Since it was first published in 1975, Mystery Train has cemented itself in the canon of great rock literature, offering one of the most astute, fascinating visions of the genre. Greil Marcus traces the emotional landscape and zeitgeist of an entire continent through the lens of the music of six of the most influential bands and musicians: from the pioneering Harmonica Frank to the tortured universe of blues singer Robert Johnson; from The Band and their dream to create a community grounded in rootlessness to the chaotic friction of Sly and the Family Stone; and from Randy Newman’s struggle for creative freedom to the larger-than-life talent and ambition, downfall, and reinvention of the iconic Elvis Presley. The second half of the book—a masterwork of music criticism, focuses on the discography of the aforementioned artists and the evolution and continuing impact of their recordings.

Praise for Mystery Train:
"His tinkering has kept it relevant through six editions, but his writing and ideas have rendered it ageless. I’ve been reading it for years; when I lent it to a friend I missed it so much I bought a second copy. Mystery Train is more than rock criticism. It explores the meaning of America through rock ’n’ roll. The chapter on Robert Johnson opens with the end of The Great Gatsby. Woodrow Wilson and D. H. Lawrence turn up in the Elvis section. A moment on the Band’s debut album inspires this: 'You couldn’t ask for a more perfect statement of the conviction that America is blessed, or of the lingering suspicion that it is cursed.' The Marcus worldview — the notion that pop culture matters as much as history and literature — is perfectly distilled in the prologue, where he connects the immortal sweep of art to Little Richard."—Manny Fernandez, Houston bureau chief

"Mystery Train changed a lot of things for me. Most basically, it plugged me into a lifetime’s worth of listening. Because of it, I erased 'English lit' as my college major and inked in 'American lit.' It remains the book I can’t help measuring critical writing against...I plan to give a copy of Mr. Marcus’s book to each of my children when they leave for college. It speaks intimately to a part of the cultural heritage that, in my haphazard way, I’ve tried to give them."–Dwight Garner, The New York Times

"Gets as close to the heart and soul of America and American music as the best of rock 'n' roll." –Bruce Springsteen
 
“Perhaps the finest book ever written about pop music.” –Alan Light, The New York Times Book Review, 2005
 
“Greil Marcus developed an ability to discern an art movement, or an entire country, lurking inside a song.” –The New Yorker, 2004
 
“Probably the most astute critic of American popular culture since Edmund Wilson.” –D.D. Guttenplan, London Review of Books, 2007
 
“The 1975 appearance of Greil Marcus’ first book, Mystery Train, was an explosion as unexpected and indelible as the first records Elvis Presley had cut almost exactly twenty years before.” –Mark Rozzo, Los Angeles Times’ Book Review, 2006