Customer Reviews

Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me just say that I am a big Dylan fan, and intruiged by his personality. I loved Dylan's "Chronicles Volume 1" autobiography, even if it did brought about more questions than answers. But then, isn't that the Dylan way?

"Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews" (447 pages) compiles 2 radio interview transcripts (from 1962 and 1963) and 29 interviews (from 1964 to 2004) and the book is a delight to read. Yes, some of the interviews become repetitive, but the overlying themes are two-fold: (1) Dylan never wanted the mantle of "consciousness of an era" thrown on him, and he has worked non-stop to throw off the public at large ever since the late 60s because of it, and (2) despite all he says and does, nobody really, truly can know or understand the man. He plays with the press as he sees fit. Hence, Dylan remains the enigma.

But us Dylan fans have a lot to look forward to: in a few months Dylan will release his first album of new music since 2001's outstanding "Love and Theft", and then of course there is the prospect of the next volume of "Chronicles" (no release date said yet). Meanwhile, Dylan hosts a monthly show on XM sattelite radio, which I've caught a few times, and that also is a delight.

This is a must read for serious Dylan fans, even though the interviews reproduced here are uneven. The better ones, from the early and later stages of Dylan's long career, are revealing and philosophical. Many mundane pieces from the long middle period are a bit tendentious -- even tedious at times. Dylan is enigmatic, contradictory, but often quite poetic in explaining his ambivalence about fame and icon status. All in all, well worth the purchase price.

I learned more about Bob Dylan and his music in reading these interviews than I ever did from either his several biographies or "analyses" of his work. VM Riccardi

This book is one of the best Dylan books that I've read. It begins with interviews in the early 60's when Dylan had just started to get noticed in the music world/folk scene, and they continue chronologically until 2004. The interviews give the reader a look at the emotions and thoughts of Bob Dylan through the eyes of many different reporters. However, most of the interviews are verbatim dialogue between Bob and the reporter. Bob starts out as an enthusiastic young man in the recording studio talking about his music and his tours. You begin to notice a shift in his thoughts in the mid to late 70's. He describes the making of his movie "Renaldo and Clara" and his thoughts seem unclear. However, it may simply be a look inside the mind of a genius. In addition, there are several interviews that discuss his conversion to Christianity. He seems obsessed with his new found religion. This phase quickly passes and the reader will begin to notice a shift to a more rational, thoughtful Bob Dylan. He begins to talk about his music and family (son, Jakob). Bob seems more sure of himself,his music, and his career in the late 90's and beyond. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!!

Jonathan Cott has written sixteen books including others on Dylan and both rock and classical musicians: his depth and experience is perfect for BOB DYLAN: THE ESSENTIAL INTERVIEWS, a compilation of interviews following Dylan from the early sixties to today. There are over thirty such interviews gathered here which when taken as a unit provide a smooth historical and psychological progression you won't find in the many Dylan biographies on the market. Also included are all six major interviews Rolling Stone Magazine conducted with Dylan, including Cott's own interview. This is no light overview as many Dylan titles offer, but an in-depth account of his life, perspective and art which is a recommended 'must' for any authoritative Dylan collection - even those already stuffed with books.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This set of 29 interviews edited by Jonathan Cotts is not only essential, it is definitive. He has assembled a wonderful collection of interviews and character studies of Dylan over the past four-plus decades. Highlights include Nat Hentoff's "New Yorker" account of the recording of "Another Side of Bob Dylan," his goofy "Playboy" interview with Dylan from 1966; Dylan's various "Rolling Stone" interviews; and recent ones with Robert Hilburn of "The Los Angeles Times." My only complaint is that the book is not yet available in paperback but it is still well worth the price.

