Review: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan by Anthony Scaduto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this biography ends just after 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, Dylan's reluctant participation makes it probably about the best Dylan biography available. This covers his Minnesota roots, the impact of key relationships like Suze Rotolo, the relationship with Joan Baez, and the circling into his post-protest folk electric career from his roots as a Little Richard fan and general rocker. Ever the chameleon, this tells the story of a Woody Guthrie worshipper and imitator that dropped into the NYC Greenwich Village scene to dominate the protest folk movement only to walk away from feuling social change to become a pop icon. Much of Dylan's petulance and using of people puts feet of clay on the edifice, but the track-by-track notes on those classic early albums reminds us of what really matters.

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