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The Bob Dylan Albums: Second Edition
Bob Dylan has created a body of work unparalleled in popular music. As a songwriter and as a singer, Dylan expanded the boundaries for song. In this substantially revised and updated second edition of The Bob Dylan Albums , Anthony Varesi analyzes the massive Dylan canon through a detailed discussion of each of the artist’s officially released albums. The book follows Dylan’s career chronologically from 1962’s Bob Dylan through to 2021’s Bootleg Series release Springtime in New York. All of Dylan’s studio albums, live albums, collections and archival releases are examined in the text and in the detailed, annotated, cross-referenced discography, as are Dylan’s notable soundtrack contributions, side projects and benefit concert appearances. The Bob Dylan Albums, 2nd Edition also discusses Dylan’s other writings, such as Chronicles and his Nobel Prize lecture, and reviews the films Dylan has appeared in or been the subject of. The book contains frank analyses of the more controversial aspects of Dylan’s career, including songs Dylan wrote about George Jackson, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Joey Gallo and Lenny Bruce, the use of Dylan’s music in advertisements, and Dylan’s 2011 trip to China. The book looks at recurring themes in Dylan’s songs, the influence of other artists on Dylan’s music, and the ongoing relevance of Dylan’s work. In the process, The Bob Dylan Albums, 2nd Edition unearths new meaning in both Dylan’s most famous works and in his songs and albums that have received less attention..
538 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 12, 2024
They used to put little coins into Christmas puddings because it was such fun to see little children breaking their teeth on a sixpenny bit. Dylan fans will experience similar sudden moments of distress in this very earnest, very thorough but often silly tour of Bob’s recorded music.
There’s a perfect pic of Bob on the cover performing what seems to be an eyeroll …. I couldn’t agree more.
So….why do we need any kind of tour guide? Because the number of Dylan albums has become vast. In spite of suffering from a writer’s block that lasted for most of the 1990s he’s still released 40 studio albums; then there’s 21 live albums and all those archive releases of stuff not released at the time – they all come at you in five to ten cd box sets. Anthony Varesi covers the whole waterfront from 1962 to 2020
As an example of the manic quantity of the Bob Dylan archive releases, consider The 1966 Live Recordings. This is a 36 cd box set (price £71) featuring all the available concerts played by Dylan in April and May 1966. He played the same songs at each concert. But hardcore fans will need every one! 36 cds!
WHAT’S GOOD
Well, this – my favourite line from the book :
there are now almost as many books on the Kennedy assassination as there are on Bob Dylan
Mr Varesi is thorough – he has assessed everything, no matter how obscure, all the Best Ofs, the Original Mono Recordings reissues, the Japan-only issues, the soundtracks that contain only one Dylan song.
A lot of hard work went into this book. And I think his opinions of the various albums are good – Tempest IS full of songs that are way too long; Street Legal IS overlooked; Under the Red Sky is something of a masterpiece….wait, that’s going too far! No it’s not!
WHAT’S NOT GOOD
Dylan begins (1962) by using melodies from folk songs and adding his own lyrics; then he starts writing completely original songs (1965); then he hits a writers block (1990) and when he finds his inspiration again (1997) he’s back to borrowing melodies (from old blues and tin pan alley songs) and also magpieing bits and bobs of lyrics - from the said blues songs and from diverse literary sources. This is well known.
To take one famous example : on the album Modern Times he steals/quotes from obscure American poet Henry Timrod - he takes 12 lines from 7 poems and puts them into the songs.
Besides Timrod, for instance, Modern Times taps into the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Samuel, John, and Luke, among others), Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie, Kokomo Arnold, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, the Stanley Brothers, Merle Haggard, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and standards popularized by Jeanette MacDonald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra, as well as vintage folk songs such as “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “Frankie and Albert,” and “Gentle Nettie Moore.”
(from an article by Robert Polito)
This kind of modernism (like "The Waste Land") or bricolage as swanky types might call it seems to have driven Anthony Varesi slightly insane. He picks up this ball and runs with it like Forrest Gump did. For instance
The Rolling Stones took the title "Paint It Black” from the first verse of "She Belongs to Me"
So....
Bob : She can take the dark out of the nighttime
And paint the daytime black
Stones : I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door, I must have it painted black
Really? If anything is getting painted black in 1966 it’s because of Dylan?
