Customer Reviews

Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day: 1941-1995 (The Companion Series)

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

 

 

This is a good reference book for Dylan fans. It has no analysis or commentary and just an occasional opinion. At times the details may seem a little excessive, but the information is not too expansive as to be overwhelming (I can't say the same for some other Dylan books).

This book's contents are so exhaustive, containing such a wealth of information, much of it rather insignificant in itself, that only the most obsessive of Dylan fans would ever buy it, much less slog through its voluminous contents. Needless to say, I bought it and did so. If you are truly interested in Bob Dylan, in a scholarly and historical sense, not just as a fan of his music, then you will serve yourself well by getting this book. If you are not, however... well, let's put this book into perspective:

What this book purports to be is a chronicle of Bob Dylan's life -- not an autobiography, but, rather, a listing of each day of his life, from the day of his birth up until the year this book was published (1997); as short pre-history is included, as well. Now, as you probably assumed, the book is not exactly this: Dylan is, and always has been, a mysterious, aloof, and reclusive character, despite his great fame. Consequently, long stretches, often encompassing months at a time, are missing from this chronicle. Still, what is here is amazing. Documented herein is a record of every recording session, rehearsal, and tour that Dylan had done up to this point. Heylin tells you what songs were played, how many times, what the arrangements were, if there were any changes from their original incarnation, what musicians played on them, etc. Also documented are most of Dylan's interviews -- where, with whom, and about what. These kinds of details form the vast majority of the book; needless to say, the more personal aspects of Dylan's life are as unknown to Heylin as they are to the rest of us, and probably always will be. Examples of the other kinds of information that he manages to include are such things as Dylan's travels, public appearances and events, and the like.

As one can see, this is not a book for the casual Bob Dylan fan. If you are looking for a biography, stay far, far away from this; Heylin's own Behind The Shades is a good place to start for that type of tome. On the other hand, if you are a Bob Dylan fan who is truly interested not only in the man's music and life, but in the historical and scholarly aspects of his work, then this is a book that you will want to eventually pick up. Due to its lack of brevity in information and the level of obsessiveness in its detail, however, this is still a book that you will want to pick up later, after your collection already includes numerous other Dylan books -- biographies, lyrical analyses, etc. -- before you take on this daunting volume.

For any true fan, a "must have" reference. Day to day account of the life of the master poet/musician/performer.Get it, by all means get it!

Every Dylan fan should own this book. It has accurate details of every concert, recording session, and event in Dylan's life. An excellent refrence book.

I have had this book for about a year now and I still read in it almost every day. I look up certain dates to see what Dylan was doing, If I wonder from what conserts live records were taken I can look it up. I simply love this book, but it isn`t a book for someone who wonders who Dylan is, it a book for a real Dylan fan.

This excellent book documents every concert, recording session and personal appearance that Dylan has ever done. Includes T.V. and radio appearances as well as unrealesed recordings. The book is laid out by each year and tells what Dylan was doing on a particular day of that year. Incredible and exhaustive research which makes one believe that Dylans every move has been documented by someone and all that info has been gathered in this stupendous edition. Out of the many Dylan books I own , this is without a doubt the one I turn to the most. INVALUABLE.

Once, in the environs of Wheeler Hall in the mid 80s, I was talking to Robert Pinksy about this-and-that poetics, and I was ranting in hyperbolic style about Bob Dylan being a kind of Blake for our time, refiguring "Jesus the Imagination" in a time of imperial blight and so on. Pinsky looked at me wryly, a bit baffled, and said, "Dylan is somebody I never got into. I never really thought of him as a poet." I was amazed by this comment, and begin to wonder (as I often do) if I knew what poetry is anymore. But I never lost my amazement towards B Dylan, and his latest Nietzschean attack on his own deepest belief structures and pieties in "Time Out of Mind" and "Things Have Changed" from "Wonderboys" soundtrack only confirms the scope, depth, and generic visionary quality of his work. Happy Birthday Bob Dylan....

This is not a good book. Heylin has attempted to describe every day of Dylan's life without attempting to communicate to the reader what any of it actually meant. Large parts of the book act only as a simple record of a concert and the songs performed. Strictly for the obsessed.