Dylan on Dylan
by Jonathan Cott
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan CottEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-10
ISBN: 0340923148
Number of pages: 447
Publisher: 101 DISTRIBUTION
Book Reviews of Dylan on Dylan
Book Review: Dylan Revealed (Mostly) In His Own Words
Summary: 5 Stars
Bob Dylan once wrote "Nothing is revealed", and he appears to try to live up to that saying in each of the interviews selected here. Actually, bits and pieces of the man, the motives, the poetry, the philosophy, and the sheer genius gradually emerge over the course of dozens of interviews given over more than 40 years.
The frustrating thing about being an admirer of Bob Dylan is that the man refuses to acknowledge his own legacy. Bob was very consistent from the beginning, stating more than once, "I just sing and play guitar". Well, that's a little bit like a prophet saying "I just give the occasional lecture". On one level, yes, Mr. Dylan is just a singer and songwriter (and some would claim he's not even really a singer). On another level, Bob has an amazing ability, or perhaps a God-given talent for taking intangible, nebulous thoughts and ideas that may exist only in a subconscious form, and putting these formless ideas into tangible words and music. Bob seems to be able to pick up something in the air, thoughts and feelings that people may not even be able to express themselves, and then he's put it all into a neat and simple package called a song.
I believe Bob Dylan puts down his own talent because he's not consciously aware of how he writes songs. (He certainly appears to be unable or unwilling to interpret the meaning of his own work.) I don't want to read too much into his lyrics, but I think that his songs will stand the test of time in 100, 200, 300 years.
I think an artist like Dylan is like Mozart - who just did what came naturally, and wasn't able to explain just how he was able to compose music that seemed to arrive straight from heaven. Like Mozart, Dylan is probably more of a messenger than a songwriter.
Summary of Dylan on Dylan
'I change during the course of a day. I wake and I'm one person, and when I go to sleep I know for certain I'm somebody else.' Bob Dylan DYLAN ON DYLAN gathers together for the first time twenty-nine of the most significant and revealing conversations with the singer, stretching over forty years from the earliest days of his career in 1962 through to 2004. Among the highlights are the seminal Rolling Stone interviews by Jann Wenner, Jonathan Cott, Kurt Loder and Mikal Gilmore, as well as the legendary 1966 Playboy interview. In-depth and intimate, these interviews cover the gaps left by the Chronicles: Volume 1. Dylan expert Jonathan Cott writes an introduction to this must-have collection of the artist in his own words. 'Edited by Jonathan Cott, one of the original editors of Rolling Stone and arguably the most simpatico writer ever to converse with Mr Dylan, the interview format remains eminently readable ...Mr. Cott identifies the major sea changes in Mr Dylan's life via conversational format, without undue commentary ...Nobody can explain Mr Dylan as well as he, when he cares to do it, can explain himself' The New York TimesEntertainers Books
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