Becoming acquainted with Tell Tale Signs – the packaging as well as the CDs – reminded me that I routinely overlook hidden riches on the Dylan album shelves.
Quite apart from the high quality recordings, the various album and DVD box set products include well-executed, extensive booklets full of expert discussion of the music, plus beautiful photographs.
I have a high regard for this aspect of Columbia/Sony’s tending of the Dylan legacy.
In case you also tend to overlook these riches, here’s details of what’s under your nose, but largely invisible:
* CDs
Biograph
Liner notes pp4-41 by Cameron Crowe; About The Songs pp42-62,
Cameron Crowe with Bob Dylan, 64pp, 1985
Bootleg Series vols 1-3
Liner notes by John Bauldie, 72pp, 1991
Bootleg Series vol 4 Live 1966
Liner notes by Tony Glover, 56pp, 1998
Bootleg Series vol 5 Live 1975
Liner notes by Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, 56pp, 2002
Bootleg Series vol 6 Live 1964,
Liner notes by Sean Wilentz, 56pp, 2004
Bootleg Series vol 7 No Direction Home: The Soundtrack
Liner notes by Andrew Loog Oldham, Eddie Gorodetsky and
Al Kooper, 60pp, 2005
Bootleg Series vol 8 Tell Tale Signs
Liner notes by Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, 64pp, 2008
The Essential Bob Dylan
Liner notes by Patrick Humphries, 12pp, 2001
DYLAN Limited Edition Box Set
Liner notes by Bill Flanagan, 40pp, 2007
* DVDs
Bob Dylan - Don’t Look Back (‘65 Tour De Luxe Edition)
Reprint of 1968 book, by D.A. Pennebaker, 159pp, 2007
The Other Side Of The Mirror:
Bob Dylan Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965
Liner notes by Tom Piazza, 20pp, 2007
Masked And Anonymous: music from the motion picture
Liner notes by Alan Light, 16pp, 2003
I’ve purposely excluded the Traveling Wilburys box, but probably missed some gems - please let me know.
Gerry Smith
Monday 29 December 2008
Friday 19 December 2008
Paul Williams book series heavily discounted
Thanks to Andrew Kelly:
“Waterstone's (ex-Dillons) in Malet/Gower Street, London yesterday (17th Dec) had four copies each of Vols 2 + 3 of the 'Performing Artist' series, and a Vol 1, all at £2.99 each in the 2nd hand/ remainders section on the first floor.”
(Other parts of the HMV empire – notably HMV, the former music now mainly games chain – as well as high street remainder shops and supermarkets have also been offering the Williams series – all fine books – at these silly prices for a few years. If you spot any discounted Dylan product in these straitened times, please let me know – Gerry Smith, Editor)
“Waterstone's (ex-Dillons) in Malet/Gower Street, London yesterday (17th Dec) had four copies each of Vols 2 + 3 of the 'Performing Artist' series, and a Vol 1, all at £2.99 each in the 2nd hand/ remainders section on the first floor.”
(Other parts of the HMV empire – notably HMV, the former music now mainly games chain – as well as high street remainder shops and supermarkets have also been offering the Williams series – all fine books – at these silly prices for a few years. If you spot any discounted Dylan product in these straitened times, please let me know – Gerry Smith, Editor)
Tuesday 16 December 2008
Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: a nice addition to the Christmas stocking
Thanks to Tricia J:
“I chanced on Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, by Dylan and Barry Feinstein recently at my local bookstore and was very pleased with it, especially since it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase.
“The photographs are excellent and the accompanying words by Dylan work in sometimes unexpected ways. A quirky, poetic treat for anyone with a taste for black and white photography and the grungy underbelly of LaLaLand.
“Would be a nice addition to the Christmas stocking!”
“I chanced on Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, by Dylan and Barry Feinstein recently at my local bookstore and was very pleased with it, especially since it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase.
“The photographs are excellent and the accompanying words by Dylan work in sometimes unexpected ways. A quirky, poetic treat for anyone with a taste for black and white photography and the grungy underbelly of LaLaLand.
“Would be a nice addition to the Christmas stocking!”
Wednesday 10 December 2008
Bob Dylan - The Songs He Didn't Write: strongly recommended
Thanks to Johanna Moore:
”Regarding the Dylan books that you mention, I can strongly recommend Bob Dylan - The Songs He Didn't Write.
“Yes, it's a kind of encyclopaedia that you could dip into for facts, but still it is very readable for those who, like me, want to read it straight through.
“Sure, I was sceptical at first, thought maybe I'd better read another book about Dylan than one about a bunch of other people's songs, but of course those songs are the basis of Dylan's work and he has been inspired by them from his youth and throughout his career.
“Oftentimes when played in concert, the cover songs were treated with more care and respect than his own songs and most of the time turned out beautifully.
“Anyone with any interest in Dylan's musical background and also anyone interested in more information about many of the songs played on Theme Time Radio Hour should certainly read this book.
“There are a couple of (mostly very minor) errors, but to be fair to the author, with a book so full of facts, this is bound to happen. Generally, it's very well written and researched.”
”Regarding the Dylan books that you mention, I can strongly recommend Bob Dylan - The Songs He Didn't Write.
“Yes, it's a kind of encyclopaedia that you could dip into for facts, but still it is very readable for those who, like me, want to read it straight through.
“Sure, I was sceptical at first, thought maybe I'd better read another book about Dylan than one about a bunch of other people's songs, but of course those songs are the basis of Dylan's work and he has been inspired by them from his youth and throughout his career.
“Oftentimes when played in concert, the cover songs were treated with more care and respect than his own songs and most of the time turned out beautifully.
“Anyone with any interest in Dylan's musical background and also anyone interested in more information about many of the songs played on Theme Time Radio Hour should certainly read this book.
“There are a couple of (mostly very minor) errors, but to be fair to the author, with a book so full of facts, this is bound to happen. Generally, it's very well written and researched.”
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Jerry Schatzberg catalogue: a handsome must-have for collectors - Dylan Bookshelf #140
Proud Central hasn’t produced a new catalogue for its exhibition of Jerry Schatzberg’s Blonde On Blonde-era Dylan photographs now showing at its gallery near Charing Cross station.
But it is selling the next best thing: Bob Dylan par Jerry Schatzberg is a catalogue produced for very similar Paris shows at Galerie Dina Vierny and Galerie Luc Bellier in 2006.