The reference to “a brown skin woman” in “Outlaw Blues”, a phrase from Leadbelly’s “Roberta Part 2”
Got to say that about one million old blues songs mention brown skin women.
Dylan’s proclivity for William Blake is present in both “Gates of Eden” and Mr Tambourine Man. In his 1794 Songs of Experience Blake refers to “the ancient trees”: in “Tambourine Man” Dylan uses “ancient empty streets” in verse one and the “haunted, frightened trees” in the final verse
!
Mr Varesi imagines that Dylan’s sly funny “If You Gotta Go Go Now” is a direct spoof of “A Hard Day’s Night” :
Dylan pokes fun at the Beatles’ tale of the working man who comes home each night to his appreciative companion by, in “Gotta Go”, turning the evening into a one-night affair. Dylan also borrowed the “You know I” opening from the second verse of “A Hard Day’s Night” for the fourth verse of his song.
Beatles : You know I work all day
Bob : You know I’d have nightmares / And a guilty conscience, too
Seriously? This is all nonsense. There’s a lot more of this kind of thing. Unfortunately.
Dylan’s utilization of the excellent but rarely used word “rake” derives from the old folk ballad “The Unfortunate Rake”
Well maybe could be but then there’s the old folk ballad “Dark Eyed Sailor”
Genteel he was and no rake like you
And the old folk ballad “Reynardine”
She said, Kind sir be civil, my company forsake,
For in my own opinion I fear you are a rake.
Not to mention William Hogarth’s famous “A Rake’s Progress”… and a very many restoration comedies.
Talking about the song “Mama You Been on my Mind” :
The impact of the beats begins to appear in Dylan’s writing : Dylan works in the phrase “don’t bother me” from Ginsberg’s poem “America”
Where you been don’t bother me nor bring me down in sorrow
Gotta say “don’t bother me” is quite a common phrase in ordinary ill-tempered conversation. It was even a song title on the Beatles’ second album. Maybe Bob was quoting George Harrison.
Okay I feel like I’m shooting fish in a barrel here, but the barrel was made by Anthony and the fish were all supplied by him too. And he gave me the gun.
WELL, THEY'LL STONE YOU AND SAY THAT IT'S THE END.
If you can pick your way through Anthony Varesi’s more outre assertions this is a very solid trek through the ever expanding worlds of Bob. A for Effort but all the radio interference drags it back to 3 stars.
There’s a perfect pic of Bob on the cover performing what seems to be an eyeroll …. I couldn’t agree more.
So….why do we need any kind of tour guide? Because the number of Dylan albums has become vast. In spite of suffering from a writer’s block that lasted for most of the 1990s he’s still released 40 studio albums; then there’s 21 live albums and all those archive releases of stuff not released at the time – they all come at you in five to ten cd box sets. Anthony Varesi covers the whole waterfront from 1962 to 2020
As an example of the manic quantity of the Bob Dylan archive releases, consider The 1966 Live Recordings. This is a 36 cd box set (price £71) featuring all the available concerts played by Dylan in April and May 1966. He played the same songs at each concert. But hardcore fans will need every one! 36 cds!
WHAT’S GOOD
Well, this – my favourite line from the book :
there are now almost as many books on the Kennedy assassination as there are on Bob Dylan
Mr Varesi is thorough – he has assessed everything, no matter how obscure, all the Best Ofs, the Original Mono Recordings reissues, the Japan-only issues, the soundtracks that contain only one Dylan song.
A lot of hard work went into this book. And I think his opinions of the various albums are good – Tempest IS full of songs that are way too long; Street Legal IS overlooked; Under the Red Sky is something of a masterpiece….wait, that’s going too far! No it’s not!
WHAT’S NOT GOOD
Dylan begins (1962) by using melodies from folk songs and adding his own lyrics; then he starts writing completely original songs (1965); then he hits a writers block (1990) and when he finds his inspiration again (1997) he’s back to borrowing melodies (from old blues and tin pan alley songs) and also magpieing bits and bobs of lyrics - from the said blues songs and from diverse literary sources. This is well known.
To take one famous example : on the album Modern Times he steals/quotes from obscure American poet Henry Timrod - he takes 12 lines from 7 poems and puts them into the songs.
