(Part 2) Top products from r/bobdylan

That Michael Gray "Dylan Encyclopedia" is an over-the-top indulgence. It's fun to flip through occasionally but whenever I do I walk away thinking "I can't believe someone invested so much time to produce something so arcane". I actually bought the book when Gray was going around the country as part of a speaking tour to promote the book.

​

A book that's fun but is only sort of a book is The Dylan Scrapbook. As it's name implies, it's put together like an actual scrapbook that features all sorts of pictures and reproductions of things from Dylan's early years. Lots of cool features like handwritten lyrics, photos, and more that were curated by the same guy who oversaw the Music Experience Project in Seattle.

Here's a fun fact: that performance was special enough to be granted the cover of a music textbook!

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Social-Experience-Steven-Cornelius/dp/0136017509#immersive-view_1475024878230

Pretty cool that such a general subject deems Bobby worthy of a cover. Now if only those Norton Anthologies would add more Dylan content!

I was in a tape Bob Dylan tape tree years ago and some very generous member send me a bunch of recordings and this DVD of various Dylan TV performances.

http://www.stellarproducts.info/product_p/605.htm

Some of the quality on the version I have are a bit bootleggy (new verb) but I love this thing. I have volumes one and two and I believe there is a third. I'd pick them all up.

Another item she needs is Clinton Heylin's "Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions 1960-1994."

http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Dylan-Recording-Sessions-1960-1994/dp/0312150679

Or "The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia" by Michael Gray is a great "bathroom" reader.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826469337/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0312150679&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GF9NA2VA04JYE6J3526

Check e-Bay for more Dylan memorabilia type stuffs.

I would go with Chronicles, the book I read (can't recall the name now)really made him out to seem like an real asshole :) Which, though he may have been, is not what we care about.

edit: this book has tons of info about his early life and all the interesting people he crashed on couches with and lies he told journalists and his friends. A pretty good read.

Van Ronk's book is tremendous--The Mayor of MacDougal Street. Maybe my favourite musician memoir, and I went in as a casual admirer of the man at best. The picture he paints of Greenwich Village is captivating. Includes some great insight into young Dylan.

Closest thing you'll find to Dylan is Woody Guthrie. And even that's not entirely accurate. I'd recommend this album. Bob is in a class by himself.

However, if you're feeling that "great songwriter who can't sing a lick" vibe, I'd second the recommendations of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Townes Van Zant. (I think all those albums are on Spotify, BTW.)

I got into dylan just a few years ago. I made a playlist of mp3s on my phone of his top 100 songs in chronological order according to this book (i dont think any of his greatest hits collections are in chronological order, which is important. ) i can scan the list and post it if you'd likem

This is the book for reference, but I recommend checking out your local bookstore or library rather than purchasing on amazon.

Positively 4th Street:
http://www.amazon.com/Positively-4th-Street-Fariña-Richard/dp/B008SMTSDM
Freewheel in' Time
http://www.amazon.com/Freewheelin-Time-Greenwich-Village-Sixties/dp/0767926889/ref=pd_sim_b_3/181-7152492-3180319
Chronicles Vol. 1
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Bob-Dylan/dp/0743244583/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Yep! It's part of a little series of books for kids that are based off his songs. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1454915765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7lLwDbCA5E8QZ

Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness--Modern History from the Sports Desk https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684873192/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YP1QCb458FSGX

Nothing's Bad Luck: The Lives of Warren Zevon https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306921480/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7GHgDb780D1JP

This is the one I listened to on Audible.