Its 46 images, a pretty accurate record of the current London show, are prefaced by a four page introduction (in English and French) by the photographer – The Dylan I Knew.
Proud is retailing the handsome 79pp catalogue for £15. It’s a beautifully produced artefact and a must-have for Dylan collectors.
Bob Dylan par Jerry Schatzberg is the 140th book added to my groaning Dylan bookshelf.
Gerry Smith
But it is selling the next best thing: Bob Dylan par Jerry Schatzberg is a catalogue produced for very similar Paris shows at Galerie Dina Vierny and Galerie Luc Bellier in 2006.
Its 46 images, a pretty accurate record of the current London show, are prefaced by a four page introduction (in English and French) by the photographer – The Dylan I Knew.
Proud is retailing the handsome 79pp catalogue for £15. It’s a beautifully produced artefact and a must-have for Dylan collectors.
Bob Dylan par Jerry Schatzberg is the 140th book added to my groaning Dylan bookshelf.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Free issues of Judas! magazine
The Dylan Daily was a keen supporter of Judas! It was a stimulating, attractive Dylan quarterly magazine, expertly edited by Andrew Muir. It burned brightly for 20 issues, before closing in January 2007.
If you missed out, here’s your chance to acquire back issues; all contain high quality writing.
Publisher Keith Wootton is now offering free copies of the following issues:
6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19/20.
All you pay is postage. Shipping costs vary depending on destination, but (for the) UK he charges a flat £12.00.
Judas! was a formidable achievement - a fine body of Dylan writing, and a source of pride for all concerned. It’s highly recommended. But act quickly - when they’re gone, they’re gone.
Details:
www.judasmagazine.com
Gerry Smith
If you missed out, here’s your chance to acquire back issues; all contain high quality writing.
Publisher Keith Wootton is now offering free copies of the following issues:
6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19/20.
All you pay is postage. Shipping costs vary depending on destination, but (for the) UK he charges a flat £12.00.
Judas! was a formidable achievement - a fine body of Dylan writing, and a source of pride for all concerned. It’s highly recommended. But act quickly - when they’re gone, they’re gone.
Details:
www.judasmagazine.com
Gerry Smith
Thursday 30 October 2008
Forever Young: delightful - Dylan Bookshelf #139
Forever Young is a new children’s book in which illustrator Paul Rogers visualises scenes from the lyrics of the classic song from Planet Waves, with other references from across the Dylan catalogue.
It’s a delight – children of all ages will love it.
In case you miss the Dylan references hidden in the pictures, Rogers kindly spells most of them out at the back, with the help of a couple of pages of thumbnails. If you spot more than half without cheating, count yourself a remarkably alert Dylan guru.
Forever Young by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Paul Rogers (Simon & Schuster Oct 2008, large format hardback, 36pp, £12.99 – discounted at amazon.co.uk).
Forever Young is the 139th book added to my groaning Dylan bookshelf.
Gerry Smith
It’s a delight – children of all ages will love it.
In case you miss the Dylan references hidden in the pictures, Rogers kindly spells most of them out at the back, with the help of a couple of pages of thumbnails. If you spot more than half without cheating, count yourself a remarkably alert Dylan guru.
Forever Young by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Paul Rogers (Simon & Schuster Oct 2008, large format hardback, 36pp, £12.99 – discounted at amazon.co.uk).
Forever Young is the 139th book added to my groaning Dylan bookshelf.
Gerry Smith
Monday 27 October 2008
New Dylan cover for free magazine
Collectors will be searching out a new Dylan cover – albeit a back cover – on the latest (ie Sept/Oct) issue of HMV Choice, the retailer’s in-store magazine.
The Dylan cover uses a mid-‘60s (polka dot shirt) portrait by Dale Smith, with the overprinted extract from A Red, Red Rose, the Robert Burns poem used by HMV in their My Inspiration promo campaign.
The inside back cover has a portrait of, er, Joan Baez, from the same promo campaign.
Gerry Smith
The Dylan cover uses a mid-‘60s (polka dot shirt) portrait by Dale Smith, with the overprinted extract from A Red, Red Rose, the Robert Burns poem used by HMV in their My Inspiration promo campaign.
The inside back cover has a portrait of, er, Joan Baez, from the same promo campaign.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Dylan on Dylan and I'm Not There – heavily discounted
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“I thought Dylan Books readers would like to know that branches of HMV are currently offering Jonathan Cott's book, Dylan on Dylan, for £3 (RRP £8.99) and the DVD of I'm Not There as part of their 3 for £20 promotion.”
(And Fopp, HMV’s recently acquired subsidiary, is also discounting the single DVD version of I'm Not There – to £8 the last time I visited a Fopp store. Gerry Smith)
“I thought Dylan Books readers would like to know that branches of HMV are currently offering Jonathan Cott's book, Dylan on Dylan, for £3 (RRP £8.99) and the DVD of I'm Not There as part of their 3 for £20 promotion.”
(And Fopp, HMV’s recently acquired subsidiary, is also discounting the single DVD version of I'm Not There – to £8 the last time I visited a Fopp store. Gerry Smith)
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Paperback edition of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia
Updating his Bob Dylan Encyclopedia for the new paperback edition, Michael Gray took the opportunity to add new entries covering major recent events and product in the Dylan world.
Gray’s new edition reflects the widening array of Dylan-related activity, assessing product as varied as a CD - Modern Times, an art show - Drawn Blank, and two major DVD releases – I’m Not There and the Other Side Of The Mirror.
For the new material, Gray employs his well-established technique of mixing straight reporting with tough critical assessment. You might not always agree with him, but his combative tone consistently challenges you to think through your own opinions.
Apart from its intrinsic value, the new edition – which should be on any Dylan fan’s bookshelves - serves as a reminder of Gray’s pre-eminence as a Zim commentator.
Long before it became fashionable, Gray demonstrated, single-handedly, why Dylan is a great writer, to be considered alongside the giants of serious literature.
Song and Dance Man, Gray’s ground-breaking study from 1972, demonstrated to the first wave of Bobfans just why Dylan was special – why he was marching well in front of the trailing line of rock musos with whom he’d hitherto been associated.
