"DYLAN DAILY" PAPERBACK REVIEW

I'm grateful to Gerry Smith for reviewing the new paperback edition of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia so favourably, and more so for how he's assessed my overall contribution to (what it once seemed inconceivable that we might call) Dylan Studies. He's so strongly positive that I want to point out that he and I have never met; nor do we share the same publisher, agent or other business interests. That said, here's his review (or see the Dylan Daily website, linked in the left-hand column):

"Updating his Bob Dylan Encyclopedia for the new paperback edition, Michael Gray took the opportunity to add entries on recent product as varied as a CD - Modern Times, an art show - Drawn Blank, and two major DVD releases – I’m Not There and The Other Side Of The Mirror.

For the new material, Gray continues to employ his well-established technique of mixing factual description with robust critical opinion. You won't always agree with him, but his combative tone challenges you to think through your own views. Apart from its intrinsic value, the new edition – which should be on any Dylan fan’s bookshelves - serves as a reminder of its author's pre-eminence as a Zim commentator. Long before it became fashionable, Gray demonstrated, single-handedly, why Dylan is a great writer, to be considered alongside the giants of serious literature. Song and Dance Man, Gray’s ground-breaking study from 1972, showed the first wave of Bobfans that Dylan was special, and why he was marching well in front of the trailing line of rock musos with whom he’d hitherto been lumped. For this, countless Dylan fans are indebted to Michael Gray." Gerry Smith