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Tying down an artist like Bob Dylan to a single genre is nothing more than a grave mistake for a critic to make.

In the initial part of his career, Dylan played a lot of acoustic guitar and certainly studied the finer folk songs of artists like Woody Guthrie, but he flew violently out of the period with electric albums that alienated much of his folk audience. Songs he did with The Band went far more towards country, and his album New Morning was more of a soul album than anything else.

In his notorious Christian period, Dylan turned towards gospel with songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody," earning the ire of his atheist friends such as John Lennon, and in the 80's, Dylan was as eclectic as Neil Young, experimenting with electronic and even funk music, all while keeping his signature well-developed lyrics and ambiguous social eye.

The 90's saw a Dylan returning to blues and country, even touching on jazz in albums like Love & Theft, with an ethereal tint to songs like "It's Not Dark Yet." The 2000's have followed this trend, to great critical acclaim.

In any sense, given his broad history and the eclectic stroke with which Dylan develops his songs, it's unfair to brand him as a folk musician. Just as Miles Davis is not known as a bebop or fusion artist, Dylan can't be nailed down to a single genre.

Perhaps we should just start calling his music, "Bob Dylan music" and leave it as that.

Learn more about this author, Phil Dotree.
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