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Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track Expanded Edition
£33.80£42.80 (-21%)
Bob Dylan: All the Songs focuses on Dylan’s creative process and his organic, unencumbered style of recording. It is the only book to tell the stories, many unfamiliar even to his most fervent fans, behind the more than 500 songs he has released over the span of his career. Organized chronologically by album, and updated to include all of his most recent work including the 2020 release of his 39th album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, Margotin and Guesdon detail the origins of his melodies and lyrics, his process in the recording studio, the instruments he used, and the contribution of a myriad of musicians and producers to his canon.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Black Dog & Leventhal, Expanded edition (3 Feb. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 736 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0762475730 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0762475735 |
| Dimensions | 21.84 x 6.35 x 27.81 cm |
by John David Charles Hilton
A fascinating and obsessively detailed look at all of Dylan’s songs, just like it says on the cover.
I like the writing style. There is little discussion of the songs’ meanings, but such discussion doesn’t tend to be very helpful since songs aren’t text books. They mean whatever the listener wants them to mean. There is plenty of discussion of how the songs and, more importantly the records, came into being and what has happened to them since and I found this all very interesting.
In many ways this is one of those books that makes most sense in electronic form. The hardback version looks very impressive, but it is too big and cumbersome to read properly and costs a lot of money.
by The Viscount
This is a review of ‘All The Songs’ by Margotin and Guesdon and is subtitled ‘The Story Behind Every Track’ and is not a book of Dylan’s lyrics to which reviews of this book sometimes seem to be attached in Amazon.
This book is a mighty tome – almost A4 format, 2.5 inches/ 6cm thick, running to around 700 pages. It covers every track on every one of Dylan’s 36 studio albums from ‘Bob Dylan’ to ‘Shadows in the Night’. There is one chapter per album. Each starts with a description of the album, the context of Dylans’ life in which it was made, how, where and when it was recorded, details of the recording equipment used (especially on the earlier albums), the specific instruments played by Dylan (where known) interesting biogs of the producers, their relationship with Dylan, description of all the artwork on the album cover and sleeves. In all but a few cases, the album artwork itself is not reproduced, but the book is well illustrated with many photos of Dylan and the numerous other musicians he worked with, often taken in recording studios. There then follows a section on each track on the album, giving some context to world events, events in Dylan’s life and relationships that were relevant at the time and notes on the production itself. Except for occasional snippets, the lyrics themselves are not reproduced. In addition, there are occasional call outs boxes for ‘Dyalanologists’ containing a short paragraph with additional details, some of which are more relevant than others, boxes titled ‘In your headphones’ with comments such as ‘ A noise in the studio can be heard at 2.10’ The most interesting of these points out that the sound of Dylan’s jacket sleeve buttons can be heard repeatedly clicking against his guitar, most notably in sessions for Blood on the Tracks. As well as all the tracks recorded for each album, those tracks that were not eventually used on the album but which can be heard on the many ‘Bootleg’ albums are also described.
For me, having come to Dylan relatively late in both our lives, this book is a revelation. I had not been enthused by much of his earliest works, but reading about each track as I listened to them, opened up a whole new dimension to me, and understanding the context of the times and Dylan’s life has increased my appreciation exponentially!
What do we learn of Dylan himself form this book? Clearly, a towering genius poet and musician who has been pretty much at the top of his game for more than 50 years. In fact, and especially, considering that his singing voice isn’t his strongest attribute, the longevity of his success is all the more remarkable.
As a person? Well, to me, it seems he may not be the most approachable of individuals. He appears not to have formed many really long-term musical relationships – numerous musicians and producers have come and gone. To be fair, he has outlived many of them! Also, I get the impression he is not that approachable even to people working closely with him at the time. He didn’t join the tribute ‘Concert for George’ in 2002 which, on the surface, seems unforgivable. The oft quoted occasion where he kept his musicians waiting for 10 hours until 4am whilst he completed the lyrics to ‘Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands’ and than failed to disclose to them the number of verses before they started recording is indicative to me of his distance.
Back to the book – if you’re interested in gaining more understanding of his work, get this book. Don’t forget to strengthen your bookshelf first!
by Phillip Bissell
Way back in the 60’s when I was at a perfect age to listen to Dylan, for some reason I didn’t. It obviously wasn’t the right time….I had another go when I was a teacher and my friend, Mike, ushered me into the misty realms of His Bobness….I got part way there, but it seemed not to be the right time either ……..but it is definitely the right time now! After an epiphanaic ( is that a word?!) hearing of ‘Visions of Johanna’ ( which I knew well but hadn’t ‘heard’ ) and watching the Martin Scorsese film about Dylan ‘ No Way Home ‘, I plunged in and bought the Dylan complete cd set Vol 1 from Amazon and became totally engrossed and enthralled by the absolute genius of the man and his music……a real Picasso of the music world, changing directions, changing styles, provoking both critics and lovers of his music, refusing to be pigeonholed…all the elements of a GREAT artist! I just can’t get enough of him now…and providentially, along comes this book and it and I am ecstatic!….The nerd in me that wants to know stories behind the songs, which guitars used, dates, producers, players and a zillion other things….this book WAS made in heaven. If you like Dylan, this is essential…beautifully put together with masses of information and
photos…and it’s so easy to navigate, everything being in chronological order…..It is a total joy to own and either dip into or use alongside the journey as you listen to each album in turn…..don’t hesitate….and one more thing…..thanks, Mike, wherever you are, for planting the seeds
that have sprouted so abundantly and fruitfully!
by oxcambloom
If you are a Dylan fan you should get one. I don’t know how I live so far without it…Our heroes are getting old (so are we)… maybe now is the right time to buy such stuff.