this book tells you a lot about bob dylan, a folk singer turned rock singer whose songs are really good and literary. if you want to understand his lyrics and whatnot pick up this book. it is good. i liked it though i didnt read all of it.

Bob Dylan is one of the few musical figures from the 20th century that we have truly seen become a legend in their own time. Some would argue, indeed, that Dylan is THE quissential cultural figure of the second half of the 20th century - recording undoubtedly some of the greatest albums ever put to tape, becoming, in the eyes of many, a composer for our times on par with Mozart and Beethoven, arguably the greatest, at the very least most infulential and far-reaching poet of the century, and mapping out emotional blueprints for an entire generation with songs like Blowin' In The Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin', Mr. Tambourine Man, Like A Rolling Stone, and Just Like A Woman. And, although he has since recorded albums every bit as good as his 60's highlights, - not least among them, his magnum opus Blood On The Tracks, and his 1998 Album of The Year, Time Out of Mind - his works from that time still stands as the absolute apex of a culture that was the most turbulent decade since the 20's. Rarely has an artist, at any time, been so in tune with the tenor of the times. This book chronicles Dylan's remarkable 60's period - from his, largely interpretative, debut album through his shocking move to country music with Nashville Skyline. It indeed has the "stories behind every song", and it avoids stooping so low as to try and convey what the songs are "about." Rather, this book, much more usefully, gives the background to the songs: how and when they came about, insight into the characters mentioned in them, and what woman, person, or particular muse the song may be referring to, or have been inspired by. There may not be a lot here that Dylanologist don't already know, but it is nevertheless a useful (not to mention beautiful - it's an immaculately laid-out book, with dozens of generous photographs peppered throughout), and nice to have a reference to all these early songs in one place. An absolutely essential book for Dylan fans.

This was when Dylan was making groundbreaking music. This book offers fine analysis of every track and an excellent companion to the CDs of that time period. A must-have book for Dylan fans.

I think Mr. Williams write beautifully. His style flows through the whole book, his concert reviews are rather unique, and, even though I have never had the opportunity to see a Dylan concert, I really could grasp a good picture of them. The only problem is: I think the reviews should have been made a bit less fan-ish. I cannot be sure about the concert part, but the album reviews have such an exaggerated tone that, more than once, I had to think if the album he had reviewed was the same I had listened to. I love Bob Dylan. But, come on, making no difference in quality between albums like Blood on the Tracks and World Gone wrong does sound more like a fan writting than a critic.

I have enjoyed this book & the 2 others Paul Williams has written about Dylan's music & also the one he wrote on Neil Young's music. The "Performing Artist" volumes are more scholarly & well-thought-out (I'm still waiting anxiously for volume 3 in the series) but this book (& the Young book) are written more from a fan's viewpoint. But a fan who really knows his subject. Williams can be rambling & eccentric at times but his enthusiasm for his subject's work is so infectious, you find yourself caught up in his thoughts & feelings. He definitely makes you want to run to your stereo & play Dylan's albums. And that is what the job of a good critic should be. He makes you even want to run & play albums that he doesn't like, just so you can see what he's talking about. He writes these essays in a very excited enthusiastic manner. He is someone who really listens & studies & tries to get everything out of a recording that you can possibly get. And he makes you want to do the same. He makes you want to look at all kinds of art the same way - to really spend time looking, listening, reading & watching. He tries to teach you how to truly appreciate art. That is a hard task in the time that we live in, where everything has to be consumed in a half hour. We treat art (movies, albums, books, etc.) in a very impatient, cynical manner - waiting to be entertained, instead of putting some effort into it, to truly get all that can be gotten out of it. He points out that to appreciate art in a deep & lasting way, we also have to put some effort into it - not just the person who created the art. We're part of the creation as well.
I can read these essays over & over again - which I have. I truly wish there had been a lot more. As someone else pointed out, Williams' writing is like a performance itself. He doesn't worry much about saying something the correct way - he just unleashes his thoughts in a mad, rambling way (often repeating himself) that truly grabs you. It's nothing but a joy to read this man. And I really trust his opinion on Dylan's work. Like Lester Bangs, he really is a fan of music & his reviews & essays are as much about himself as the people he writes about. They are worth reading, even if you don't agree with them. But unlike most critics, Williams gives you his own personal opinion but doesn't assume that you feel the same way or that you should feel the same. I look forward to several more books on Dylan, Young or anybody else he may want to share his opinions about. Definitely get this book. It's a must for Dylan fans & an even bigger must for people who have never gotten into Dylan's music. If this doesn't get you to listen with "new" ears, nothing will.

