Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Few songwriters have been as prolific—or revered—as Bob Dylan. This 4-CD collection, marking Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary, is a tribute to his artistry, with cover versions by 75 stars of all generations and genres. Diana Krall delivers a tender “Simple Twist of Fate,” while husband Elvis Costello adds a stirring “License to Kill.” The real surprises come from younger artists, including Ke$ha, who sings a touching “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and K’naan, who bravely reinvents “With God on Our Side.”

Jakob Dylan has forged a musical career in the shadow of his celebrity dad. The youngest of four children born to Bob Dylan and his ex-wife Sara, Jakob found comfort—if not anonymity—as a member of the Wallflowers, rockers whose 1996 album, Bringing Down the Horse, produced three Top 40 singles, won two Grammy Awards and sold four million copies. During that time, interview questions about his famous father were strictly off limits. Two years ago, Jakob invited parental comparison when he released Seeing Things, his folky solo debut. Now he has released the fine Women & Country. “Some of the things I’ve done, I’m educated enough to know it’s not necessarily the kind of music he always re...

The last decade has been most fruitful for Bob Dylan. The acclaimed singer-songwriter created a trilogy of albums, with Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft and Modern Times, as strong as anything in his stellar discography. Meanwhile, he’s released a best-selling autobiography and enjoyed some prestigious exhibitions of his paintings. Now the legendary artist, who has been compared to Mozart, Picasso and Shakespeare, has produced another masterpiece. Like his most recent albums, Together Through Life is full of compelling love songs, some with a dark twist. But the music has a raw, stripped-down sound that Bob likens to early blues and country recordings on the Chess and Sun labels. “I like the...

The deluge of Dylan ephemera keeps a-washing over the land. This hour-long DVD of 1965’s Q & A session in San Francisco captures the 24-year-old rising star at his playful, combative best. “We’ve been booed all over by people,” says Dylan about the Newport debacle. “They must be pretty rich to go somewhere and boo.” Promoter Bill Graham and poet Allen Ginsberg are also in attendance and join the inquisition. As media circuses go, it’s less manic than Beatles press conferences but still highly entertaining and insightful.

Roxy Music’s elegant clotheshorse has always had his nostalgic side, tripping down Tin Pan Alley to tackle Gershwin and others on 1999’s As Time Goes By. Ferry’s also done Dylan before, but goes hog wild here with an entire album of Bobsongs. Some are bad choices, including the overdone “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and Ferry’s rocking rendition of “The Times They Are A-Changin.’” But “Positively 4th Street” gets some cool string embellishments and Brian Eno works his sonic magic on “If Not for You.”