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.”

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.

The legendary singer-songwriter continues to make magic on his latest, conjuring up an evocative train song (“Duquesne Whistle”) and a heartfelt tribute to John Lennon (“Roll on John”). But his most masterful sleight of hand is the epic title track about the Titanic, which cleverly mixes history and Hollywood, even referencing Leonardo DiCaprio.

America’s most celebrated singer-songwriter confused fans when he released Self Portrait in 1970. With its folk tunes and pop covers, it wasn’t what people expected. Which was apparently the point: Dylan wanted to shake off his “messiah” image. Critics hated the album, which had been overdubbed with horns, strings and female voices. But the newly released box set Another Self Portrait strips away those sweeteners and adds 35 rarities and unreleased recordings to shed new light on the album. Featuring demos, outtakes and live recordings, it reveals that Dylan was celebrating American music. Traditional songs like “Pretty Saro” are some of his sweetest performances, while the moonshiner’s tale...