On the Road With Bob Dylan (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kinky Friedman (Introduction) "To begin at the beginning, you'd have to go back to the old folkie days of the Village or maybe just the set of Pat..." (more)
Key Phrases: basement tapes, hospitality suite, New York, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Dylan personally invited the fledgling author Sloman (Reefer Madness) to chronicle his Rolling Thunder Revue tour back in 1975, Sloman thought he had landed his dream gig, expecting all-night parties and intimate chats with the tour's supporting cast, which included Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson and Allen Ginsberg. In fact, Sloman, who first published this memoir in 1978, found access to the stars very limited. After the first concert, Dylan's manager bounced him from the band's hotel. Yet he decided to do whatever it took to stay on tour, earning the nickname "Ratso," after the wily con man played by Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy. Sloman embraced the role: "I was Ratso, I realized, rolling with the punches, licking my wounds in auxiliary highway hotels, stuffing my frayed dreams into a tattered suitcase, limping along the highway in search of that warm sun that always follows the thunder." But by the end of the tour, Sloman is still stuck with inglorious duties like looking after Dylan's beagle puppy. A brisk and funny (if somewhat over-the-top) prose stylist, he records some interesting moments a sunrise ceremony led by an Indian chief, coincidentally named Rolling Thunder; an emotional encounter with Jack Kerouac's bartending brother-in-law Nicky in Lowell, Mass. but he never really gets close enough to Dylan to offer readers any insights. Ultimately, this book is about one fan's attempt to be accepted by his rock-and-roll heroes, and in Sloman's hands the project is as narcissistic as it sounds. Reading his memoir, one goes from rooting for the underdog to wishing he'd just go home. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

?An invaluable insider?s look at a legendary tour.? ?Michael Musto,the Village Voice

?An all-access pass to hang with the greatest singer-songwriter of our time. On the Road with Bob Dylan remains a true gonzo rock journalism classic and a revealing study of music?s greatest genius/enigma.? ?David Wild, contributing editor to Rolling Stone and host of Bravo?s Musicians -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Revised edition (August 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400045967
• ISBN-13: 978-1400045969
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #772,001 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #73 in

  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Dylan, Bob

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, when it's about Dylan, February 20, 2003

By	River Man (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

This is a great book while it stays focused on Bob Dylan's legendary tour. And it's interesting when it diverges to cover the surrounding mania among fans, family and visiting musicians. But there's a point about halfway through, right about the time Joan Baez christens Sloman as Ratso, where the writer becomes deluded that his running feud with the tour manager and other personal tribulations are of equal interest to the efforts of Dylan and his merry band. And on this point, he is very wrong. Any doubters are invited to compare the "Dylan" and "Sloman" listings at this very website.

If you're a Dylan fan, there is some really good stuff here, and the book earns its four stars. And occasionally even the Ratso antics are amusing. But there are way too many times when reading this book is like watching a great movie, only to have the camera turn and follow one of the extras, for no good reason.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars far more depth than most rock books, January 5, 2004

By	Clark Benson (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i read a LOT of books on music, and though a solid Dylan fan, i wouldn't call myself a fanatic. This book really stands out in the level of detail it relates, and i would say it's as good as any writings about what it's actually like to be on a big rock tour. Sloman (also the ghostwriter of howard stern's 2 books) tape recorded 100s of hours of backstage chatter, so you do really get an accurate picture of the personalities here. Yes, its' slanted to the positive, since Ratso is certainly a superfan, but it's by no means a snow job. i'd compare it to "spanish tony" sanchez's book on the Stones insofar as you get far better insights to the players involved from this kind of account as you do a typical bio. i've read 5 or 6 other dylan bios and found this to be most enjoyable and insightful. The only reason i woudn't give it 5 stars is that you really have to be a pretty big fan of Dylan, folkies, or the rock touring world in general, because the level of depth here also means it's not for the more casual fan etc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've read them all..., September 12, 2002

By A Customer

I've read all the Bob books that're worth reading and this one is far and away the best, as close to the honesty--warts and all--and humor and power of Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72 as any book I've read. The Bloomfield interview is a stone classic. The Bob quotes and descriptions are priceless. The verbatim interview/transcript approach puts the reader in the room with the speakers. Most any single page of this book gives you more than you'll find in Shelton's entire book. I finished this book and turned directly back to page one and started it again.