Just finished "Chronicles", what a powerful book. Interesting all the way through. For all you Woody fans out there, pages 243 thru 248 are most interesting. Gave me goose bumps.

which album is the Chekov album? i've been thinking about that since i read it. the only auto-biograpical album i can think of is Blood on the Tracks. am i correct? i don't know..

I don't know either. "Desire" seems pretty autobiographical to me.

A lot of Desire was written with Jacques Levy though. Making it less personal... i dunno. Desire's songs tell more stories. It makes sense

Now that I think about it, "Blonde on Blonde" seems very autobiographical also. That Chekov thing has got me wondering now, too. I had forgotten about it. If anyone knows, please post.

Most likely Planet Waves

I had assumed John Wesley Harding

John Wesley Harding, I have always considered this to be one of Dylan’s most creative adventures. On first listen the sound is sparse and grating and leaves you feeling empty and wanting to turn it off quickly. The music pushed way to the background compared to Blond on Blond, and that high pitched harmonica that sophisticates would call ethereal but a no account undesirable like myself would call the ideal mixture of whining and abrasion that chills the nerves. It always made me visualize being on a hill overlooking a copper mine on a fall day with a bright sun and a mild wind that bites the skin (look at the way they are dressed on the cover). It was Dylan returning to the folk scene after turning the world upside down and and nearly commiting suicide on a motorcycle with more intense lyrical content than ever before. It has always amazed me how the JWH view of life can come out of him followed by the nonsensical (and thoroughly enjoyable) basement tapes that led to Nashville Skyline (Cash and Dylan singing together, what harmony).

the book jumps around in time periods so much it's hard to keep track of. especially for me since all i can get about those time periods are stories or books. i'm lost. they are all beautiful, nonetheless... in their own ways.

The book got a good review in one of our national papers, The Australian.
The reporter refered to us Dylan fans as BOBCATS.
Hey, I've got a great bootleg copy of Tarantula, all typed out with a hand drawn sort of smiling spider and coffee cup stains on the front.
Picked it up years ago in a second hand bookstore here. Have a few other Dylan books too.

PS Beaty, the return-to-folk sound on John Wesley Harding was purely accidental. The plan was for Dylan to lay down the basic tracks with a bassist & drummer, & later Robbie Robertson & Garth Hudson were to add electric guitar & the various instruments that Garth played. Dylan liked the raw tracks so much, however, he decided to stick with them & told Robbie & Garth to stay home.

Source: Clinton Heylin, Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions

I truly believe that a lot of what Dylan did was purely accidental. I think his initial rock and roll took stream of conciousness writing to a level neither burroughs or kerouac could have imagined (well maybe burroughs could have imagined if hadn't been so hung up on sex and drugs). I wish I could have such accidents. Then again, as he states in his book, there is an awful lot you lose.

"I said that"

my favorite Dylan moment is in Don't Look Back when everyone is telling him about Donovan. His anxiety intensifies (before that you couldn't have imagined more intensity) When they finally meet and Dylan hears Donavon you see him fall back and relax, Then he proceeds to blow the group away with with Baby Blue. I can not imagine the pounding in Donovans heart during that whole experience.

That was definitely a better moment than the one where he says "I don't care who threw the (blank) glass in the street, I just want to know who threw the (blank) glass in the street."

That is why I like the film

its not particularly flattering to anybody
but I think it documents