Archive for the ‘Michael Gray’ Category

New album/Michael Gray/O2 gig transport problems

16 April, 2009
* Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Just picked this up off the Isis website:
http://www.bobdylanisis.com/Dylan%20Digest.htm

“As it says here, strange that the fact that the new material is co-written has so far been absent from any of the pre-publicity.

“Interesting to also note a credit for Willie Dixon!

“Not too sure how well the co-written lyric story is going down:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/16/bob-dylan-lyrics

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* After some North American dates earlier this month, Michael’s live event, Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues – “wit, erudition, loud records and rare footage” – comes back to the UK, starting tomorrow, Friday April 17, at Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire. Box Office: 0845 1272 190 / http://www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/, tickets £8.

Next comes Herne Bay Little Theatre, Kent, on Thursday April 23 (Box Office: 01227 366004, tickets £12, £10 concessions).

Two days after that he’s back in the States, at One Longfellow Square in Portland Maine (Box Office: 207-239-1855 / www.onelongfellowsquare.com, tickets $18 in advance, $20 at the door).

If you haven’t yet seen this gig, I can heartily recommend it.

Gerry Smith

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* Thanks to Andy Kelly:

“The helpline number for Transport for London is 0207 222 1234. They are generally helpful and informed.

“I’ve heard tales of nightmarish troubles and iniquitous charges for those using their own vehicles, so anyone considering that (probably teaching grannies to suck eggs here) – check the web.”

(Andy’s praise for TfL’s tel info service is deserved. Pity they can’t apply the same standards to providing a transport service. London’s Tubes are a world-class embarrassment. Gerry Smith – Ed.)

Michael Gray’s Dylan and the blues gig: “fascinating and enjoyable”

25 February, 2009
Thanks to David Carter:

“Michael Gray’s one-man show, Bob Dylan & The Poetry of the Blues, kicked off on Thursday evening at the Colchester Arts Centre.

“The performance held at the Arts Centre, a redundant church, had a slightly surreal feel about it. The chilly church with its black drapes and dark stage set-up was heightened by Michael Gray dressed in a three-quarter length black jacket and with his silvery white hair he took on the appearance of a 19th century preacher as he spoke and guided us through the blues connections in Dylan’s albums.

“The show looked at the blues singers who influenced Dylan throughout his career, using audio and video clips to illustrate the connections, and when Michael Gray picked up his “good book” (The Bob Dylan Encyclopaedia), to read a couple of passages, the spiritual experience was completed.

“A fascinating and enjoyable evening, if it comes to a venue near you make sure you don’t miss it.”

Street Legal, according to Michael Gray

14 January, 2009
Thanks to Francesca Barnes:

“Funny that Dylan Daily should cover Michael Gray (on tour) so soon after your discussion of Street Legal.

“I happened to be reading Gray (S&DM3) on Street Legal at the weekend, and was struck by his impressive, lengthy analysis. Gray sees the CD as a coherent suite of songs charting Dylan’s replacement of married love by a nascent Christian faith.

“I like much of Gray’s writing and, though I’ve no religious agenda, I found this piece especially convincing and recommend it to your readers.”

Michael Gray to tour his BOB DYLAN & THE POETRY OF THE BLUES gig

12 January, 2009
If you haven’t yet caught Michael Gray’s recommended BOB DYLAN & THE POETRY OF THE BLUES gig, you get another chance in the next few months:

BOB DYLAN & THE POETRY OF THE BLUES: An Evening With Michael Gray
“wit, erudition, loud music and rare footage”

Thu Feb 19, 8pm Colchester Arts Centre, UK
Church St., Colchester, Essex
Box Office: 01206 500900 / www.colchesterartscentre.com
tickets £10, £8 concessions

Fri Feb 20, 8pm Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland
temporarily at 36 Cecil Street, Limerick, Eire
Box Office: ticketline 061 319 866 or:
boxoffice@belltable.ie
tickets €15, €12 concessions

Fri Mar 6, 7.30pm Birkenhead Pacific Road Arts Centre, UK
Pacific Road, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 1LJ
Box Office: 0151 666 0000 or:
http://www.pacificroad.co.uk/webpages/booking.asp
tickets £10, £8 concessions

Tue Mar 31, tba Daemen College, Amherst NY, USA
4380 Main Street, Amherst NY 14226
Box Office: n/a; free admission (may be campus members only)

Thu Apr 2, 4.30pm Washington College, Chestertown MD, USA
The Rose O’Neill Literary House, 300 Washington Avenue,
Chestertown, Maryland 21620
Box Office: n/a; free admission (may be campus members only)

Fri Apr 3, 7.30pm Nyack Village Theatre, Nyack NY, USA
94 Main Street, Nyack NY 10960
Box Office: [001] 845-367-1423
tickets $20

