Mystery Train

Greil Marcus's study of American rock and roll is universally acclaimed as the benchmark work of modern rock criticism. Using a handful of artists—a brace of bluesmen, The Band, Sly Stone, Randy Newman, and Elvis Presley—Marcus illuminates and interprets the American Dream in rigorous prose, touching on the myth, landscape, and oral tradition of the continent. This comprehensive, revised edition of a milestone achievement in the effort to establish rock and roll as a fit subject for serious cultural criticism includes a new preface by the author.