Besides Timrod, for instance, Modern Times taps into the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Samuel, John, and Luke, among others), Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie, Kokomo Arnold, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, the Stanley Brothers, Merle Haggard, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and standards popularized by Jeanette MacDonald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra, as well as vintage folk songs such as “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “Frankie and Albert,” and “Gentle Nettie Moore.”
(from an article by Robert Polito)
This kind of modernism (like "The Waste Land") or bricolage as swanky types might call it seems to have driven Anthony Varesi slightly insane. He picks up this ball and runs with it like Forrest Gump did. For instance
The Rolling Stones took the title "Paint It Black” from the first verse of "She Belongs to Me"
So....
Bob : She can take the dark out of the nighttime
And paint the daytime black
Stones : I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door, I must have it painted black
Really? If anything is getting painted black in 1966 it’s because of Dylan?
The reference to “a brown skin woman” in “Outlaw Blues”, a phrase from Leadbelly’s “Roberta Part 2”
Got to say that about one million old blues songs mention brown skin women.
Dylan’s proclivity for William Blake is present in both “Gates of Eden” and Mr Tambourine Man. In his 1794 Songs of Experience Blake refers to “the ancient trees”: in “Tambourine Man” Dylan uses “ancient empty streets” in verse one and the “haunted, frightened trees” in the final verse
!
Mr Varesi imagines that Dylan’s sly funny “If You Gotta Go Go Now” is a direct spoof of “A Hard Day’s Night” :
Dylan pokes fun at the Beatles’ tale of the working man who comes home each night to his appreciative companion by, in “Gotta Go”, turning the evening into a one-night affair. Dylan also borrowed the “You know I” opening from the second verse of “A Hard Day’s Night” for the fourth verse of his song.
Beatles : You know I work all day
Bob : You know I’d have nightmares / And a guilty conscience, too
Seriously? This is all nonsense. There’s a lot more of this kind of thing. Unfortunately.
Dylan’s utilization of the excellent but rarely used word “rake” derives from the old folk ballad “The Unfortunate Rake”
Well maybe could be but then there’s the old folk ballad “Dark Eyed Sailor”
Genteel he was and no rake like you
And the old folk ballad “Reynardine”
She said, Kind sir be civil, my company forsake,
For in my own opinion I fear you are a rake.
Not to mention William Hogarth’s famous “A Rake’s Progress”… and a very many restoration comedies.
Talking about the song “Mama You Been on my Mind” :
The impact of the beats begins to appear in Dylan’s writing : Dylan works in the phrase “don’t bother me” from Ginsberg’s poem “America”
Where you been don’t bother me nor bring me down in sorrow
Gotta say “don’t bother me” is quite a common phrase in ordinary ill-tempered conversation. It was even a song title on the Beatles’ second album. Maybe Bob was quoting George Harrison.
Okay I feel like I’m shooting fish in a barrel here, but the barrel was made by Anthony and the fish were all supplied by him too. And he gave me the gun.
WELL, THEY'LL STONE YOU AND SAY THAT IT'S THE END.
If you can pick your way through Anthony Varesi’s more outre assertions this is a very solid trek through the ever expanding worlds of Bob. A for Effort but all the radio interference drags it back to 3 stars.
July 14, 2022
A comprehensive and meticulously detailed tome that will delight Dylan fans and music aficionados alike. This is, without doubt, the go-to reference guide for an artist whose musical career has spanned six decades. It pays homage to one of the legendary greats – a talented musician/poet/singer-songwriter whose insightful, contemplative, rebellious, eye-opening lyrics are cross-generational and have the same appeal today as they did 60 years ago.
Dylan sometimes lifted/borrowed various tracks and gained inspiration from a host of musicians and genres.
What surprised me was learning how many of his most renowned lyrics were shaped and influenced by English literature! His sources of inspiration and stimulation read like a literary who’s who: Yeats, Whitman, Tolkien, Thoreau, Shelley, Pound, Poe, Milton, Ginsberg, Frost, Emerson, Eliot, Dante, Conrad, Carroll, Burns, Bronte, and Blake. Even Homer, Virgil and Shakespeare get a look in! Can you imagine a contemporary pop artist penning songs this way?