Thirty interviews over a forty year span are included in this volume. Dylan fans will thus have a lot of fun here. Dylan can be very funny and he also can be just plain kookie. One of his best gigs is his responses to questions that would make him a kind of Savior , political or otherwise of mankind. Here he is usually self- effacing and ironic.
One of the touching bits for me was his telling how as a nineteen year old youngster he took a Greyhound bus each day from Midtown Manhattan to visit Woody Guthrie who was dying of 'Huntington's Chorea'. Guthrie could barely speak . All he could do was give a name of his own song. Dylan says he knew them all and whatever Woody asked he played him.
Dylan really knows and loves popular music and talks in an interview with Sam Shepherd as well as in others of tens of groups I myself and I suspect most people never heard of. In another interesting piece someone asks him about contemporary songwriters and surprisingly he names Shel Silverstein as a real favorite. Also Randy Newman. And he mentions a couple of Paul Simon songs like 'A Bridge over Troubled Water' but then says that Simon has written a lot of flack. But who hasn't?"
I in general believe the Interviews are very interesting when Dylan talks about what he really loves , the Music, and how he makes it and plays it. In one interview he says that he has to play a certain time each day, but that he cannot do twelve- hour practice sessions like a Segovia 'There is a bit about the born- again Dylan which I found a bit distrubing , but I did not find him talking about his alleged reconversion to Judaism. Supposedly one topic he has pretty much avoided is his parents and parental home in Hibbing.
Dylan talks about his songwriting, about how he often throws out the most inspiring lines. It is interesting that the person who along with the Beatles has written the 'lyrics ' most song- listeners of the latter part of the twentieth century 'know' , begins his songs also with the music, the melody. The words come later.
I have no doubt that fans of Dylan will love this collection of interviews and learn much from it.

Bob Dylan may be one of the most loquacious enigmas of all time. As lovingly presented here by Jonathon Cott, Dylan goes on and on and on to all sorts of interviewers, sometime comedian, sometime huckster, sometime philosoher, sometime preacher, but always fascinating.

The early interviews are best. Dylan was pretty outrageous when putting on the interviewer. There is quite a bit of repetitive information in the writer's introduction prior to the interviews.

People. As you all know I've been a good friend of Bob's since the early days in the folk clubs of NYC. He even took a song of mine at that time. I was known as Metamorpho Von Ronk in my prime. But I didn't mind because today Bob has returned the favor. How else would I afford 5 star hotels while I lecture across the land? I ask you.

In any event, It took me about 2 years to read this. And it's not that it's difficult reading. It's not. It flows evenly. My problem is I start 5 books at the same time and have only so much time to devote to reading. But I did finish this one, and now I feel I must read it again to be sure I didn't miss anything. Dylan is such a complex creature that you have to allow for other levels of thought to guide you through this. And, even at that, you will feel you don't really have an insight into his persona. I do. But I am one of the chosen few and I can't divulge anything for fear of no more free hotel rooms. "Sigh".

Anyway, the book starts off with a radio interview in 1962 (when his star was starting to rise) until 2004. You will find a vast array of formats and publications that were interested in him. He never thought much of all this acclaim, he just did what he was good at - writing songs. But you'll get interviews from radio stations as well as notable publications like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and even Playboy (!). Bob Dylan as a sex god - go figure.

The interesting thing I noted about Bob in this book was his way to be a virtual Houdini when it came to interviewers who tried to nail him down, or try to back him into specific meanings or explanations he has conveyed. It's a laugh how he turns it around so the interviewer is made to be specific. I look at Bob as being pure conciousness in the here and now. I think he must be the most aware person on earth. And, if you read this book, you will see how pure Seer thought has been learned by him.

One of the central motifs of his work is finding truth. We learn that he likes that very much. But, like anyone before him who has tried to teach enlightenment, he is mostly misunderstood by the masses. I think people miss his messages sometimes because they don't like the way he sings. That is very hollow, but Dylan just keeps doing what he does best, and that is write songs that beg you to think. He also knows that as an artist he doesn't need to explain anything to you.

If the mind of Dylan interests you at all, this is an excellent book to read. Will you come away with a clearer picture of who he is? Probably not. But, he wants it that way.

Happy Holidays and Buy this book for the myoptic visioned one in your life!

love, Metamorpho ;)