Dylan's Development

I just saw a documentary on PBS about Dylan at Newport in '63, '64 and '65. Forgetting about the controversy behind his last show, what was interesting was seeing how fast he developed. Perhaps the times were changing, and he was trying to keep up, but just as likely, he was helping to change them.

In 1963, just a kid, he's the hot new thing. Another Woody Guthrie, singing (or croaking) out against social injustice. While he did Protest better than anyone, I wonder if he'd figured it was the best way to get noticed in the folk world. This is probably too cynical, but there's no doubt Dylan grew beyond protest pretty quickly, even though this bothered many of his core fans. He must have at least sensed it was a dead end, and watching him on stage in '63, I felt as talented as he was, a lot of his songs from this era haven't aged that well. Or let's put it another way--they seem part of a time capsule.

In 1964, it's hail the conquering hero. No longer a neophyte, he's the voice of a generation, and the man they've come to see. But he's changed. He's turned inward. His work is more abstract and poetic, and his songs, still folk-based, a bit more melodic. While his earlier albums are still pretty good, he's entering his most creative era.

In 1965, he's a superstar. He's outgrown Newport. The cozy world of folk, where they talk the same language and believe the same things, is losing him. And as almost always happens, some of his original fans, who felt they owned him, don't want to give him up to the rest of the world. The big change, of course, is he's gone electric. He's not the solo troubadour any more, but the leader of a band. But this expansion was necessary. It opened up new vistas and led to far better stuff than we've heard so far. Imagine if he'd just stayed on the protest track. He'd probably be remembered today as a superior Phil Ochs.

And it all happened in a two-year period. For a lot of artists, it would have been a whole career.