My digital edition didn’t contain images. There is, however, an accompanying 70-page discography!
My thanks to NetGalley and Guernica Editions for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dylan sometimes lifted/borrowed various tracks and gained inspiration from a host of musicians and genres.
What surprised me was learning how many of his most renowned lyrics were shaped and influenced by English literature! His sources of inspiration and stimulation read like a literary who’s who: Yeats, Whitman, Tolkien, Thoreau, Shelley, Pound, Poe, Milton, Ginsberg, Frost, Emerson, Eliot, Dante, Conrad, Carroll, Burns, Bronte, and Blake. Even Homer, Virgil and Shakespeare get a look in! Can you imagine a contemporary pop artist penning songs this way?
My digital edition didn’t contain images. There is, however, an accompanying 70-page discography!
My thanks to NetGalley and Guernica Editions for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 10, 2023
THE BOB DYLAN ALBUMS: SECOND EDITION by author Anthony Varesi is a historical account of the recordings of Bob Dylan that includes a complete discography at the end of the book after having covered the legendary artist’s career in sections where each lists the period of time covered, and albums (studio, live, & previously unreleased or bootleg) that resulted from that particular time period.
Well put together in a way that combines biographical information with references to recording data, and done in a way that works well with listening to the recordings as they are being read, which with the majority of the recordings being available on Spotify, made it possible to create a playlist for each section, as this really made the information covered easier to absorb, and made me appreciate this book as an important reference source that I’ll want to keep on hand for future reading.
Bob Dylan, being an elusive figure, presents a challenge for anyone who endeavors to gain information on his life and career, and this is often complicated by misinformation given by the artist himself, who has been very successful in keeping much of his personal life protected, which after the experience he had in the mid-‘60s with the crazy threats and reactions from zealous fans objecting to his decision to “go electric” (something I’ll never completely understand) must have made him cautious and protective in the lives he & his family.
I really like this book, and something to be expected in such a book is that the opinion of the author is reflected in the dissemination of the material covered, which is true of this book, although I found myself in agreement with much in the description of the time periods and recordings within.
One thing that made me decide to put together the playlists to accompany this book was that the plethora of albums and compilations both live and studio make Dylan’s extensive career a challenge to piece together and comprehend – something that is no fault of the author as he’s done a solid job of putting together a valuable reference for fans of the artist himself, and an account of the impact Dylan’s presence has made on the history of music from the early years up to to the present time.
5 stars.
Well put together in a way that combines biographical information with references to recording data, and done in a way that works well with listening to the recordings as they are being read, which with the majority of the recordings being available on Spotify, made it possible to create a playlist for each section, as this really made the information covered easier to absorb, and made me appreciate this book as an important reference source that I’ll want to keep on hand for future reading.
Bob Dylan, being an elusive figure, presents a challenge for anyone who endeavors to gain information on his life and career, and this is often complicated by misinformation given by the artist himself, who has been very successful in keeping much of his personal life protected, which after the experience he had in the mid-‘60s with the crazy threats and reactions from zealous fans objecting to his decision to “go electric” (something I’ll never completely understand) must have made him cautious and protective in the lives he & his family.
I really like this book, and something to be expected in such a book is that the opinion of the author is reflected in the dissemination of the material covered, which is true of this book, although I found myself in agreement with much in the description of the time periods and recordings within.
One thing that made me decide to put together the playlists to accompany this book was that the plethora of albums and compilations both live and studio make Dylan’s extensive career a challenge to piece together and comprehend – something that is no fault of the author as he’s done a solid job of putting together a valuable reference for fans of the artist himself, and an account of the impact Dylan’s presence has made on the history of music from the early years up to to the present time.
5 stars.
October 27, 2022
The Bob Dylan Albums
Second Edition
by Anthony Varesi
Pub Date 01 Nov 2022
Guernica Editions
Biographies & Memoirs | Entertainment
I am reviewing a copy of The Bob Dylan Albums through Guernica Editions and Netgalley:
Bob Dylan has a body of work he created that is unparalleled in popular music. As a songwriter and as a singer, Dylan expanded the boundaries for song. Anthony Varesi analyzes the massive Dylan canon through a detailed discussion of each of the artist’s officially released albums, in this substantially updated second edition.
