Went to a Dylan concert a couple of weeks ago. Loved it. This book will appeal to his fans, if not others. I loved it. ( )

The Ballad of Bob Dylan by Daniel Mark Epstein

If I could give this book 6 stars I would!

This is a totally engrossing, personal and intimate recounting of Dylan’s career and life.

Told through the eyes of the author, his own reaction and relationship to Dylan’s career form 1963 to 2009. Epstein tracks Dylan’s life in music and his more private moments. Drawing on his own knowledge of music and how Dylan affected his own life and how Epstein shared this love with his sister and son.

Bob Dylan is the poet of our lifetime and much, much more. We learn about him as father, a grandfather, a painter, bandleader, radio dj, recluse and philosopher. Humble and great all at once this book captures so many aspects of Dylan from his childhood beginnings to his performances with the Never Ending Tour Band with whom he has continuously toured since 1997.

Epstein uses 4 concerts as touch stones through which he describes the arc of Dylan’s career and life. From the 1963 Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC, 1974 Madison Square Garden (after having disappeared for several years) to Tanglewood in 1997 accompanied by his son to Aberdeen MD when he chooses to go alone Epstein shares his own perspective. In addition the exhaustive research through a wealth of source materials Epstein has offered us a unique and thorough summation of Dylan at this stage of his life.

Dylan’s inspirations from Woody Guthrie to Allen Ginsberg, Dave Von Ronk, Muddy Waters, Jerry Garcia and Norman Raeben (his painting teacher and the son of the great Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem) the depth and sources of his art is appreciated anew.

As he enters his 8th decade Dylan is still vibrant and miraculous. Knowing that an end is in site for his Never Ending tour: when a listener to his Theme Time Radio Hour calls in and says that Dylan can never stop playing Dylan responds: “well, you gotta get over that or else everything else in your life will be half finished”. Bob Dylan is aware of his own mortality as he juggles his time dedicated to his family, music and art, he is the greatest!

Nora Guthrie, daughter of Dylan’s artistic father (Woody) says it all: “there are people who have brought a new spirit to the world. They’ve really added a spiritual spice to the mix that changes everybody. Even if you don’t know it you’ve been affected by these people; their essence trickles through the culture… [after he dies] once that flow stops that’s when you’ll realize that there’s not that energy that’s going to write those songs anymore…but once that energy stops, then you’ll realize what you had in the time you had it”.

If you love Bob Dylan, and he has changed your life this is a book you must read. ( )

This is a unique take on a biography. Daniel Mark Epstein's obvious adoration for Bob Dylan is reflected in his writing. We see Dylan through the eyes of a fan, rather than a true biographer. Epstein begins with his first Dylan concert in 1963 and ends with the last concert he attended in 2009. For me, the intense focus on the four concerts the author attended was too much. Each song in the set lists was broken down for us, right down to the key Dylan played in. What I did learn was that Epstein must have taken and kept copious notes of his concert experiences.

That being said, there were some great nuggets of information within these pages. We're given a glimpse of Dylan in a way that his other biographies do not show us. This is a perfect book for the hardcore Dylan fan. Others might want to start with a more general biography. ( )

The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait
Daniel Mark Epstein
On Sale: May 3rd, 2011
Trade Paperback
Amazon Vine Program ARC – Uncorrected Proof

You might ask why we need another biography of one of the most iconic songwriters and lyricists of our time. And you’d be within your right to ask it. After all, there are currently dozens of well-written books already published about (some even by) Bob Dylan. Here’s the short answer as to why I feel this one is necessary - should, in fact, be near the top of the list. Simply put, I found The Ballad of Bob Dylan (A Portrait) unlike most personal accounts of Dylan’s life because it is written not by a commentator per se but by an obvious fan of both Dylan and the folk genre in general. Whereas a biographer researches and collects the most important facts of a subject’s life and delivers what he’s found Mr. Epstein takes that concept twenty steps further. He disseminates four important concerts and reports back to us as if he were Elizabeth Barrett Browning writing, “… let me count the ways…” He takes us back stage behind the scenes and revisits the honky-tonks and dives of the 60’s and 70’s forging a nostalgia that even the youngest reader will appreciate. He interviews many of the most influential stars that have ever practiced the art of folk music and writes with such intuitive attention to detail that you can feel the historic longing of those he’s consulted. Most importantly, Daniel Mark Epstein knows and loves his subject matter.

This book is divided by four significant concerts from various stages of Dylan’s career spanning more than forty-five years - all of which Epstein attended. The first, held at the small venue of the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on December 14th, 1963 was Epstein’s first Dylan concert. He was thirteen years old. The second, Dylan’s (with The Band) Madison Square Garden appearance on January 31st, 1974, was, by all accounts, a cultural phenomenon. In some cases the U.S. Post Office had to set up extra mailboxes for ticket orders in many major cities. Over five million paid mail orders were reportedly sent in for the 650,000 tickets available over the course of the tour, making them the most in-demand ticket in the history of rock music. The third concert, part of “The Never- Ending Tour,” was held at the Tanglewood Music Shed, Lenox, Massachusetts on August 4th, 1997 with special guest Ani DiFranco. The fourth concert was held at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland on July 24th, 2009. Special guest stars were Willie Nelson and John Mellancamp. Through these rare live experiences the author delivers a song by song and decade to decade analysis of Dylan’s live shows and on-stage behavior. Epstein’s familiarity with Bob Dylan, the music, the lyrics, and the core personalities who performed them is glaringly evident. This author is no poser. Epstein really knows his folk history!

Along with the concert attendance and resulting personal notes the biography is built on comprehensive examination of the roots of folk music and its lyrics, a lifelong study of the subject, and personal interviews with a wide range of legendary folk notables including: Eric Andersen (folk celebrity and Dylan contemporary), Tom Paxton (legendary folk singer/songwriter), Nora Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s daughter), Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (noted American folk singer), Pete Seeger (iconic folk musician and storyteller), Maria Muldaur (folk-blues singer), and John P. Hammond (blues singer/guitarist).

Interestingly enough the only real flaw I could find with the book actually occurs on the front cover. Mr. Epstein sub-titled this biography “A Portrait.” As you know a portrait can be interpreted as simply a snapshot, static image, or vision frozen in time. The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait, on the other hand, is far from singular. It does not focus on a single event or a stationary moment but envelops many of the most important moments in the life of one of the most influential song-writers the world has ever seen. The Ballad of Bob Dylan is, in short, a fluid, brilliant, and astute portrayal of one of the most prolific and significant artists of our time and well worth the price of admission.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin ( )