"Buy it, give your money to the rich as long as you have it, you're better off with the music." Williams on "Down in the Flood" (p. 34)

Superlatives? I'll give you superlatives. Paul Williams is as much a performing artist as Bob Dylan, only he uses a pen rather than a guitar. Like the great Dylan performances, the best pieces in this collection should be "heard" more than once; "Blood on the Tracks" (1974) "Dylan - What Happened?" (1979) and "The Supper Club Shows" (1993) are just three of the ones I return to again and again.

You should expect a mostly positive assessment of Dylan's output here. The author admits in the introduction that he prefers to write about performances which excite him ". . .because disappointment was not the kind of news I felt compelled to spread." (p.11) We'll have to wait (how long?) for volume three of Willams's outstanding Performing Artist series to read more about such "disappointments."

Williams has resisted the temptation to tamper with the originals (he does, however, introduce and provide context for them) so in effect WTRF is a snapshot of two artists' work-in-progress.

So buy it. You'll be better off with the book.

The tabs seem to be right on, but they span out over several pages which makes it a little difficult to get in the groove.

this book contains mostly accurate tablature (bass and guitars) and standard notation (bass, guitar, vocals, drums, harmonica, piano, steel guitar, piano, organ, glockenspiel as appropriate) for the songs:

"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
"If Not For You"
"Just Like A Woman"
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door"
"Lay, Lady, Lay"
"Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)"

The guitar tablature ignores the fact that a capo was used, but is otherwise reasonably good. The other parts (piano, organ, harmonica etc) are scored reasonably well, from what I can tell. The only shortcoming worth mentioning is that "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" doesn't have any tablature for the lead guitar. It does have the first two bars (only) of the harmonium scored out (and mislabeled as a horn).

The Book comes from England, which is why it's so hard to get. Aside from a few (even rarer) Japanese books, this is the only Bob Dylan tablature book that is based on the actual recording, rather than an "arrangement".

This book compiles much of the best writing done about Bob Dylan in the '60's, when he was in the midst of what is perhaps the greatest burst of creativity by a musical artist in this century. Includes interviews from the Village Voice and Playboy, and lengthy, perceptive essays on an artist whose music holds up to infinite levels of analysis. The rather dated quality of these essays and interviews is what gives them their beauty. These articles were written when all of this was new and no one knew where he was going or where he would take us. Dylan was not the grizzled bluesman he is today, but an absolute force of nature in his mid twenties; a kid from Minnesota who became the axis of popular culture. It is generally acknowledged that the directions that rock took in the '60's sprang directly from him. And he often changed directions every few months. For example, John Wesley Harding, released at the height of the psychedelic era, was a quiet, acoustic album, which in turn led the Beatles toward a similar sound for the White Album

I'll be sorry to see this book eclipsed by Ellison's _Collected Interviews_, even if I do have Ellison in my amazon shopping cart already. The appearance of this book was a godsend, back in the days when we were all kicking ourselves for having failed to ferret away multiple copies of the issue of _Playboy_ which had featured THAT interview. It took an Australian journalist to get one of the pioneering volumes of responsible Dylan scholarship into print, and God bless'im, says this guy...

A great book freaturing many great photos of Dylan during his first "prime". The photographs by Marshall and Kramer have been in print since the dawn of time, a big disappionment from those two photographers. Barry Fienstein was along for most of the 5/66 tour and his pictures are mostly brand new and very very exiting. I was a little disappionted by the lack of preformance pictures included, but that's a minor gripe. Overall an essential picture book for any Dylan fan, new or old.

Note: Barry Feinstein's pictures graced the booklet that went with the CD "Bob Dylan, Live 1966". He could have easily made a much, much more exiting book if all the "standard" pictures from Kramer and Marshall were replaced by more of Feinstein's unseen amazing photographs.

I agree with the other reviewer about this book. I've seen most of the work by Marshall & Kramer. Not to take away from them but the work by Feinstein was primarally new to me(except for the Live 66 photography) and i only wish there was more of his work. All and all, though, a great book of photographs of a true artist.

This book is a useful overview of Dylan's recording and performing career, written by someone who is definitely a fanatic. While I have found a few curiously incomplete entries (e.g., he claims 5/17/66 exists only as an incomplete recording--which has been disproven by many of us that have had the entire show for many, many years) and other peculiarities, the book is still a strong work of scholarship. I recommend this book for tape collectors who are interested in learning about the setlists to various shows. It also features many nice pictoral reproductions of various memoribilia featuring Bob. While the price is steep, the Dylanologist will find the book worthwhile.

For anyone wanting to study the career of Bob Dylan, this is an indispensable resource. Setlists are provided through February 22, 1991. An obvious labor of love. Bill Par

A great song, a great painting, an inventive way of putting them together. All of Dylan's greatest songs should be given this kind of treatment.