Fri Apr 17, 8pm Buxton Opera House, UK
Water Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6XN
Box Office: 0845 127 2190 / www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/booking
tickets £8

Thu Apr 23, 7.30pm Herne Bay Little Theatre, UK
Box Office: 01227 366004
tickets £12, £10 concessions

Wed Apr 29, 4.30pm Farmingdale State College, State Univ. of New York, USA
English & Humanities Department, Farmingdale State College
2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale (Long Island)
NY 11735-1021, USA; Tel: [001] 631-420-2050
Box Office: n/a; free admission (may be campus members only)

Sat May 2, 8pm Bridgwater Arts Centre, UK
11-13 Castle Street, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 3DD
Box Office: 01278 422700 / www.bridgwaterartscentre.co.uk
tickets £12, £10 concessions

Sat May 9, 8pm The Market Theatre, Ledbury, UK
Market Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2AQ
Box Office: c/o Tourist Information Office 01531 636147 /
www.themarkettheatre.com/
tickets £10

Wed May 13, 7.30pm Uppingham Theatre, Rutland UK
32 Stockerston Road, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9UD
Box Office: 01572 820820 / upp.the.arts@uppingham.co.uk
www.uppthearts.co.uk / or in person at Uppingham Bookshop
or at Stamford Arts Centre
tickets £8.50

Fri May 15, 7.30pm Cotswold Playhouse, Stroud, UK
Parliament Street, Stroud GL5 1LW
Box Office c/o Stroud Tourist Office: 01453 760960 /
www.cotswoldplayhouse.co.uk/jm/
tickets £12, £11 priority booking, £10 concessions

Sat May 16, 7.30m Festival of the Spoken Word, Berwick-on-Tweed, UK
The Main House, The Maltings Theatre & Arts Centre,
Eastern Lane, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1AJ
Box Office: 01289 330999 / www.maltingsberwick.co.uk
tickets £10, £8 concessions

Fri May 29, 7.30pm Exchange Studio, Hazlitt Arts Centre, Maidstone
Earl Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PL
Box Office: tel 01622 758611/
www.hazlittartscentre.co.uk/pages/booking.html
tickets £12.50, £10 concessions

Sat May 30, 8pm Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset UK
South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR
Box Office: 01308 424204 / www.bridport-arts.com/
tickets tba

An enjoyable, stimulating evening/late afternoon awaits you!

Gerry Smith

Paperback edition of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia

14 October, 2008

 

 

Updating his Bob Dylan Encyclopedia for the new paperback edition, Michael Gray took the opportunity to add new entries covering major recent events and product in the Dylan world.

 

Gray’s new edition reflects the widening array of Dylan-related activity, assessing 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 employs his well-established technique of mixing straight reporting with tough critical assessment.  You might not always agree with him, but his combative tone consistently challenges you to think through your own opinions. 

 

Apart from its intrinsic value, the new edition – which should be on any Dylan fan’s bookshelves – serves as a reminder of Gray’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, demonstrated to the first wave of Bobfans just why Dylan was special – why he was marching well in front of the trailing line of rock musos with whom he’d hitherto been associated.

 

Countless Dylan fans are indebted to Michael Gray.

 

 

 

Gerry Smith        

 

 

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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:

 

NEW: paperback Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, with updates, out tomorrow

 

Continuum publishes the paperback edition of Michael Gray’s Bob Dylan Encyclopedia tomorrow, in both London and New York. The text has been updated by new entries and amendments to many of the entries in the hardback.  To keep the price down, the new edition doesn’t include a CD-ROM.

 

Here’s how The Dylan Daily greeted the hardback edition:

 

“The Encylopedia majors on its author’s unparalleled expertise, his critical judgment and a ready intelligence and authorial finesse…in three quarters of a million words, he paints a massive canvas. Over 730 pages, its daunting breadth of coverage and sheer level of detail is deeply impressive… destined to be the most important Bob Dylan book, bar none.”

 

 

 

* New entries:

 

Blues [2006]

Bob Dylan: The Collection [2006]

Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series [2007]

Carthy, Martin

Dennis-Dylan, Desiree [1986 - ]

Dylan [2007]

Dylan, last solo concert by [1965]

Haynes, Todd [1961 - ]

I’m Not There [film, 2007]

Lerner, Murray [192? - ]

Man Without Papers, The [TV drama, 1965]

Modern Times [2006]

Other Side Of The Mirror, The [film, 2007]

Paradise Cove [film, 1999]

Ronson, Mark

65 Revisited [film, 2006]

21st Century Dylan songs written for films

White, Jack

 

 

* Updated entries:

 

Alk, Howard

Alvin, Dave

‘Am I Your Stepchild?’

