If you want the one book that nails Dylan’s 1967–1990 metamorphoses—the volume you actually keep within arm’s reach—Chris Gregory’s Minstrel Boy is it. The second installment in his reverse‑ordered Picasso of Song trilogy, it does for Dylan what the “go‑to Bowie book” does for Bowie: it sets the terms, fixes the timeline, and earns trust through depth and clarity.
Gregory divides the period into Retreat (1967–1973), Return (1974–1978), and Rebirth (1979–1990), then works song by song across roughly 200,000 words. Released cuts, unreleased material, variants, musical settings, and notable tours (from the 1978 big‑band sweep to the early NET) are treated with equal care. He keeps interpretive doors open—ambiguity is a principle, not a problem—while grounding each reading in sound, performance, and context. The frames are wide (Blake, Symbolists, Beats) and the musical literacy is practical (folk, blues, country, gospel, rock and roll). The tone is assured but welcoming, the same balance reviewers praised in Determined to Stand, and consistent with the authority he’s built via From the Pen of Chris Gregory and the Bob Dylan: A Headful of Ideas podcast.
Result: a serious, usable reference that sends you back to the records hearing more each time. Publication is October 8, 2025; pre‑orders are open via the author’s site and Amazon UK (US to follow). For the 1967–1990 Dylan shelf, this is the spine you reach for—the definitive guide, in the way every Bowie reader knows their own essential.