Countless Dylan fans are indebted to Michael Gray.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
NEW: paperback Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, with updates, out tomorrow
Continuum publishes the paperback edition of Michael Gray's Bob Dylan Encyclopedia tomorrow, in both London and New York. The text has been updated by new entries and amendments to many of the entries in the hardback. To keep the price down, the new edition doesn’t include a CD-ROM.
Here’s how The Dylan Daily greeted the hardback edition:
"The Encylopedia majors on its author's unparalleled expertise, his critical judgment and a ready intelligence and authorial finesse…in three quarters of a million words, he paints a massive canvas. Over 730 pages, its daunting breadth of coverage and sheer level of detail is deeply impressive… destined to be the most important Bob Dylan book, bar none."
* New entries:
Blues [2006]
Bob Dylan: The Collection [2006]
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series [2007]
Carthy, Martin
Dennis-Dylan, Desiree [1986 - ]
Dylan [2007]
Dylan, last solo concert by [1965]
Haynes, Todd [1961 - ]
I'm Not There [film, 2007]
Lerner, Murray [192? - ]
Man Without Papers, The [TV drama, 1965]
Modern Times [2006]
Other Side Of The Mirror, The [film, 2007]
Paradise Cove [film, 1999]
Ronson, Mark
65 Revisited [film, 2006]
21st Century Dylan songs written for films
White, Jack
* Updated entries:
Alk, Howard
Alvin, Dave
'Am I Your Stepchild?'
American Civil War in World Gone Wrong, the
Animals, the
'Angelina'
Aufray, Hugues
Ball, Gordon
Barker, Derek & Tracy
Baudelaire
Berry, Chuck
Betts, Dickey
Blowin' In the Wind
blues, external signals of Dylan's interest in
Bob Dylan Greatest Hits
Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. II
Bootleg Series Vol.5
Bridge, The
Bringing It All Back Home
Brown, Richard Rabbit
'Brownsville Girl'
Bruce, Jack
Bruton, Stephen
Campbell, Larry
Campbell, Mike
Carmichael, Hoagy
Charles, Larry
Chronicles Volume One
Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
Clapton, Eric
Cohen, John
co-option of real music by advertising, the
Cross, Billy
Dennis, Carolyn
Diaz, Cesar
'Dignity'
Domino, Fats
Don't Look Back
Drawn Blank [1994]
Dunn, Tim
Dylan [1973]
earliest extant recordings, Dylan's
Elliott, Ramblin' Jack
Epstein, Howie
Estes, Sleepy John
folk music, American, black
Freeman, Denny
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The: withdrawn early version
Fremerman, Elana
Fuller, Blind Boy
Garnier, Tony
Gleason, Ralph J.
Goldberg, Barry
Goldstein, Harvey
Grateful Dead, the
'The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar'
guitars, Bob Dylan's acoustic
Guthrie, Woody
Haggard, Merle
Hammond, John
Hammond, John Jr.
Harrison, George
Helm, Levon
Hendrix, Jimi
Herdman, John
Herron, Donnie
Hibbing rock'n'rollers
Highway 61 Revisited
Hinton, Nigel
Horowitz, David
Howlin' Wolf
Humphries, Patrick
Hunter, Robert
Ian & Sylvia
'In Search of Little Sadie'/'Little Sadie'
Jackson, John
James, Elana
Jean, Wyclef
Johnnie & Jack
Jones, Mickey
Jones, Norah
Kalb, Danny
Kegan, Larry
Kershaw, Doug
Kimball, Stuary
King, Clydie
Kooper, Al
Kramer, Daniel
Kweskin, Jim
LaFarge, Pete
Lesh, Phil
Levy, Dan
Lightfoot, Gordon
Lightnin' Hopkins
Like A Rolling Stone
Lomax, Alan
'Love Henry'
McTell, Blind Willie
Madhouse On Castle Street, the
Marcus, Greil
Marsalis, Wynton
Masterpieces
Mayall, John
Maymudes, Victor [1935 - 2001]
Memphis Minnie
Meyers, Augie
Mitchell, Joni
Muddy Waters
Muir, Andrew
Muldaur, Maria
Murphy, Elliott
musical accompanists to Dylan, other
Nelson, Paul
Neville, Aaron
nursery rhyme on Under the Red Sky
Pagel, Bill
Pennebaker, D.A.
'People Get Ready'
Petty, Tom
Presley, Elvis
Poe, Edgar Allan
Quintana, Charlie
Raney, Wayne
Ray, Dave
Receli, George
Richards, Keith
Ricks, Christopher
Rimbaud, Arthur
Rinzler, Ralph
Rivera, Scarlet
Rosen, Jeff
Rotolo, Suze
Sahm, Doug
Savakus, Russ
Scaduto, Anthony
Schatzberg, Jerry
Scheff, Jerry
Sedgwick, Edie
Self Portrait
Sexton, Charlie
Sinatra, Frank
Smith, Warren
Spoelstra, Mark
Springs, Helena
Stanley Brothers, the
Stanley, Ralph
Stewart, Dave
'Tangled Up In Blue'
Taylor, Mick
Tedeschi, David
Tench, Benmont
Time Out Of Mind
Thompson, Toby
U2
Gray’s new edition reflects the widening array of Dylan-related activity, assessing product as varied as a CD - Modern Times, an art show - Drawn Blank, and two major DVD releases – I’m Not There and the Other Side Of The Mirror.
For the new material, Gray employs his well-established technique of mixing straight reporting with tough critical assessment. You might not always agree with him, but his combative tone consistently challenges you to think through your own opinions.
Apart from its intrinsic value, the new edition – which should be on any Dylan fan’s bookshelves - serves as a reminder of Gray’s pre-eminence as a Zim commentator.
Long before it became fashionable, Gray demonstrated, single-handedly, why Dylan is a great writer, to be considered alongside the giants of serious literature.
Song and Dance Man, Gray’s ground-breaking study from 1972, demonstrated to the first wave of Bobfans just why Dylan was special – why he was marching well in front of the trailing line of rock musos with whom he’d hitherto been associated.
Countless Dylan fans are indebted to Michael Gray.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
NEW: paperback Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, with updates, out tomorrow
Continuum publishes the paperback edition of Michael Gray's Bob Dylan Encyclopedia tomorrow, in both London and New York. The text has been updated by new entries and amendments to many of the entries in the hardback. To keep the price down, the new edition doesn’t include a CD-ROM.