American Civil War in World Gone Wrong, the

Animals, the

‘Angelina’

Aufray, Hugues

Ball, Gordon

Barker, Derek & Tracy

Baudelaire

Berry, Chuck

Betts, Dickey

Blowin’ In the Wind

blues, external signals of Dylan’s interest in

Bob Dylan Greatest Hits

Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. II

Bootleg Series Vol.5

Bridge, The

Bringing It All Back Home

Brown, Richard Rabbit

‘Brownsville Girl’

Bruce, Jack

Bruton, Stephen

Campbell, Larry

Campbell, Mike

Carmichael, Hoagy

Charles, Larry

Chronicles Volume One

Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Clapton, Eric

Cohen, John

co-option of real music by advertising, the

Cross, Billy

Dennis, Carolyn

Diaz, Cesar

‘Dignity’

Domino, Fats

Don’t Look Back

Drawn Blank [1994]

Dunn, Tim

Dylan [1973]

earliest extant recordings, Dylan’s

Elliott, Ramblin’ Jack

Epstein, Howie

Estes, Sleepy John

folk music, American, black

Freeman, Denny

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The: withdrawn early version

Fremerman, Elana

Fuller, Blind Boy

Garnier, Tony

Gleason, Ralph J.

Goldberg, Barry

Goldstein, Harvey

Grateful Dead, the

‘The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar’

guitars, Bob Dylan’s acoustic

Guthrie, Woody

Haggard, Merle

Hammond, John

Hammond, John Jr.

Harrison, George

Helm, Levon

Hendrix, Jimi

Herdman, John

Herron, Donnie

Hibbing rock’n'rollers

Highway 61 Revisited

Hinton, Nigel

Horowitz, David

Howlin’ Wolf

Humphries, Patrick

Hunter, Robert

Ian & Sylvia

‘In Search of Little Sadie’/'Little Sadie’

Jackson, John

James, Elana

Jean, Wyclef

Johnnie & Jack

Jones, Mickey

Jones, Norah

Kalb, Danny

Kegan, Larry

Kershaw, Doug

Kimball, Stuary

King, Clydie

Kooper, Al

Kramer, Daniel

Kweskin, Jim

LaFarge, Pete

Lesh, Phil

Levy, Dan

Lightfoot, Gordon

Lightnin’ Hopkins

Like A Rolling Stone

Lomax, Alan

‘Love Henry’

McTell, Blind Willie

Madhouse On Castle Street, the

Marcus, Greil

Marsalis, Wynton

Masterpieces

Mayall, John

Maymudes, Victor [1935 - 2001]

Memphis Minnie

Meyers, Augie

Mitchell, Joni

Muddy Waters

Muir, Andrew

Muldaur, Maria

Murphy, Elliott

musical accompanists to Dylan, other

Nelson, Paul

Neville, Aaron

nursery rhyme on Under the Red Sky

Pagel, Bill

Pennebaker, D.A.

‘People Get Ready’

Petty, Tom

Presley, Elvis

Poe, Edgar Allan

Quintana, Charlie

Raney, Wayne

Ray, Dave

Receli, George

Richards, Keith

Ricks, Christopher

Rimbaud, Arthur

Rinzler, Ralph

Rivera, Scarlet

Rosen, Jeff

Rotolo, Suze

Sahm, Doug

Savakus, Russ

Scaduto, Anthony

Schatzberg, Jerry

Scheff, Jerry

Sedgwick, Edie

Self Portrait

Sexton, Charlie

Sinatra, Frank

Smith, Warren

Spoelstra, Mark

Springs, Helena

Stanley Brothers, the

Stanley, Ralph

Stewart, Dave

‘Tangled Up In Blue’

Taylor, Mick

Tedeschi, David

Tench, Benmont

Time Out Of Mind

Thompson, Toby

U2

New edition of Bob Dylan Encyclopedia hits the High Street

30 June, 2008
The new (expanded, updated, paperbacked) edition of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia by Michael Gray has hit the High Street, after a slight delay. It was very visible in major London stockists yesterday.

The paperback edition of the Encyclopedia has numerous new entries, but comes without the full-text CD-ROM released with the hardback edition. (No big deal – I’ve only consulted my disc once in 18 months).

List price is £16.99; Borders are discounting it to £12.99 – an unmissable bargain if you passed on the hardback. HMV and subsidiary Fopp have it at £15.

The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia was reviewed in depth and serialised on www.DylanDaily.com on first publication (check The Dylan Daily Archives for details)

Gerry Smith

Paperback edition of Bob Dylan Encyclopedia is out tomorrow

14 April, 2008

Continuum publishes the paperback edition of Michael Gray’s Bob Dylan Encyclopedia tomorrow, in both London and New York. The text has been updated by new entries and amendments to many of the entries in the hardback.

