My review of Alessandro Portelli’s 2022 book Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History has now been published on the website of Oral History journal. This brilliant book takes the form of a set of responses to the 1962 song ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’, mixing these with narratives about the traditional ballads ‘Lord Randal’—upon which Dylan’s song is based—and its Italian counterpart, ‘Il testamento dell’avvelenato’ (‘The poisoned man’s testament’).
The review is available for free at https://www.ohs.org.uk/reviews/hard-rain-bob-dylan-oral-cultures-and-the-meaning-of-history/.
Late Voice 