Here’s how The Dylan Daily greeted the hardback edition:
"The Encylopedia majors on its author's unparalleled expertise, his critical judgment and a ready intelligence and authorial finesse…in three quarters of a million words, he paints a massive canvas. Over 730 pages, its daunting breadth of coverage and sheer level of detail is deeply impressive… destined to be the most important Bob Dylan book, bar none."
* New entries:
Blues [2006]
Bob Dylan: The Collection [2006]
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series [2007]
Carthy, Martin
Dennis-Dylan, Desiree [1986 - ]
Dylan [2007]
Dylan, last solo concert by [1965]
Haynes, Todd [1961 - ]
I'm Not There [film, 2007]
Lerner, Murray [192? - ]
Man Without Papers, The [TV drama, 1965]
Modern Times [2006]
Other Side Of The Mirror, The [film, 2007]
Paradise Cove [film, 1999]
Ronson, Mark
65 Revisited [film, 2006]
21st Century Dylan songs written for films
White, Jack
* Updated entries:
Alk, Howard
Alvin, Dave
'Am I Your Stepchild?'
American Civil War in World Gone Wrong, the
Animals, the
'Angelina'
Aufray, Hugues
Ball, Gordon
Barker, Derek & Tracy
Baudelaire
Berry, Chuck
Betts, Dickey
Blowin' In the Wind
blues, external signals of Dylan's interest in
Bob Dylan Greatest Hits
Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. II
Bootleg Series Vol.5
Bridge, The
Bringing It All Back Home
Brown, Richard Rabbit
'Brownsville Girl'
Bruce, Jack
Bruton, Stephen
Campbell, Larry
Campbell, Mike
Carmichael, Hoagy
Charles, Larry
Chronicles Volume One
Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
Clapton, Eric
Cohen, John
co-option of real music by advertising, the
Cross, Billy
Dennis, Carolyn
Diaz, Cesar
'Dignity'
Domino, Fats
Don't Look Back
Drawn Blank [1994]
Dunn, Tim
Dylan [1973]
earliest extant recordings, Dylan's
Elliott, Ramblin' Jack
Epstein, Howie
Estes, Sleepy John
folk music, American, black
Freeman, Denny
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The: withdrawn early version
Fremerman, Elana
Fuller, Blind Boy
Garnier, Tony
Gleason, Ralph J.
Goldberg, Barry
Goldstein, Harvey
Grateful Dead, the
'The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar'
guitars, Bob Dylan's acoustic
Guthrie, Woody
Haggard, Merle
Hammond, John
Hammond, John Jr.
Harrison, George
Helm, Levon
Hendrix, Jimi
Herdman, John
Herron, Donnie
Hibbing rock'n'rollers
Highway 61 Revisited
Hinton, Nigel
Horowitz, David
Howlin' Wolf
Humphries, Patrick
Hunter, Robert
Ian & Sylvia
'In Search of Little Sadie'/'Little Sadie'
Jackson, John
James, Elana
Jean, Wyclef
Johnnie & Jack
Jones, Mickey
Jones, Norah
Kalb, Danny
Kegan, Larry
Kershaw, Doug
Kimball, Stuary
King, Clydie
Kooper, Al
Kramer, Daniel
Kweskin, Jim
LaFarge, Pete
Lesh, Phil
Levy, Dan
Lightfoot, Gordon
Lightnin' Hopkins
Like A Rolling Stone
Lomax, Alan
'Love Henry'
McTell, Blind Willie
Madhouse On Castle Street, the
Marcus, Greil
Marsalis, Wynton
Masterpieces
Mayall, John
Maymudes, Victor [1935 - 2001]
Memphis Minnie
Meyers, Augie
Mitchell, Joni
Muddy Waters
Muir, Andrew
Muldaur, Maria
Murphy, Elliott
musical accompanists to Dylan, other
Nelson, Paul
Neville, Aaron
nursery rhyme on Under the Red Sky
Pagel, Bill
Pennebaker, D.A.
'People Get Ready'
Petty, Tom
Presley, Elvis
Poe, Edgar Allan
Quintana, Charlie
Raney, Wayne
Ray, Dave
Receli, George
Richards, Keith
Ricks, Christopher
Rimbaud, Arthur
Rinzler, Ralph
Rivera, Scarlet
Rosen, Jeff
Rotolo, Suze
Sahm, Doug
Savakus, Russ
Scaduto, Anthony
Schatzberg, Jerry
Scheff, Jerry
Sedgwick, Edie
Self Portrait
Sexton, Charlie
Sinatra, Frank
Smith, Warren
Spoelstra, Mark
Springs, Helena
Stanley Brothers, the
Stanley, Ralph
Stewart, Dave
'Tangled Up In Blue'
Taylor, Mick
Tedeschi, David
Tench, Benmont
Time Out Of Mind
Thompson, Toby
U2
Monday 22 September 2008
Drawn Blank catalogue (UK) – then there were three: encore
I followed up Ken Crouch’s tip and sourced a catalogue from Smart gallery, Harrogate.
As its full title, The Drawn Blank Series: Bob Dylan Limited Edition Graphics, indicates, it catalogues the collection of prints which has been on sale at 40-plus UK galleries since Saturday 14 June.
It’s a small subset of the catalogue of original paintings exhibited at London’s Halcyon Gallery (and covered in the much bigger Halcyon catalogue) – only 10% of the original canvases were turned into limited edition prints – but is beautiful, desirable collectable.
The structure of the Limited Edition – prints are available in 6 sizes/bundles – is clearly outlined. It’s published by Washington Green in association with The Times newspaper.
www.washingtongreen.co.uk
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
In addition to the various editions of the Prestel catalogue published for the Chemnitz exhibition (detailed recently on The Dylan Daily), there are two Halcyon Gallery catalogues – a small freebie pamphlet (A5, c10 pics, 24pp) and the big coffee table hardback (oversize, 300+ pics, 288pp, £39.99).
Many thanks to Ken Crouch in Wells, Somerset for details of a third (highly collectable) UK variant:
“Went to see the Dylan art exibition in Bath today; visitors to the this site should pop along, it’s free. I couldn’t afford £1,000 for a print but £10 for the catalogue is well worth the money… Bob playing in the background and free coffee… Well done to the organisers.
“The catalogue has all 29 prints, even the sets of four prints. Brief history of Dylan in the back. Andrew Motion reviews the prints. 12” x 8”, 72pp. Published by Washington Green Fine Art, on very good quality paper. Front white and back with Dylan’s sig on front and back. £10."
Sounds worth chasing up - watch this space!
As its full title, The Drawn Blank Series: Bob Dylan Limited Edition Graphics, indicates, it catalogues the collection of prints which has been on sale at 40-plus UK galleries since Saturday 14 June.
It’s a small subset of the catalogue of original paintings exhibited at London’s Halcyon Gallery (and covered in the much bigger Halcyon catalogue) – only 10% of the original canvases were turned into limited edition prints – but is beautiful, desirable collectable.
The structure of the Limited Edition – prints are available in 6 sizes/bundles – is clearly outlined. It’s published by Washington Green in association with The Times newspaper.
www.washingtongreen.co.uk
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
In addition to the various editions of the Prestel catalogue published for the Chemnitz exhibition (detailed recently on The Dylan Daily), there are two Halcyon Gallery catalogues – a small freebie pamphlet (A5, c10 pics, 24pp) and the big coffee table hardback (oversize, 300+ pics, 288pp, £39.99).
Many thanks to Ken Crouch in Wells, Somerset for details of a third (highly collectable) UK variant:
“Went to see the Dylan art exibition in Bath today; visitors to the this site should pop along, it’s free. I couldn’t afford £1,000 for a print but £10 for the catalogue is well worth the money… Bob playing in the background and free coffee… Well done to the organisers.
“The catalogue has all 29 prints, even the sets of four prints. Brief history of Dylan in the back. Andrew Motion reviews the prints. 12” x 8”, 72pp. Published by Washington Green Fine Art, on very good quality paper. Front white and back with Dylan’s sig on front and back. £10."
Sounds worth chasing up - watch this space!
Dylan discography – now almost a constant companion
I find I’m referring more and more to Brian Hinton’s fine book, Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography (Cassell Illustrated, 464pp, pbk, £14.99, 2006).
A handy compilation, packed with hard information as well as informed opinion, it’s now almost a constant companion.
If you don’t possess a recent Dylan album guide, Hinton’s is well worth seeking out. I keep seeing the UK edition (blue cover), discounted to about £5, in major London retail outlets. Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve also seen the US edition (brown cover) for £5 in London remainder shops.
Bargain of the year!
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
New - Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography
Brian Hinton’s new book, Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography (Cassell Illustrated, 464pp, pbk, £14.99), is a welcome addition to my library: I’ll be referring to it often.
It’s the most detailed study of the Dylan oeuvre since Clinton Heylin’s Dylan - Behind Closed Doors was published ten years ago. It’s more detailed than the most recent competitor, Varesi’s The Bob Dylan Albums (2002). Oliver Trager’s Keys To The Rain - The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopdia also covers this ground (in less detail) but covers a multitude of other topics, too.
Hinton, biographer of Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell, among others, complements the discographical detail with an occasionally stimulating commentary on every track on every album, so the book is a uniquely systematic appraisal of Dylan recordings. And there’s a handy full-page reproduction of every album cover. So, Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography is worth having for its scope, utility and currency.
Reservations? I have a few. Concerning treatment, judgments and accuracy.
Whenever any rock writer starts to describe individual songs – “first we have the hushed drum intro…” – my eyes automatically jump to the next paragraph. This happened here, frequently. Writing about music in this fashion is like dancing about architecture, as the man said.
Once your text starts to judge creative work, you expect readers to demur. A sample couple of demurrals: Saved “sounds wonderful to contemporary ears…”; whaaa? It still sounds awful as ever to these contemporary ears. Hard Rain suffers because “it omits all of the duets with Joan Baez”. Hinton can not be serious? Surely?
In discussing Dylan’s songs, Hinton imports a succession of third party quotes, usefully widening the range of opinions in the book. But he frequently fails to explain who his commentators are – I happen to know of Jeff Tweedy and Derek Barker; many readers won’t. But “Paul Zollo” and “Robert Fisher”? Dunno, got me pal: Hinton’s drinking buddies? How do I know whether their opinions are worth considering?
More troubling are the errors. Spelling and grammatical errors might irritate only pedants, but they sow doubt about the accuracy of factual data. Checking the three small-format pages introducing Desire, I found seven spelling and grammatical errors. Elsewhere, glancing through the text, I stumbled across the World Gone Wrong photo shoot transposed from Camden Town to a neighbouring North London suburb, Crouch End. And Augie “Meters” playing organ on Time Out Of Mind. If these examples are typical, the book is seriously undermined.
And I wish I had a euro for every rock writer who claims that Dylan/The Beatles invented the concept album. Such albums had been around for years before Dylan ever entered a recording studio. Sinatra, anybody?
Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography: recommended, with reservations.
Gerry Smith
A handy compilation, packed with hard information as well as informed opinion, it’s now almost a constant companion.
If you don’t possess a recent Dylan album guide, Hinton’s is well worth seeking out. I keep seeing the UK edition (blue cover), discounted to about £5, in major London retail outlets. Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve also seen the US edition (brown cover) for £5 in London remainder shops.
Bargain of the year!
Gerry Smith
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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
New - Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography
Brian Hinton’s new book, Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography (Cassell Illustrated, 464pp, pbk, £14.99), is a welcome addition to my library: I’ll be referring to it often.
It’s the most detailed study of the Dylan oeuvre since Clinton Heylin’s Dylan - Behind Closed Doors was published ten years ago. It’s more detailed than the most recent competitor, Varesi’s The Bob Dylan Albums (2002). Oliver Trager’s Keys To The Rain - The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopdia also covers this ground (in less detail) but covers a multitude of other topics, too.
Hinton, biographer of Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell, among others, complements the discographical detail with an occasionally stimulating commentary on every track on every album, so the book is a uniquely systematic appraisal of Dylan recordings. And there’s a handy full-page reproduction of every album cover. So, Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography is worth having for its scope, utility and currency.
Reservations? I have a few. Concerning treatment, judgments and accuracy.
Whenever any rock writer starts to describe individual songs – “first we have the hushed drum intro…” – my eyes automatically jump to the next paragraph. This happened here, frequently. Writing about music in this fashion is like dancing about architecture, as the man said.
Once your text starts to judge creative work, you expect readers to demur. A sample couple of demurrals: Saved “sounds wonderful to contemporary ears…”; whaaa? It still sounds awful as ever to these contemporary ears. Hard Rain suffers because “it omits all of the duets with Joan Baez”. Hinton can not be serious? Surely?