 

In order for the paperback to sell at a lower price than the hardback, the new edition doesn’t include a CD-ROM.

 

 

* New entries:

 

Blues [2006]

Bob Dylan: The Collection [2006]

Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series [2007]

Carthy, Martin

Dennis-Dylan, Desiree [1986 - ]

Dylan [2007]

Dylan, last solo concert by [1965]

Haynes, Todd [1961 - ]

I’m Not There [film, 2007]

Lerner, Murray [192? - ]

Man Without Papers, The [TV drama, 1965]

Modern Times [2006]

Other Side Of The Mirror, The [film, 2007]

Paradise Cove [film, 1999]

Ronson, Mark

65 Revisited [film, 2006]

21st Century Dylan songs written for films

White, Jack

 

 

* Updated entries:

 

Alk, Howard

Alvin, Dave

‘Am I Your Stepchild?’

American Civil War in World Gone Wrong, the

Animals, the

‘Angelina’

Aufray, Hugues

Ball, Gordon

Barker, Derek & Tracy

Baudelaire

Berry, Chuck

Betts, Dickey

Blowin’ In the Wind

blues, external signals of Dylan’s interest in

Bob Dylan Greatest Hits

Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. II

Bootleg Series Vol.5

Bridge, The

Bringing It All Back Home

Brown, Richard Rabbit

‘Brownsville Girl’

Bruce, Jack

Bruton, Stephen

Campbell, Larry

Campbell, Mike

Carmichael, Hoagy

Charles, Larry

Chronicles Volume One

Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Clapton, Eric

Cohen, John

co-option of real music by advertising, the

Cross, Billy

Dennis, Carolyn

Diaz, Cesar

‘Dignity’

Domino, Fats

Don’t Look Back

Drawn Blank [1994]

Dunn, Tim

Dylan [1973]

earliest extant recordings, Dylan’s

Elliott, Ramblin’ Jack

Epstein, Howie

Estes, Sleepy John

folk music, American, black

Freeman, Denny

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The: withdrawn early version

Fremerman, Elana

Fuller, Blind Boy

Garnier, Tony

Gleason, Ralph J.

Goldberg, Barry

Goldstein, Harvey

Grateful Dead, the

‘The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar’

guitars, Bob Dylan’s acoustic

Guthrie, Woody

Haggard, Merle

Hammond, John

Hammond, John Jr.

Harrison, George

Helm, Levon

Hendrix, Jimi

Herdman, John

Herron, Donnie

Hibbing rock’n'rollers

Highway 61 Revisited

Hinton, Nigel

Horowitz, David

Howlin’ Wolf

Humphries, Patrick

Hunter, Robert

Ian & Sylvia

‘In Search of Little Sadie’/'Little Sadie’

Jackson, John

James, Elana

Jean, Wyclef

Johnnie & Jack

Jones, Mickey

Jones, Norah

Kalb, Danny

Kegan, Larry

Kershaw, Doug

Kimball, Stuary

King, Clydie

Kooper, Al

Kramer, Daniel

Kweskin, Jim

LaFarge, Pete

Lesh, Phil

Levy, Dan

Lightfoot, Gordon

Lightnin’ Hopkins

Like A Rolling Stone

Lomax, Alan

‘Love Henry’

McTell, Blind Willie

Madhouse On Castle Street, the

Marcus, Greil

Marsalis, Wynton

Masterpieces

Mayall, John

Maymudes, Victor [1935 - 2001]

Memphis Minnie

Meyers, Augie

Mitchell, Joni

Muddy Waters

Muir, Andrew

Muldaur, Maria

Murphy, Elliott

musical accompanists to Dylan, other

Nelson, Paul

Neville, Aaron

nursery rhyme on Under the Red Sky

Pagel, Bill

Pennebaker, D.A.

‘People Get Ready’

Petty, Tom

Presley, Elvis

Poe, Edgar Allan

Quintana, Charlie

Raney, Wayne

Ray, Dave

Receli, George

Richards, Keith

Ricks, Christopher

Rimbaud, Arthur

Rinzler, Ralph

Rivera, Scarlet

Rosen, Jeff

Rotolo, Suze

Sahm, Doug

Savakus, Russ

Scaduto, Anthony

Schatzberg, Jerry

Scheff, Jerry

Sedgwick, Edie

Self Portrait

Sexton, Charlie

Sinatra, Frank

Smith, Warren

Spoelstra, Mark

Springs, Helena

Stanley Brothers, the

Stanley, Ralph

Stewart, Dave

‘Tangled Up In Blue’

Taylor, Mick

Tedeschi, David

Tench, Benmont

Time Out Of Mind

Thompson, Toby

U2

 

 

 

Gerry Smith