Invisible Republic
Encyclopedia
Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes is a book by music critic Greil Marcus
about the creation and cultural importance of The Basement Tapes
, a series of recordings made by Bob Dylan
in 1967 in collaboration with The Hawks, who would subsequently become known as The Band
. Published by Henry Holt and Company
in 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5842-7.
When subsequently published in paperback, the book was retitled The Old, Weird America, a term coined by Marcus to describe the often eerie country
, blues
, and folk music
featured on the Anthology of American Folk Music
. In his opinion, the sensibility of the Anthology is reflected by the Basement Tapes recordings. The term has been revived via the musical genre called New Weird America
.
Marcus quotes Robbie Robertson
’s memories of recording the Basement Tapes: "(Dylan) would pull these songs out of nowhere. We didn’t know if he wrote them or if he remembered them. When he sang them, you couldn’t tell." Marcus called these songs "palavers with a community of ghosts." He suggests that "these ghosts were not abstractions. As native sons and daughters they were a community. And they were once gathered in a single place: on the Anthology of American Folk Music, a work produced by a 29-year-old of no fixed address named Harry Smith
." Marcus argues Dylan’s basement songs were a resurrection of the spirit of the Anthology, originally published by Folkways Records
in 1952, a collection of blues and country songs recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, which proved very influential in the folk revival of the 1950s and the 1960s. The Anthology, initially titled American Folk Music, was reissued by Smithsonian Folkways
as a box set of compact disc
in the same year as the book's publication, with portions of the book excerpted as liner notes
.
Marcus links the First Great Awakening
, the folk music revival of the 1950s, the Civil Rights Movement
, and the Battle of Matewan
in West Virginia
, with Bob Dylan's 1966 tour with The Hawks.
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
about the creation and cultural importance of The Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes is a 1975 studio album by Bob Dylan and The Band. The songs featuring Dylan's vocals were recorded in 1967, eight years before the album's release, at houses in and around Woodstock, New York, where Dylan and the Band lived...
, a series of recordings made by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
in 1967 in collaboration with The Hawks, who would subsequently become known as The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
. Published by Henry Holt and Company
Henry Holt and Company
Henry Holt and Company is an American book publishing company. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt...
in 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5842-7.
When subsequently published in paperback, the book was retitled The Old, Weird America, a term coined by Marcus to describe the often eerie country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
featured on the Anthology of American Folk Music
Anthology of American Folk Music
The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records , comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1927 to 1932.Experimental filmmaker and notable eccentric Harry Smith compiled the music...
. In his opinion, the sensibility of the Anthology is reflected by the Basement Tapes recordings. The term has been revived via the musical genre called New Weird America
New Weird America
New Weird America describes a subgenre of psychedelic and indie music, often psych folk, of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.-Origin of the term:...
.
Marcus quotes Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
’s memories of recording the Basement Tapes: "(Dylan) would pull these songs out of nowhere. We didn’t know if he wrote them or if he remembered them. When he sang them, you couldn’t tell." Marcus called these songs "palavers with a community of ghosts." He suggests that "these ghosts were not abstractions. As native sons and daughters they were a community. And they were once gathered in a single place: on the Anthology of American Folk Music, a work produced by a 29-year-old of no fixed address named Harry Smith
Harry Everett Smith
Harry Everett Smith was an American archivist, ethnomusicologist, student of anthropology, record collector, experimental filmmaker, artist, bohemian and mystic...
." Marcus argues Dylan’s basement songs were a resurrection of the spirit of the Anthology, originally published by Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
in 1952, a collection of blues and country songs recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, which proved very influential in the folk revival of the 1950s and the 1960s. The Anthology, initially titled American Folk Music, was reissued by Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
as a box set of compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in the same year as the book's publication, with portions of the book excerpted as liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
.
Marcus links the First Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
, the folk music revival of the 1950s, the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and the Battle of Matewan
Battle of Matewan
The Battle of Matewan was a shootout in the town of Matewan, West Virginia in Mingo County on May 19, 1920 between local miners and the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency....
in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, with Bob Dylan's 1966 tour with The Hawks.