this book is full of great and rare photos of bob dylan in the studio, performing on stage, lounging about, and just being cool. but i was disapointed in the text- it lacked inspiration and enthusiasm. this is a biography meant to be read by dylan novices, and hardcore fans will be disapointed. what saves the book from being a total rip off is the collection of photographs- the pictures tell the story in this book, not the author. which, in a way, is fine- like the man said, "nobody does dylan like dylan..."

when i came across Dylan by Matteo i was reminded of how much (again) i"ve been amazed by Mr Z. When i first saw him on tv (Loyd Thaxton?)it was like who is this guy with the sunglasses pale skin singing so soulful.in '71 i befriended ginsburg in an attempt to meet him sang a concert with him in wmsburg va (the hills are echoing) he wanted to party and sleep over (no go) just tell me about bobby, allen ! i enjoyed the barbed memories (the velvet alley?)Matteo's book seduced me...gvb va

Stephen Matteo's Bob Dylan takes us on a wonderful adventure through time with one of the last true legends of our time. Comprehensive without getting mired down in detail, the book provides a retrospective of Dylan's career and is peppered with enough anecdotal info to give us the real flavor of having been there. Most importantly, the book is respectful in tone and content towards Dylan's life and work, both of which he has had to fight to protect from censure. Matteo's book enables us to enjoy Dylan's work and his triumphant career without the reader feeling like we're invading his privacy.

What's wrong with the songbook is outweighed by what's right about it. Every song has complete lyrics. Almost every well-known Dylan song is included, including those he covered or co-wrote. There are no photos, graphics or pics to get in the way when you're trying to turn pages as you perform a song. Simple (i.e. melody) sheet music with guitar tablature is included, giving most Dylan wannabes or admirers with acoustic guitars and harmonicas more than enough to get by on for a nice set.

Problems: The songs are arranged in ROUGH chronological order, making it frustrating to find what you need in a hurry--especially if you're playing "unplugged and seated" at a coffee house and need to get to the next song quickly. Also, the guitar tabs and melody notation is nice, but how hard would it have been to include piano chords and bass lines for our non-guitar playing musician friends? Here's the big hurdle you'll face if you buy this book: The sheet music is hit-or-miss when it comes to getting the correct keys and chords of the original songs. Though many of them are close enough that a savvy player can make a quick mental note to transpose (eg., songs listed in F major that are actually in E major can be played by thinking 1/2 step down), some of them are not only in the wrong key--their chords are nothing at all like the original versions! I'm taking about substituting minor chords that should be major and augmented chords that should be simple triads (i.e. basic "cowboy chords" in the first position). If you have a pencil, pen or marker, you can make your own changes above the incorrectly notated chords, but that's not much help if you get a request during a gig, or worse, refer to the sheet music while you're playing and hit a chord that's not even close to what it should be.

The sadly out-of-print songbook, "The Very Best of Bob Dylan," didn't have the notation problems, and even though it is a much slimmer collection, it's worth seeking out.

If you plan to learn lots of Dylan's songs to play with a band or solo guitar/vocal, this book is a good starting point, but be sure to listen carefully to the original tracks when you're learning songs from this book. You may be surprised to learn that the chord progressions are way off the mark.

O.k I got this book and on almost all of the songs have the right lyrics, but i have checked on one of the songs, the song "I Shall Be Free," is wrong some of it is right but most of the lyrics goes like this "Well, the funniest woman i ever seen is the great grand daughter of mr. Clean. She Takes about fifteen baths a day, she wants me to grow a cigar-(wrong supposed to be "Mustash") on my face she's a little bit heavy-(wrong suppossed to be "she's insane!") I don't know where they got those lyrics from but they're wrong

I most recently found Bob - and less recently have been learning to play the guitar. It just makes it easier to have the words to songs I love - and songs I don't believe I have heard before, but now I know they exist! His natural style has always amazed me, this is just one way I have found to get that much closer. Thanks Bob!

While this book does provide some helpful information on some of Dylan's lesser known work, anyone familiar with the more well-known Dylan (i.e. the mid-60s Dylan, the Blood on the Tracks Dylan, the Time out of Mind/Love and Theft Dylan) won't find much new information there. Varesi's take on Time out of Mind is laughably one-dimensional. And his misreading of "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat" is ridiculous. Does anyone really think that song's about a hat? Come on now.
This book is worth reading for those of us who need to take a second look at some of the lesser known albums, but it is by no means an authoritative or important work of scholarship on Dylan

This book looks at each of Dylan's records, including 2001's triumphant "Love and Theft". Without getting bogged down in the convoluted lyric analysis that some other Dylan studies suffer from, the book provides a concise, engaging guide to Dylan's remarkable recording career. The reader gains a depper appreciation for Dylan's words and Dylan's music.
There are more than a few pearls in this collection; for instance, rightly recognizing "Greatest Hits, vol. II" as "the best introduction to Bob Dylan's work" and heralding such overlooked gems as "In the Summertime" and the albums "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" and "Hard Rain". Varesi provides an even hand throughout, as he is not afraid to criticise such blunders as "Self Portrait", "Renaldo and Clara" and some of Dylan's more mediocre live offerings.
Ultimately, the accessible album-by-album approach will have the reader going back to the music and then returning to the book for the commentary.

This book is a well written, engaging study of Dylan's officially released albums. It really captures the spirit of Dylan's music. The chapter on The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 is, in particular, remarkably vivid. Also very useful as a balanced consumer guide. Highly recommended.

A very abstract and oblique view of the use of biblical scriptures in the lyrics of Bob Dylan. Quite General and out of the way, but still very interesting. Concentartes mainly on Dylans more popular songs, but does sink deeper in to those good old rare ones. Not an absolute refrence point, but still a great read for both Bob Dylan and Bible fans.

My 8 year old has recently become interested in the 60's and Bob Dylan, so I picked this book up at the library. The book does a nice job of describing Dylan's life from boyhood to big star. It emphasized how Dylan was boo'ed most of the time at the early part of his career, but didn't give up, which was a great lesson for my son. My son liked the book so much after I read it to him, that he picked it up and read the entire book to himself.

If you saw the special, then you know how moving the experience was. Dylan is one of the icons of rock and roll and he captured some of his career during this show. I found this book to be very accurate in the playing accuracy. Of course there is always room for improvement in the strumming guides, but the layout is wonderful. If you enjoy Dylan's work, I would definitely recommend this book.

I bought this book for my father, a Dylan afficianado who enjoys playing the guitar. He felt the song selection was good, not only mixing in some newer songs with the old standards, but also mixing genres (folk, rock, etc.).  The chord charts were simple and well defined. The print was clear and easy to read. The editors had the good sense to leave out Like A Rolling Stone (it's just too famous), but they took up a lot of unnecessary space with Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands. His primary criticism was that there were no songs from Dylan's Christian albums, which are some of the musician's very best.

Just a note, there are no written commentaries in the edition (1st) that I purcahsed when the book first came out, other than the Foreward, which is written by Bob

The Village Voice sent Toby Thompson to Minnesota to find out the truth about Ramblin' Bob's background, and so he did. And got his ashes hauled by Bob's high-school girlfriend into the bargain. Check it out.