A thoroughly original concept brilliantly executed. Ensor and Dylan might seem like an odd pairing, but by the time one has finished enjoying this book, s/he will have gained insights into both of the artists and the works that probably could not have been conveyed in any other way. A pleasant surprise from a museum not known for originality or creativity. The Getty should publish more titles as memorable as this one.

There wasn't a hole lot about his songs. I wanted to know why he called that song Rainy Day Women #12, 35. It never gave a review on what his meaning of the songs were. How can you enjoy it if you don't understand it.

Dylan is writing stronger lyrics then ever. One clearly can see how he is amazed at the world around him and does he still belong? My answer is definetly and we need his words more then ever.The Truth is out there and Dylan is it.

This is an excellent songbook of the songs on Bob's latest (wonderful) album. The chords given work well - no mean feat given that few of the tunes have basic chord structures. Nicely bound and a great resource for lyrics.

Tons of material and the lyric help is good but if you want to learn how to play these songs well you need another source (if you can't figure them out, which is hard for a beginner to do). The problem is that it just gives the basic chords and doesn't include open tunings - something vital in dylan's work - or how to do anything other than strum the chord over the vocal. It was given to me years ago and now that i include dylan's work in about 25% of my performances i use it as a reference or key checker but now how to play the songs well.

if you're a recreational guitarist and dylan fan this is the absolute best! i have every dylan songbook in print and most of those out of print and this is by far my favorite. it even has chord changes noted on the supplemental lyrics (something i have never seen elsewhere).

I picked this book up when I was first teaching myself guitar about 8 years ago, and the main reason I was teaching myself guitar is because I wanted to learn how to play my favorite Dylan tunes and get to the heart of the magic of his songwriting. This book covers much of his most glorious material, basically from Blonde on Blonde through Desire. That means you can learn how to play Visions of Johanna, Simple Twist of Fate, Hurricane or any of the Basement Tapes ditties. In addition to having superb material, the book has the most sensible layout of any folio I've ever purchased: a key to all the chords used in the song appears on the top of EVERY page, so when you flip to the end of the verse you don't have to flip back again to remember what an F#m7 looks like; this is obviously beneficial to a new player. By and large the chords seem to be accurate; some songs sound closer to the album than others, and I've read that many Dylan songs were recorded in unorthodox tunings, but if you want to get the gist of "Tangled up in Blue" or "Lay Lady Lay" (which sounds dead-on) you'll be more than happy with the way it's spelled out here. I think this book is around, so if you're willing to hunt through a few well stocked music or book stores you could probably find it. It would be well worth your while

As a long time Dylan fan, I try to learn about him as much as possible. Rock's greatest poet (w/ apologies to Jim Morrison fans, Dylan gets the title hands down.) is always worth examination. Some of his lyrics rank as fine poetry. This is probably the most important song writer of the second half of the 20th Century. Unfortunately, this collection is out of print but it is worthwhile to seek out. It contains many articles and interviews spanning Dylan's entire career. It includes writing by Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney among others. It is a collection of Dylan lore by Dylan's companions and cohorts. It features homages paid by many who were influenced by this great bard. Fans of Dylan would do well to read this book. It is very imformative and lends some insight into the career development of Dylan. The interviews with Ronnie Wood, Roy Orbison and Eric Clapton are revealing. It is amazing when you consider the stature of the people who were influenced and touched by Dylan. Tributes by Johnnie Cash and Bruce Springsteen also highlight the book. It is a compelling look at a man ranked as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th Century.

Wanted Man is a great song that Dylan wrote for Johnny Cash and an apt title for the book because Mr. Dylan has touched many lives in a deep and profound way. This book is a fun collection of articles, interviews, etc. that's often more fun and illuminating than standard biography writing. I have also looked for the 1st collection in this series, to no avail. If you like this book, also check out Bob Dylan: the Early Years, another fine collection of writings.

Edited by the late John Bauldie (killed in a helicopter crash in England after a soccer match in late 1996), founder of the popular Dylan fan magazine _The Telegraph_, this book offers some insighful comments culled from friends and acquaintances of His Bobness ranging from Bauldie himself to Ray Orbison, Patti Smith and Eric Clapton. Illustrated throughout, this book begins with anecdotes from Dylan's days at the University of Minnesota and follows his career through the early '90's. Includes fascinating "sermons" of Bob's from when he was in his Christian phase in the late '70's and early 1980's. According to Bauldie, this book is the second in a series. The first book is called _All Across The Telegraph_ but I've never been able to find it anywhere