Synopses & Reviews
The second of two volumes, this companion to every song that Bob Dylan ever wrote is not just opinionated commentary or literary interpretation: it consists of facts first and foremost. Together these two volumes form the most comprehensive books available on Dylans words.
Clinton Heylin is the worlds leading Dylan biographer and expert, and he has arranged the songs in a continually surprising chronology of when they were actually written rather than when they appeared on albums. Using newly discovered manuscripts, anecdotal evidence, and a seemingly limitless knowledge of every Bob Dylan live performance, Heylin reveals hundreds of facts about the songs.
Here we learn about Dylans contributions to the Traveling Wilburys, the women who inspired Blood on the Tracks and Desire, the sources Dylan plagiarized” for Love and Theft and Modern Times, why he left Blind Willie McTell” off of Infidels and Series of Dreams” off of Oh Mercy, what broke the long dry spell he had in the 1990s, and much more.
This is an essential purchase for every true Bob Dylan fan.
Review
"Clinton Heylin, master explicator of the Dylan canon, has however improbably, sorted it all out for us through the tangled '80's and beyond, completing what he started in Revolution In The Air. The book is essential." Jonathan Lethem
Review
"Heylin is at once a researcher, explicator and archivist . . . Taking Dylan's songs in sequential order of composition might seem to be an improbable project, but Heylin documents it with such attention to detail that one marvels at his provable and entirely correct timeline." Shepherd Express
Synopsis
The second of two volumes, this companion to every song that Bob Dylan has yet written is the most comprehensive examination of Dylan's oeuvre. Arranged in a chronology of when they were written rather than when they appeared on albums, the songs are accompanied by surprising facts and information. Using newly discovered manuscripts, anecdotal evidence, and a seemingly limitless knowledge of every Bob Dylan live performance, the research uncovers answers to such questions as What were Dylan's contributions to the Traveling Wilburys? Who were the women that inspired the songs on Blood on the Tracks and Desire? What material was appropriated for Love and Theft and Modern Times? Why was Blind Willie McTell left off of Infidels? and What broke his long dry spell in the 1990s? This is an essential purchase for every true Bob Dylan fan, and is sure to inspire another listen to all of his songs.
About the Author
Clinton Heylin is the author of Revolution in the Air; Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades; Can You Feel the Silence; From the Velvets to the Voidoids; Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions; Despite the System; and others.