Best Bob Dylan Information
No Direction Home, Blonde on Blonde, and More Essential Dylan
Oct 1, 2007
Dylan, America’s finest contemporary songwriter, is not an easy artist to get into. First of all, there’s so much recorded music, and tons of books, documentaries, etc. However, the following items are a perfect primer to Dylan.
Essential Albums
Really, no rock fan’s collection is complete without at least 7 or 8 Dylan recordings, but the list here has been narrowed down to the true essentials:
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Blonde on Blonde
- Blood on the Tracks
Dylan’s 3 best albums by most accounts, and a snapshot into both the best period of his career (the first 2 albums), and his creative rebirth in the early seventies (Blood on the Tracks). Those looking to dig deeper will not want to miss The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Love and Theft, or The Bootleg Series Volume 4.
Essential DVD/Documentary
Martin Scorcese’s No Direction Home is an examination of Dylan’s career up to his famous motorcycle accident, and expertly examines his decision to begin playing rock music, a critical moment in rock and roll history. It features good concert footage of Dylan, and also the man talking about himself in a more candid spirit than is usually his want.
Chronological Biography
Those looking for a chronological biography of Dylan would do best with Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes. This book avoids the usual pitfalls of idolatry on the part of the author, and also details many private aspects of Dylan’s life through a number of important interviews (although none, on the part of the author, with the man himself).
The more daring can check out the first part of Dylan’s autobiography, Chronicles: Volume 1, (the second part has no pending release date). Dylan jumps back and forth in chronology, and chooses an interesting mix of moments to bring to page, although does discuss his life in Greenwich Village before breaking into the business. Those looking for details on how he came up with “Like A Rolling Stone” will be sorely disappointed, however.
Official Dylan Website
Dylan’s own website is one of the better official ones on the net, including lyrics to all of his songs, and tour dates (and passwords to get presale tickets). Another great site of note is Expecting Rain, which includes a ton of links to Dylan tidbits every day (although the organization makes it hard to find older information).
Those looking to get further into Dylan should find a wealth of material from the information listed above. Enjoy your journey into an incredible body of work from one of America’s best and most prolific popular artists.
