false 14318 27 One would not anticipate a conventional memoir from Bob Dylan--indeed, one would not have foreseen an autobiography at all from the pen of the notoriously private legend. What <I>Chronicles: Volume 1</I> delivers is an odd but ultimately illuminating memoir that is as impulsive, eccentric, and inspired as Dylan's greatest music. <p> Eschewing chronology and skipping over most of the "highlights" that his many biographers have assigned him, Dylan drifts and rambles through his tale, amplifying a series of major and minor epiphanies. If you're interested in a behind-the-scenes look at his encounters with the Beatles, look elsewhere. Dylan describes the sensation of hearing the group's "Do You Want to Know a Secret" on the radio, but devotes far more ink to a Louisiana shopkeeper named Sun Pie, who tells him, "I think all the good in the world might already been done" and sells him a World's Greatest Grandpa bumper sticker. Dylan certainly sticks to his own agenda--a newspaper article about journeymen heavyweights Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Ellis and soul singer Joe Tex's appearance on <I>The Tonight Show</I> inspire heartfelt musings, and yet the 1963 assassination of John Kennedy prompts nary a word from the era's greatest protest singer.<p> For all the small revelations (it turns out he's been a big fan of Barry Goldwater, Mickey Rourke, and Ice-T), there are eye-opening disclosures, including his confession that a large portion of his recorded output was designed to alienate his audience and free him from the burden of being a "the voice of a generation." <p> Off the beaten path as it is, <I>Chronicles</I> is nevertheless an astonishing achievement. As revelatory in its own way as Blonde on Blonde or Highway 61 Revisited, it provides ephemeral insights into the mind one of the most significant artistic voices of the 20th century while creating a completely new set of mysteries. <I>--Steven Stolder</I> 20014 2004 Chronicles: Volume One total:3336|5:1022|4:1403|3:725|2:150|1:36| 3336 13233 4368 510 5 8 false false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 03:39:02 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 07:58:47 -0800 2009
There are some problems, however, in writing a cultural, multi-perspective review, which is what a book like this requires. Let me put it to you this way: I am only a measly 26 years old. Bob Dylan started performing music in like...more...]]> 5 7 false false Wed Sep 12 08:56:37 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 19 08:13:51 -0700 2008
As for me, this was such a su...more...]]> 3 2 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 19 09:36:23 -0800 2007 Thu Oct 02 10:08:27 -0700 2008 2 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 16:34:15 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 15:08:34 -0700 2009
"There was a missing person inside of myself and I needed to find him."

God, this is incredible. Completely wonderful. A fucking masterpiece autobiography. Alliterative mastery. Wondrous observation. Surprising self effacement. The wisdom of ye...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 31 16:51:23 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 15:41:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 19 22:12:48 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 05:43:10 -0700 2008
I read some of the reviews for this book. First off, ignore all those who are not even fans of Bob Dylan or are the ones that wish he would sing "Like a Rolling S...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 01 16:24:15 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 09 16:25:39 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 29 06:26:05 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 06:56:12 -0800 2007
I am currently reading the chapter where Dylan is lost with in himself. No longer enjoying is creativity or understan...more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Oct 13 16:46:31 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 24 16:16:00 -0700 2009
“Everybody’s wearing a disguise/To hide what they’ve got left behind their eyes” – okay, so what’s Bob got left behind his eyes? A billion synapses connected to a million memories, that’s what, and they burn with an intensity that only sharp...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 05 13:58:57 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 11 06:07:32 -0700 2007
As a result I...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Aug 03 11:19:59 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 03 11:20:37 -0700 2007
A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true. They're like strange coun...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 12:33:20 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 12:38:50 -0700 2007 Chronicles Volume One is a bizarre masterpiece, an autobiography of deliberately misremembered facts that puts the reader directly in the mind of one of the greatest artists of...all time, really. Dylan's (and not Robert Zimmerman's; there's a distinction here, and it's why the book is ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Feb 16 10:48:52 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 16 11:01:59 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Dec 28 20:11:33 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 10 13:32:35 -0700 2008
He talks in poetry- he made me laugh so hard with his sarcasm I got cramps. He tells us what inspired him- when he got inspired (age 12, banging around on...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 12:11:31 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 12:25:25 -0700 2009 Just... wow...
Now I see why people were raving about this book. It's Bob Dylan's story - told in a uniquely Dylan-esqe way.
It's as stream-of-consciousness as Todd Haynes' film - and just as poetic.

Whether he's talking about writing his first song or sitting arou...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Jan 22 11:41:15 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 11:42:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 25 18:28:08 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 18:30:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Nov 21 18:36:31 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 18:58:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 22 16:54:06 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 18:45:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 28 20:00:42 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 19:16:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=227181