The day Pye Records unveiled the “British Bob Dylan”
When James Mangold sat down with Bob Dylan to discuss potentially making the biopic A Complete Unknown, Dylan asked him a straightforward question. “It’s really interesting, y’know Bob, one of the early things, the first time that I sat down with him, and it was such an interesting question,” recalled Mangold. “Because he said, ‘What’s this movie about, Jim?’”
While Dylan might have been speaking about the movie in particular, it opens up a much broader question of what Bob Dylan means to the rest of the world. The truth is, it’s difficult to truly put into words, as Mangold realised when he initially tried to answer the question posed.
“I didn’t have an answer,” he said. “But what sprang out of me was, ‘It’s about a guy who is choking to death in Minnesota and leaves behind all his friends and family, reinvents himself in a brand new place, makes new friends, builds a new family, becomes phenomenally successful, starts to choke to death again and runs away’. He smiled and said, ‘I like that.’”
The Bob Dylan biopic is well-acted but is quite a mundane movie. In a three-star review of the film, Far Out commented on the bland structure that it often follows: “While not unenjoyable, the formulaic structure of the picture begins to feel extremely uninspired and pointless, with Mangold relying on Chalamet’s impressive performance and constant concert scenes to create a semblance of a plot.”
The truth is that the movie was always going to struggle with truly showcasing the magnitude of Dylan’s impact as a musician. He didn’t just burst onto the scene and release some good songs; he completely changed how people viewed songwriting, and his impact can be felt in modern music, literature and art in general. Trying to put all that into a story that remains grounded is a near-impossible task.
“I was very influenced by Dylan. I always say he’s the father of my country. He initially provided me with a picture of a country that I recognised. One that feels real, feels like the truth,” said Bruce Springsteen when talking about Dylan’s influence. “I want people to get the same experience from listening to one of my records as I had when I listened to Highway 61 Revisited. The idea that something was revealed to them that was fundamentally true and essential and gave you a view of your world, your country, your town, your neighbours, your family.”
Dylan dominated the charts with his sound, so it was hardly a surprise that record labels attempted to bottle the magic he had and re-sell it. It never happened, as he wasn’t just a reflection of a sound but of a moment in time and a way of thinking. The closest labels came to re-creating Bob Dylan was when Pye Records announced that they had signed the British equivalent of him in the form of Donovan.
Donovan signed to Pye Records on February 12th, 1964, which was seen as a huge move for the record label. They said that he was the “British Bob Dylan” as he had a way with music and songwriting that they deemed comparable to Dylan’s. Donovan was a success, having a string of hits and becoming a friend and inspiration from a number of key players such as John Lennon, Brian Jones, and Joan Baez; however, his impact hasn’t been as big as Dylan’s.
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