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The Essential Interviews
"Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews charts Dylan's public transformation, from the early sixties to the present day, as he repeatedly re-creates himself. Dylan expert and longtime Rolling Stone contributor Jonathan Cott has compiled thirty-one interviews that, taken together, present the evolution of a brilliant young man evading fame and its attendant invasion of pr...more
Paperback, 447 pages
Published
May 15th 2007
by Wenner Books
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The interviews gathered in this collection begin in 1961 and end in 2004, from barely 20 through his early 60s. They are remarkably consistent in certain respects, though the tone ranges from unguarded to prickly, merely elusive to intentionally opaque or contradictory. They are all stubbornly resistant to any kind of analysis of his work, of any attempts to pigeon hole either his work with labels or his influences with anything like a cause and effect simplicity. So Dylan is not a protest singe...more
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rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Dylan fans, devotees, and pop cultural mavens.
These 31 interviews range from simple transcription of the legendary Nat Hentoff radio interviews to Sam Shepard's turning time spent with Dylan into a one-act play. Dylan conversational nuggets embedded in prose abound throughout this collection from Jonathan Cott. Long form traditional radio/TV interviews from over thirty-five years along side magazine feature interviews illustrate and amplify the trickster legend of Bob Dylan.
Snapshots of the guarded and playful Dylan in this boo...more
Snapshots of the guarded and playful Dylan in this boo...more
I really like this book so far. I've never read an interview book before, and i'm glad i chose one about my favorite musician. Bob Dylan is one of the most popular and respected artists of all time. Some of the interviews are very controversial, including one where Dylan compares himself to the assasin of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald. He was saying that he acctually saw a little bit of himself in the assasin. This is just one of hundreds of interviews. The book also has a lot of ...more
Any one who knows me knows I'm a "Dylanologist". I have already read many of the interviews in this compilation.
I especially recommend this compilation because it focuses on Dylan's thoughts on his development as an artist as opposed to the baser objectives of other such compilations and commentary.
I especially recommend this compilation because it focuses on Dylan's thoughts on his development as an artist as opposed to the baser objectives of other such compilations and commentary.
Great book full of interviews with Bob Dylan from the 60's to pretty current. I find Bob Dylan interesting, and the way he would antagonize the people interviewing him is so funny. Even when he's being a jerk, the words come out like poetry. If you're a Dylan fan, you will love this book.
Early interviews: Fun-n-such.
Middle interviews: Up-n-down.
Late interviews: Hit-o-miss.
Read: Learn the level(s) Bob Dylan thinks on.
Read: With "My baby's on the level"* on the tip of your ear.
Think moron: Where Dylan isn't than who he is.
*- See Raconteurs, The. Broken Boy Soldiers. "Level."
Middle interviews: Up-n-down.
Late interviews: Hit-o-miss.
Read: Learn the level(s) Bob Dylan thinks on.
Read: With "My baby's on the level"* on the tip of your ear.
Think moron: Where Dylan isn't than who he is.
*- See Raconteurs, The. Broken Boy Soldiers. "Level."
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These interviews leave you asking, "who is Dylan playing for?" Sometimes you feel that the answer is within your grasp, but Dylan slithers and weasels away, leaving you clueless.
If nothing else, Dylan cultivates a sense of disconnect, that I is truly another and that the I that others see is nothing but a facade. For Dylan, everything is a fleeting image of times and places, of archetypes and mysteries. Enigmas are the only things left that still got it honest. Life is nothi...more
If nothing else, Dylan cultivates a sense of disconnect, that I is truly another and that the I that others see is nothing but a facade. For Dylan, everything is a fleeting image of times and places, of archetypes and mysteries. Enigmas are the only things left that still got it honest. Life is nothi...more
A pretty great read. A ton of interviews from his heyday, which I found as interesting as his later ones. His mood during interviews ranges from prickly to notably honest and thoughtful, though throughout you are left with the impression he is managing to keep those things he wants hidden from the press to stay that way. It is pretty fascinating to sort of track his career, and to hear through his own words, what he thinks of what his future holds or what he thinks of the past. Highly recomm...more
This is for the true Bob Dylan fanatic... it is huge! I love to skim through here and there when I am in an exceptionally Dylan-esque mood; it is remarkably comprehensive.
Several interviews, reviews, etc. from early to present Dylan. Read it in two days; but I am a "Dylan Head!" THANKS JOE (Great gift)
Very cool inside look at the various interviews of Dylan over 30 years or so. Bitchin' if you are a big Dylan fan.
Sometimes you just hate this guy. But you can't, because it doesn't make sense to hate such a gift.
Thanks, Kit! A great read for Dylan fanatics, like me.
Among all the Dylan books out there, this one is essential.
Bob's a lying bastich
Read a bit of this one to find out if Bob Dylan is as, um, enigmatic, as the movie I'm Not There portrays him to be. Yep.
This book is great. You get a real sense of how human Dylan really is. He sometimes contradicts himself from interview to interview (as would anyone). Much more insight into what makes Dylan tick than any other book (including his own book "Chronicles"). The book covers pretty much his entire career so you get to hear him go through many radical changes in perspective/attitude. Very entertaining and probably the closest thing to the truth on Dylan even though he lies all throughout. ...more
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows...
Jim
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
dylan addicts, no one else
Shelves:
contemporarystuff
I am borderline-obsessed with all things Dylan, so this collection of interviews over the years made for some great reading. It's as much fun reading Dylan's evasive answers as it is reading how hyper-aware the interviewers are of the artist's aversion to PR shilling. Probably only a must-read for Dylan fans.
Great selection of interviews through the ages. He's consistent in his answers...Whatever the interviewer asks, Bob will somehow find a point of disagreement. It's a fascinating character study, and rarely gets boring.
Amazing collection of interviews from a 40+ year span.
The 1966 Playboy magazine interview with Nat Hentoff is as interesting as it's reputation.
The 1966 Playboy magazine interview with Nat Hentoff is as interesting as it's reputation.
How do you review a collection of interviews? Dylan is interesting and their is a nice variety in the selections. Worth picking up for Dylan fans.
I like this guy and these interviews are very illuminating. There is an early interview with Studs Terkel, another of my favs. It is smart.
again, another essential for anyone that likes dylan. there's some hit and miss interviews here, but overall, it's a great book.
A great overview of Dylan's life and career, with a lots of insights into his enigmatic personality. Essential reading for Dylan lovers.
Features the famous shaggy dog routine from the Playboy interview. As only the master slight of hand can. Yes, slight.
this book reveals a lot about dylan's writing process. it's straight from the horse's mouth and very intriguing.
I love these interviews, they are funny, revealing, insightful and just thoroughly entertaining...
Dylan interviews? Shouldn't this be filed under fiction. Hell of a story spinner.
Phenomenal! Offensive, rude, profound, funny, timeless.
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Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and, of late, disc jockey who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of Dylan's most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal chronicler and a reluctant figurehead of American unrest. A number of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "...more
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