "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma - but perhaps Witting has found the key". 72 pages

A Guide To John Wesley Harding by Robin Witting (Exploding Rooster Books, 1997)

Robin has dug up new information regarding Tom Paine and The Wicked Messenger and also has managed to track down a lot of interesting facts on gunfighter Hardin, including a copy of an original newspaper report on the life and death of this notorious gunfighter. Apparently, after killing some 40 men Wes Hardin eventually fell foul of a somewhat shady lawman by the name of John Selman. Hardin met his fate in of all places the Acme Saloon, the headlines read: "Wes Hardin is Killed - This Noted Character Dies by John Selman's Pistol - The Fate Of All Bad Killers". 102 pages - A5

Many earlier issues now back in stock

Special discounts for orders of 10 or more

Use the select issue number option (right) to see which issues are currently available

Use the select issue number option (right) to see which issues are currently available