The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan

by Nigel Williamson

In his seventh decade and still going strong, Bob Dylan is the ultimate singer-songwriter - hugely revered, baffingly idiosyncratic, an enigma and a music legend responsible for a staggering number of classic songs. Now in it''s second edition, the Rough Guide clarifies the mysteries surrounding the man and the music, looking at the lyrics, the influences, the legends and the musicians he worked with. Features The Life - from Minnesota to Manchester, from the Albert Hall to the Never Ending Tour, The Music - 50 essential Dylan songs and the stories behind them and Dylanology - the movies, the sayings, books and websites.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2006

Reviews

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward and cleanly written. This is like a grouping of wikipedia entries all in one bound edition. Nothing relevatory, but fun bedtime reading about Dylan.

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful to me insofar as I’ve been getting much more heavily into Dylan and wanted a primer on the “conventional wisdom” from his longtime acolytes — most of it is stuff that I was vaguely familiar with, but the well-organized way Williamson lays it all out (through 2004) helped me get clarity and a more linear understanding of this most mythological of all rock musicians. He falls a little shorter as a rock critic; while the chapters on the albums and “best” songs do a good job of laying out what’s broadly viewed as iconic and what isn’t, the writeups are superficial and the attitude seems to lean a bit too far away from any sort of eccentricity, and all too closely resembled clicking through AMG reviews back in the early 2000s. The closing chapters on books and films are helpful too, but inevitably dated already (predating even I’m Not There). It served a purpose for me but I’m not likely to revisit — and the incessant typos didn’t assist my appreciation.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ignore the modest title, this is the Ultimate Guide to Bob Dylan. His albums and songs are written about with such delicacy, preciseness and care, I can ignore “Shelter from the Storm” being left off the 50 Greatest songs list. These songs, their wit, insight, and mystery, are truly one of the great reasons to be alive.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

the many layers of Bob Dylan's life ... in 200 pages. Then there's hundreds more pages on his music, movies, other references, etc. Possibly the best Rough Guide in the music series I've read.

[Robert Chowdhry-john · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational book and touch of the mystique which is Bob Dylan