Bob Dylan
Chronicles Volume One

The chronicles of Robert Allen Zimmerman , known as Bob Dylan, begin by narrating his first appearances on the folk scene of New York's Greenwich Village, the important meeting with Dave Van Ronk (a prominent figure in the environment), and above all the admiration that Bob had and still has for the maestro Woodie Guthrie, although in reality it's more of an obsession than just admiration.

The meticulousness with which he recounts the anecdotes of his life and career is so obsessive that it almost becomes boring at times, using technical language and mentioning many names that after a few pages we will have already forgotten. The purpose of the book, however, is not to make us learn all the names of the folk musicians he encountered but to reveal another side of Bob that few know. For example, the story of how in his early days at clubs, to earn some extra money, he not only had to be good at performing but also bring along a pretty girl who, by passing around a basket among the spectators, helped him gather a few more dollars compared to competitors. He often recounts times when he would go to friends' houses exclusively to listen to records of other folk musicians and draw inspiration and lessons, usually ending up listening to old Guthrie records, who, for Dylan, represents the "everything" in music to the point of considering himself the heir to the latter, as demonstrated by his own words: "One thing was certain, Woodie Guthrie had never seen nor heard of me, but it was as if he were saying—I'm leaving, but I'm leaving this work in your hands. I know I can count on you".

Naturally, he also talks about his relationship with his fans who, at the time he lived in Woodstock, believed him more to be a prophet than a musician and consequently besieged his house trying to persuade him to come out and lead them who knows where. Thus, did the press, and indeed,we know very wellthatthe person concerned has always had a tumultuous relationship with that part of hisworld,so tumultuous that it forced him to record a new album completely different from previous ones. Thus,he recorded "Nashville Skyline" which differed from the earlier ones by the sounds (more orientedtoward soft country), the voice of Bob, and less committed lyrics, but nevertheless, he still couldn’t distance himself from the label that was "stuck" to him against his will, that of a spokesman for his generation.

The book tells much more, from recording sessions to motorcycle escapes, from the difficulty of writing lyrics to his family life, from his passion for everything related to music to the particular episode of his yacht, thus spanning the many facets of Bob that perhaps not everyone was yet aware of.

The beauty of this autobiography is that it paints the legendary Bob Dylan as a "normal" man contrary to how one might imagine, and the reading is definitely recommended, keeping in mind that there are also boring and hard-to-digest pages, but overall I'd say it's a good work.

p.s. Fantastic are the last pages where he talks about Robert Johnson.