Exposing the depth of two major artists' philosophies, creative visions, stylistic tendencies, and contributions to their craft, this unprecedented comparative analysis synthesizes biographical material, critical interpretation, and selected exemplars of the writers' work. Smith reinterprets their work in a new and fascinating light, presenting Dylan as a songwriter of enigmatic wordplay and Springsteen as the melodramatic narrator of a specific community's life struggles.

Both songwriters have had unique responses to the celebrity singer/songwriter tradition begun by Woody Guthrie. Smith reveals the power of authorship and the creative drive necessary to negotiate an artistic vision through the complicated mechanisms of the world of commercial art. Both have discovered their own means of traveling this difficult terrain, and Smith probes their lives and work to reveal the myriad ways in which two distinct, equally significant artists have learned from and contributed to an ongoing and important American musical tradition.

Smith probes the songwriters' lives and work to reveal how two distinct, equally significant artists have learned from and contributed to an ongoing and important American musical tradition.

About the Author

LARRY DAVID SMITH is an independent writer and lecturer who specializes in narrative critiques of popular media. His previous works include Pete Townshend: The Minstrel's Dilemma (Praeger, 1999).

Book Information
ISBN 9780275973933
Author Larry David Smith
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Praeger Publishers Inc
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc