Thirteen artists take on Bob Dylan’s most famous tunes, re-imagining them in graphic-novel style in the beautifully illustrated Bob Dylan Revisited.
Grouping together luminaries such as Neil Gaiman co-conspirator Dave McKean and Italian illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti, the book visually interprets essential Dylan, from the giddy “I Want You” to the somber “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Each song is recreated in sequential format, perfectly suiting Dylan’s folk-story songwriting.
Detached from the music, the graphic-accompanied lyrics emphasize the stark — at times unsettling — nature of Dylan’s imagery. Seeing the “black branch with blood that kept drippin'” described in “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” evokes entirely different emotions than the words alone, which are normally masked behind bright major chords.
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Refamiliarize yourself with Dylan on his MySpace page, visit Dave McKean and Lorenzo Mattotti‘s official websites, and buy the book
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Excerpt from “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” (1963), interpreted by Lorenzo Mattotti
“Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son? Oh, what did you see, my darling young one? I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it, I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’, I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’, I saw a white ladder all covered with water . . . ”
-Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”
Excerpt from “Hurricane” (1975), interpreted by Gradimir Smudja
“Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall. She sees the bartender in a pool of blood, Cries out, “My God, they killed them all!” Here comes the story of the Hurricane, The man the authorities came to blame For somethin’ that he never done. Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been The champion of the world.”
-Bob Dylan, “Hurricane”
Featured illustrations: 1. “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Thierry Murat 2. “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” by Lorenzo Mattotti 3. “I Want You” by Nicolas Nemiri 4. “Girl From the North Country” by Francois Avril 5. “Lay, Lady, Lay” by Jeane-Claude Gotting 6. “Positively 4th Street” by Christopher 7. “Tombstone Blues” by Bezian 8. “Desolation Row” by Dave McKean 9. “Like a Rolling Stone” by Alfred, Raphaelle Le Rio, Mael Le Mae, and Henri Meunier 10. “Hurricane” by Gradimir Smudja 11. “Blind Willie McTell” by Benjamin Flao 12. “Knockin’ on Heavin’s Door” by Jean-Philippe Bramanti 13. “Not Dark Yet” by Zep