Subject: Book Review: On The Road With Bob Dylan
Date: June 14, 2005 8:23:15 PM GMT+04:00
Re: Book Review: On The Road With Bob Dylan
Reader Rating: 8/10
Salaams! Just finished up another Dylan book, though this one is more about his "Rolling Thunder Revue" Tour and cast members than about Bob. OK--yeah, I'm weird; enough said. But, the fact is that Bob is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century--and will go down in history being remembered that way. Last thing--check out the info (better yet--the actual tunes!) on Dylan's Bootleg Series Volume 5 "Live in '75" double-CD. It's a classic and most precisely catches what it really meant to be "on the road with Bob Dylan!"
On the Road With Bob Dylan
by LARRY SLOMAN, KINKY FRIEDMAN (Introduction) "To begin at the beginning, you'd have to go back to the old folkie days of the Village or maybe just the set of Pat..." (more)

41 used & new available from $6.29
Edition: Paperback
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
When Dylan personally invited the fledgling author Sloman (Reefer Madness) to chronicle his Rolling Thunder Revue tour back in 1975, Sloman thought he had landed his dream gig, expecting all-night parties and intimate chats with the tour's supporting cast, which included Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson and Allen Ginsberg. In fact, Sloman, who first published this memoir in 1978, found access to the stars very limited. After the first concert, Dylan's manager bounced him from the band's hotel. Yet he decided to do whatever it took to stay on tour, earning the nickname "Ratso," after the wily con man played by Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy. Sloman embraced the role: "I was Ratso, I realized, rolling with the punches, licking my wounds in auxiliary highway hotels, stuffing my frayed dreams into a tattered suitcase, limping along the highway in search of that warm sun that always follows the thunder." But by the end of the tour, Sloman is still stuck with inglorious duties like looking after Dylan's beagle puppy. A brisk and funny (if somewhat over-the-top) prose stylist, he records some interesting moments a sunrise ceremony led by an Indian chief, coincidentally named Rolling Thunder; an emotional encounter with Jack Kerouac's bartending brother-in-law Nicky in Lowell, Mass. but he never really gets close enough to Dylan to offer readers any insights. Ultimately, this book is about one fan's attempt to be accepted by his rock-and-roll heroes, and in Sloman's hands the project is as narcissistic as it sounds. Reading his memoir, one goes from rooting for the underdog to wishing he'd just go home. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
“An invaluable insider’s look at a legendary tour.” —Michael Musto,the Village Voice
“An all-access pass to hang with the greatest singer-songwriter of our time. On the Road with Bob Dylan remains a true gonzo rock journalism classic and a revealing study of music’s greatest genius/enigma.” —David Wild, contributing editor to Rolling Stone and host of Bravo’s Musicians
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Product Details
• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Rev edition (August 27, 2002)
• ISBN: 1400045967
• Average Customer Review:  based on 9 reviews. (Write a review)
======== NOW HEAR HOW IT REALLY SOUNDED!! =========
Bob Dylan Live 1975 (The Bootleg Series Volume 5)
Bob Dylan

Product Details
• Essential recordings: Bob Dylan
• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: November 26, 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
Listen to Samples: Visit our audio help page for more information.
Disc: 1
1. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
2. It Ain't Me, Babe
3. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
4. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
5. Romance In Durango
See all 11 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
3. Tangled Up In Blue
4. The Water Is Wide
5. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
See all 11 tracks on this disc
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
One of the many oddities of Bob Dylan's long and unruly career has been the rather cursory recording treatment given his stint as ringleader of the Rolling Thunder Revue. It's a shortcoming that's rectified with the release of Live 1975. Prior to the appearance of this two-disc collection, Rolling Thunder's eclectic road show was chronicled only in the infrequently screened, Dylan-directed Renaldo & Clara film and the bafflingly brief and one-note 1976 live set, Hard Rain. In contrast to its predecessor, this set, culled from four appearances made in November and December of '75, captures the breadth and subtleties of Dylan's Rolling Thunder performances. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," formerly a coda from Nashville Skyline, is given a rather incongruous bite here, while "It Ain't Me, Babe" is colored brightly by multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield along with erstwhile David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, the sparkplug of the gratifyingly ragtag group that coalesced on short notice. Solo acoustic performances weave through caterwauling full-band treatments of songs old ("The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll) and new ("Hurricane" and four other selections from Desire, which wouldn't hit the racks until early '76). While the contributions of a number of caravan cohorts and guests are left out, Joan Baez shares the spotlight with Dylan on four numbers, most notably on the rarity "Mama, You Been on My Mind" and the traditional "The Water Is Wide." But despite its cavalcade trappings, it was Dylan's show, and this collection demonstrates finally just how close to his '60s peak the '70s Dylan was. --Steven Stolder
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