In discussing Dylan’s songs, Hinton imports a succession of third party quotes, usefully widening the range of opinions in the book. But he frequently fails to explain who his commentators are – I happen to know of Jeff Tweedy and Derek Barker; many readers won’t. But “Paul Zollo” and “Robert Fisher”? Dunno, got me pal: Hinton’s drinking buddies? How do I know whether their opinions are worth considering?
More troubling are the errors. Spelling and grammatical errors might irritate only pedants, but they sow doubt about the accuracy of factual data. Checking the three small-format pages introducing Desire, I found seven spelling and grammatical errors. Elsewhere, glancing through the text, I stumbled across the World Gone Wrong photo shoot transposed from Camden Town to a neighbouring North London suburb, Crouch End. And Augie “Meters” playing organ on Time Out Of Mind. If these examples are typical, the book is seriously undermined.
And I wish I had a euro for every rock writer who claims that Dylan/The Beatles invented the concept album. Such albums had been around for years before Dylan ever entered a recording studio. Sinatra, anybody?
Bob Dylan Album File & Complete Discography: recommended, with reservations.
Gerry Smith
Positively Main Street: delightful new edition of an early classic
You wait for ten years: nothing at all. Then, suddenly, three turn up at the same time. Dylan books, that is.
Bobby had been around for a decade, a global superstar for a big part of it. But, in London at least, you couldn’t buy a single book on the man or his art.
Then, in 1972, along came the first English paperback editions of Gray’s Song & Dance Man, Scaduto’s biography and Toby Thompson’s Positively Main Street. Three very different Dylan books, each one manna from Heaven for the info-starved Zimfan.
The trio encouraged the coming idea that Dylan was even bigger than had been thought, that he was far more important than his 1960s rockpop contemporaries. That here was a musician you might be listening to, carefully, for the rest of your life.
Toby Thompson, an early Dylan fan, had a simple idea: go up to Hibbing and explore Dylan’s background – the place, the people, the culture.
So he did, reporting his findings in a series of articles for New York’s Hipster Bible, Village Voice, in 1969; the pieces were then stitched together to form the original US edition of Positively Main Street in 1971, reaching the UK a year later.
Thompson ended up interviewing Dylan’s mother, Beatty; his brother, David; his uncle Maurice; his first girlfriend, Echo; plus several teachers from Hibbing High, and various other acquaintances.
The whole while, he’s probing, searching for the essence of Dylan. And emoting, excitedly. This from his very first paragraph:
“I just finished speaking with ‘Girl From The North Country’. Right, the very same chick Bob wrote the song about… ”
First time round, I was thrilled by Positively Main Street, because of its myriad insights into Dylan’s background, and because it’s such an impressive piece of writing – part travelogue, part Beat-soaked memoir, part page-turner. It’s a sheer delight to read. And all the while, you sense that, in addition to finding Dylan’s roots, the youthful author is really finding himself.
Thompson has an engaging style, and if you share his passion for his subject, you know exactly what’s driving him. He was a fine writer at a tender age (appropriate, that!).
Just like the first time, I raced through the new edition of Positively Main Street in a single sitting. Thirty-five years after the first read, I found it utterly absorbing.
The new edition, from the University Of Minnesota Press, has several “bonus tracks”, which enrich the original text:
* a new preface by Thompson
* Thompson’s Hibbing photographs, notably of Echo Helstrom posing among heavy-duty industrial machinery in the mining zone: it’s not hard to see why both writer and subject were smitten!
* a revealing 36 page interview with Toby Thompson carried out in 2005 by Terry Kelly for publication in UK fanzine The Bridge
* a different sub-title: the original edition was Positively Main Street: An Unorthodox View Of Bob Dylan.
The new Positively Main Street is a lovely little book, even better than the original, a cherished addition to the Dylan bookshelf. Thompson and the University of Minnesota Press have enhanced what was already a classic and made it available to a whole new audience. Dylan fans owe them a debt of gratitude.
Positively Main Street: Bob Dylan’s Minnesota by Toby Thompson, University Of Minnesota Press, 2008, 215pp, pbk, ISBN 978-0-8166-5445-1, $15.95/£10 (from amazon).
Gerry Smith
Bobby had been around for a decade, a global superstar for a big part of it. But, in London at least, you couldn’t buy a single book on the man or his art.
Then, in 1972, along came the first English paperback editions of Gray’s Song & Dance Man, Scaduto’s biography and Toby Thompson’s Positively Main Street. Three very different Dylan books, each one manna from Heaven for the info-starved Zimfan.
The trio encouraged the coming idea that Dylan was even bigger than had been thought, that he was far more important than his 1960s rockpop contemporaries. That here was a musician you might be listening to, carefully, for the rest of your life.
Toby Thompson, an early Dylan fan, had a simple idea: go up to Hibbing and explore Dylan’s background – the place, the people, the culture.
So he did, reporting his findings in a series of articles for New York’s Hipster Bible, Village Voice, in 1969; the pieces were then stitched together to form the original US edition of Positively Main Street in 1971, reaching the UK a year later.
Thompson ended up interviewing Dylan’s mother, Beatty; his brother, David; his uncle Maurice; his first girlfriend, Echo; plus several teachers from Hibbing High, and various other acquaintances.
The whole while, he’s probing, searching for the essence of Dylan. And emoting, excitedly. This from his very first paragraph:
“I just finished speaking with ‘Girl From The North Country’. Right, the very same chick Bob wrote the song about… ”
First time round, I was thrilled by Positively Main Street, because of its myriad insights into Dylan’s background, and because it’s such an impressive piece of writing – part travelogue, part Beat-soaked memoir, part page-turner. It’s a sheer delight to read. And all the while, you sense that, in addition to finding Dylan’s roots, the youthful author is really finding himself.
Thompson has an engaging style, and if you share his passion for his subject, you know exactly what’s driving him. He was a fine writer at a tender age (appropriate, that!).
Just like the first time, I raced through the new edition of Positively Main Street in a single sitting. Thirty-five years after the first read, I found it utterly absorbing.
The new edition, from the University Of Minnesota Press, has several “bonus tracks”, which enrich the original text:
* a new preface by Thompson
* Thompson’s Hibbing photographs, notably of Echo Helstrom posing among heavy-duty industrial machinery in the mining zone: it’s not hard to see why both writer and subject were smitten!
* a revealing 36 page interview with Toby Thompson carried out in 2005 by Terry Kelly for publication in UK fanzine The Bridge
* a different sub-title: the original edition was Positively Main Street: An Unorthodox View Of Bob Dylan.
The new Positively Main Street is a lovely little book, even better than the original, a cherished addition to the Dylan bookshelf. Thompson and the University of Minnesota Press have enhanced what was already a classic and made it available to a whole new audience. Dylan fans owe them a debt of gratitude.
Positively Main Street: Bob Dylan’s Minnesota by Toby Thompson, University Of Minnesota Press, 2008, 215pp, pbk, ISBN 978-0-8166-5445-1, $15.95/£10 (from amazon).
Gerry Smith
Just Like Bob Zimmerman’s Blues: “valuable”
Thanks to Michael Gray:
“Re your posting re rare early Dylan books: there is a fair amount of detail on both the Ribakoves’ book and the Dave Engel book in The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia.
“Since the entries are people-based, as you know, you’ll find the info on these books under the authors’ names.
“I describe Engel’s Just Like Bob Zimmerman’s Blues: Dylan in Minnesota as “one of the four or five most valuable books on Bob Dylan”: a view I stand by.”
www.bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com
“Re your posting re rare early Dylan books: there is a fair amount of detail on both the Ribakoves’ book and the Dave Engel book in The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia.
“Since the entries are people-based, as you know, you’ll find the info on these books under the authors’ names.
“I describe Engel’s Just Like Bob Zimmerman’s Blues: Dylan in Minnesota as “one of the four or five most valuable books on Bob Dylan”: a view I stand by.”
www.bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com
Suze Rotolo’s new book: sympathetic… revealing… unique…
Dylan Books' exclusive review of Suze Rotolo’s new book, A Freewheelin’ Time - by Anne Ritchie, a contemporary of Rotolo, who first saw Dylan perform in 1965:
I got a lot from reading A Freewheelin’ Time by Suze Rotolo. Subtitled A Memoir Of Greenwich Village In The Sixties, the book is not all about Bob, though every mention of Bob/Bobby quickened the pulse. It wasn’t till around p90 (in a 360+-page book) that Dylan really came into it, when Rotolo describes their first flirty meeting at a folk concert in July 1961, though she’d already seen him singing and playing back-up harp at Gerde’s.
The earlier sketching in of the political and social background to the early Dylan songs interested this reader - the contrast of bohemian Village life in the straitjacket of the fifties – as did her description of her own unconventional upbringing in an Italian immigrant family, where, as a “red-diaper baby” she imbibed her parents’ culture along with their leftist politics at a time of anti-communist fervour.
But it’s the affectionate, gentle reminiscences of the young Dylan that make A Freewheelin’ Time worth reading. Early on in the book we are treated to a picture of the aspiring folksinger, still with puppy fat, trying on one item of wrinkled clothing after another to get the right image. His walk is described as “a lurch in slow motion”; he has a “healthy ego”.
At the beginning of their relationship, Rotolo describes him as “funny, engaging, intense, persistent”, but also mentions his “facility for not telling the truth”, his evasiveness about his upbringing, the contradictory stories. We get a dramatic account of her discovery of his real surname when he drops his draft card: by this time they were living together but he’d kept that from her. To annoy him she would sometimes call him by his real initials, RAZ, though he didn’t mind when she called him Boo Radley.
There are several reminders of Chronicles: from Dylan’s soaking up of influences to his surprising talent for woodwork, using the cabinet housing the second-hand TV to make a coffee table and book shelves.
His letters to Suze while she was in Italy…Italy… are revealing. One, written at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, shows a genuine fear of imminent atomic war and a recognisable reaction: if the world was going to end all he wanted was to be with her. Another, in contrast, shows him responding to her news she’d had her hair cut. He liked it as it was. In one of his letters bemoaning her absence, “hating time”, he surely alludes to the Latin poet Catullus’s wonderfully modern-sounding poem Odi et amo when he says “I hate it I love you”.
Memories of their time together that resonate include Bob singing “Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love?”; watching the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald live on TV; hunting with him for an affordable jacket for the cover of the first album.
The story behind the Freewheelin’ cover is an interesting one. After the Don Hunstein (mis-spelt in the book) photo-shoot in their tiny, freezing apartment, they’re persuaded to go out into the cold. The unsuitable-for-the-weather suede jacket put on by Dylan is “an image choice”, while Suze, in two bulky sweaters and a coat tied tightly round the middle felt “like an Italian sausage”.
There are many intimate photos in the book, and other personal mementoes of her time with Bob. Ones that stand out are a newspaper cutting of “Bob Dylan of Gallup, NM” playing with “rural gusto” and the sheet music for Masters Of War and Train a-Travelin’ illustrated (well) by Rotolo.
That the background to Another Side Of Bob Dylan – which “made tough listening” - was the breaking down of their relationship is confirmed in a section aptly named “Ballad”.
Rotolo’s dissection of the painful break-up rings true, but she doesn’t go into tell-tale detail. She alludes earlier in the book to her mother’s and sister’s antagonism towards Bob and now concedes that her sister “had a valid point” in her assessment of him as a “lyin’ cheatin’ manipulatin’ bastard”. A later heartfelt comment “Yeah, he was a lying shit of a guy with women” is about as far as she goes in her criticism, his infidelities only hinted at.
A Freewheelin’ Time, rather than giving much new insight into Dylan the man, confirms what has often been written about him before. But it does give a more sympathetic picture, without a hidden agenda, one that covers the romantic side of him that concurs with his wonderful songs of love.
Rotolo also gives a valuable definition of the art of Dylan’s songs as “translations of moods and sensations… fictions that allude to these experiences”. More specific assertions are the claim that Mr Tambourine Man was written when Dylan was roaming the streets after a quarrel with her; that “Bobby had become Dylan” after the Carnegie Hall concert.
In her narrative she quite often slips into Dylan-speak (just like many of his fans): “we heard the rooster crowing at the break of day”; “He saw right from his side and I saw right from mine” and some section titles - Time Out Of Mind, Not Dark Yet – are borrowed from his album and song titles. I think they add to the memoir, which, as is revealed in the Acknowledgements at the end, she was encouraged to write after she appeared in Martin Scorsese’s film No Direction Home.
For the non-Dylan content, A Freewheelin’ Time is more of a woman’s book, the personal information - meeting Bob’s parents, hating being seen as a “chick” in a “pre-feminist” time, and resenting the phone calls complementing her as a muse and for standing by her man - would probably have little interest for most men.
There are another 70+ pages after the break-up with Dylan and this is where A Freewheelin’ Time fades away. I wasn’t really interested in her circuitous trip to Cuba or her move to Cambridge, Mass, with her new boyfriend and even mention of the odd meeting up with her erstwhile boyfriend failed to brighten up the narrative.
Nevertheless, I was left feeling warm towards Suze Rotolo and grateful that she’d shared the unique experience of her formative years alongside the towering talent of Bob Dylan.
Publication details: A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir Of Greenwich Village In The Sixties, by Suze Rotolo. London: Aurum Press, September 2008, hardback, 371pp, £16.99. ISBN 978 1 84513 392 4.
I got a lot from reading A Freewheelin’ Time by Suze Rotolo. Subtitled A Memoir Of Greenwich Village In The Sixties, the book is not all about Bob, though every mention of Bob/Bobby quickened the pulse. It wasn’t till around p90 (in a 360+-page book) that Dylan really came into it, when Rotolo describes their first flirty meeting at a folk concert in July 1961, though she’d already seen him singing and playing back-up harp at Gerde’s.
The earlier sketching in of the political and social background to the early Dylan songs interested this reader - the contrast of bohemian Village life in the straitjacket of the fifties – as did her description of her own unconventional upbringing in an Italian immigrant family, where, as a “red-diaper baby” she imbibed her parents’ culture along with their leftist politics at a time of anti-communist fervour.
But it’s the affectionate, gentle reminiscences of the young Dylan that make A Freewheelin’ Time worth reading. Early on in the book we are treated to a picture of the aspiring folksinger, still with puppy fat, trying on one item of wrinkled clothing after another to get the right image. His walk is described as “a lurch in slow motion”; he has a “healthy ego”.
At the beginning of their relationship, Rotolo describes him as “funny, engaging, intense, persistent”, but also mentions his “facility for not telling the truth”, his evasiveness about his upbringing, the contradictory stories. We get a dramatic account of her discovery of his real surname when he drops his draft card: by this time they were living together but he’d kept that from her. To annoy him she would sometimes call him by his real initials, RAZ, though he didn’t mind when she called him Boo Radley.
There are several reminders of Chronicles: from Dylan’s soaking up of influences to his surprising talent for woodwork, using the cabinet housing the second-hand TV to make a coffee table and book shelves.
His letters to Suze while she was in Italy…Italy… are revealing. One, written at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, shows a genuine fear of imminent atomic war and a recognisable reaction: if the world was going to end all he wanted was to be with her. Another, in contrast, shows him responding to her news she’d had her hair cut. He liked it as it was. In one of his letters bemoaning her absence, “hating time”, he surely alludes to the Latin poet Catullus’s wonderfully modern-sounding poem Odi et amo when he says “I hate it I love you”.
Memories of their time together that resonate include Bob singing “Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love?”; watching the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald live on TV; hunting with him for an affordable jacket for the cover of the first album.
The story behind the Freewheelin’ cover is an interesting one. After the Don Hunstein (mis-spelt in the book) photo-shoot in their tiny, freezing apartment, they’re persuaded to go out into the cold. The unsuitable-for-the-weather suede jacket put on by Dylan is “an image choice”, while Suze, in two bulky sweaters and a coat tied tightly round the middle felt “like an Italian sausage”.
There are many intimate photos in the book, and other personal mementoes of her time with Bob. Ones that stand out are a newspaper cutting of “Bob Dylan of Gallup, NM” playing with “rural gusto” and the sheet music for Masters Of War and Train a-Travelin’ illustrated (well) by Rotolo.
That the background to Another Side Of Bob Dylan – which “made tough listening” - was the breaking down of their relationship is confirmed in a section aptly named “Ballad”.
Rotolo’s dissection of the painful break-up rings true, but she doesn’t go into tell-tale detail. She alludes earlier in the book to her mother’s and sister’s antagonism towards Bob and now concedes that her sister “had a valid point” in her assessment of him as a “lyin’ cheatin’ manipulatin’ bastard”. A later heartfelt comment “Yeah, he was a lying shit of a guy with women” is about as far as she goes in her criticism, his infidelities only hinted at.
A Freewheelin’ Time, rather than giving much new insight into Dylan the man, confirms what has often been written about him before. But it does give a more sympathetic picture, without a hidden agenda, one that covers the romantic side of him that concurs with his wonderful songs of love.
Rotolo also gives a valuable definition of the art of Dylan’s songs as “translations of moods and sensations… fictions that allude to these experiences”. More specific assertions are the claim that Mr Tambourine Man was written when Dylan was roaming the streets after a quarrel with her; that “Bobby had become Dylan” after the Carnegie Hall concert.
In her narrative she quite often slips into Dylan-speak (just like many of his fans): “we heard the rooster crowing at the break of day”; “He saw right from his side and I saw right from mine” and some section titles - Time Out Of Mind, Not Dark Yet – are borrowed from his album and song titles. I think they add to the memoir, which, as is revealed in the Acknowledgements at the end, she was encouraged to write after she appeared in Martin Scorsese’s film No Direction Home.
For the non-Dylan content, A Freewheelin’ Time is more of a woman’s book, the personal information - meeting Bob’s parents, hating being seen as a “chick” in a “pre-feminist” time, and resenting the phone calls complementing her as a muse and for standing by her man - would probably have little interest for most men.
There are another 70+ pages after the break-up with Dylan and this is where A Freewheelin’ Time fades away. I wasn’t really interested in her circuitous trip to Cuba or her move to Cambridge, Mass, with her new boyfriend and even mention of the odd meeting up with her erstwhile boyfriend failed to brighten up the narrative.
Nevertheless, I was left feeling warm towards Suze Rotolo and grateful that she’d shared the unique experience of her formative years alongside the towering talent of Bob Dylan.
Publication details: A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir Of Greenwich Village In The Sixties, by Suze Rotolo. London: Aurum Press, September 2008, hardback, 371pp, £16.99. ISBN 978 1 84513 392 4.
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