The Bob Dylan Albums follow Bob Dylan's career chronologically from 1962’s Bob Dylan through to 2021’s Bootleg Series release Springtime in New York. All of Dylan’s studio albums, live albums, collections and archival releases are examined in the text and in the detailed, annotated, cross-referenced discography, as are Dylan’s notable soundtrack contributions, side projects and benefit concert appearances.
The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums explores the reoccurring themes in Dylan’s songs, the influence of other artists on Dylan’s music, and the ongoing relevance of Dylan’s work. In the process.
I give The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
Second Edition
by Anthony Varesi
Pub Date 01 Nov 2022
Guernica Editions
Biographies & Memoirs | Entertainment
I am reviewing a copy of The Bob Dylan Albums through Guernica Editions and Netgalley:
Bob Dylan has a body of work he created that is unparalleled in popular music. As a songwriter and as a singer, Dylan expanded the boundaries for song. Anthony Varesi analyzes the massive Dylan canon through a detailed discussion of each of the artist’s officially released albums, in this substantially updated second edition.
The Bob Dylan Albums follow Bob Dylan's career chronologically from 1962’s Bob Dylan through to 2021’s Bootleg Series release Springtime in New York. All of Dylan’s studio albums, live albums, collections and archival releases are examined in the text and in the detailed, annotated, cross-referenced discography, as are Dylan’s notable soundtrack contributions, side projects and benefit concert appearances.
The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums explores the reoccurring themes in Dylan’s songs, the influence of other artists on Dylan’s music, and the ongoing relevance of Dylan’s work. In the process.
I give The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
November 25, 2022
The Bob Dylan Albums by Anthony Varesi is a detailed account of Dylan's career using his recorded output as a structure device.
For those wanting a biography, this doesn't quite fit the bill. It is both less than and more than a biography. Less than because most of his personal life, if it doesn't directly affect a recording or appearance, is omitted or mentioned in passing. More than because unlike a biography this is very detailed on his career, things that would never make it into a biography.
This is surprisingly a very good read considering the focus is on the details of sessions and appearances for albums. That said, I think its larger value is as a reference work. Curious about one of his studio records? What about some of the bootleg recordings and how they relate to other albums? That is covered in enjoyable detail.
While definitely for any Dylan fans who want to know more, this is also valuable for music history buffs, from folk through pop and rock. It makes fascinating reading yet is organized in a way that will allow for quick look-ups years later when you want to know something.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
For those wanting a biography, this doesn't quite fit the bill. It is both less than and more than a biography. Less than because most of his personal life, if it doesn't directly affect a recording or appearance, is omitted or mentioned in passing. More than because unlike a biography this is very detailed on his career, things that would never make it into a biography.
This is surprisingly a very good read considering the focus is on the details of sessions and appearances for albums. That said, I think its larger value is as a reference work. Curious about one of his studio records? What about some of the bootleg recordings and how they relate to other albums? That is covered in enjoyable detail.
While definitely for any Dylan fans who want to know more, this is also valuable for music history buffs, from folk through pop and rock. It makes fascinating reading yet is organized in a way that will allow for quick look-ups years later when you want to know something.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
November 11, 2022
This outstanding book is so much more than the title implies. It covers not only the albums but Dylan's tours, side projects, films, writings and awards show appearances, all in a clear and readable fashion. If you only buy one current book on the man's output, this is the one to own.
September 8, 2022
Great chronological layout of the man himselfs life. Detailed with no BS mixed in. Great for any music fan to add to their book collection.
July 1, 2025
Well-written, intriguing analysis of Bob Dylan’s albums. Disagreed with some of his viewpoints (who doesn’t like Time Out of Mind??)
November 21, 2025
Tremendous overview of Bob Dylan's output. Varesi looks at not only Dylan's studio albums but also the live albums, greatest hits collections, bootleg series releases, box sets, soundtrack contributions, benefit concert appearances, films, writings and awards ceremony appearances. The book is sweeping, enlightening and entertaining. An essential study of the man's career.
December 20, 2024
Excellent, comprehensive study of Bob Dylan's music, writings, and films. Covers everything up to 2021's Springtime in New York. Required reading for any Dylan follower. Worth buying for the discography alone. One of the top books ever written about the man.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews