Bob Dylan: Watching the River Flow, Observations on His Art-In-Progress 1966 1995 - Hardcover

Williams, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0934558183 ISBN 13: 9780934558181

Publisher: Entwhistle Books

Synopsis

Spanning 30 years (1965-1995) this book contains the collected writings of Paul Williams, renowned Bob Dylan critic.

About this title

Reviews

Williams' title comes from a Bob Dylan song that also contains the line "Makes you wanna stop and read a book." Well, his book makes you wanna stop and play a song, maybe a whole stack of Dylan albums. Williams, author of two previous books on Dylan's career as a performer, here gathers pieces written as he watched the musician's career unfold. They were penned when the music was new and, since Williams is the founder of serious rock criticism, date all the way back to 1966 and Blonde on Blonde. In addition to expected praise for such acclaimed albums as Blood on the Tracks, the collection contains an earnest if unconvincing case for Dylan's much-maligned late-1970s gospel period and his neglected 1980s work, the product of a time when he devoted most of his energy to touring. Williams comes across less as a critic than as an unabashed fan, albeit an informed one, and his collected writings give impassioned testimony to the power of music. Gordon Flagg

Edition details

• Publisher: Entwhistle Books
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0934558183
• ISBN 13: 9780934558181
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256