On the Road with Bob Dylan

More about the tawdry life of reporter "Ratso" Sloman and his ongoing frustrations and desperate attempts to get access to the tour members (although he was invited along by Dylan himself) than about the bizarre tour, unscripted movie being filmed en route, and any meaningful interactions with any of the artists and personalities traveling along in the tour bus, "Phydeaux". A bit of a let down, but there probably wasn't much more that Sloman could do with what he had- except perhaps putting things in a more logical sequence, and stop dropping names of people on the staff and crew without ever mentioning beforehand who they were. It was pretty jerky writing. Constantly high on amphetamines, as he freely admits, this might have attributed show more to his often skewed sense of chronology and continuity.

I did enjoy the way he familiarly called Dylan "schmuck" whenever he met up with him, talked casually with him with no sense of awe or trace of sycophancy, and it was amusing when he taught Dylan to do a celebratory hand-slap- something Bob had never done before. He also got to meet Bob's mom, babysit his kids, and walk his beagle. We get a small glimpse of the human side of Dylan as well as the man as a myth. show less

Quirky story of Larry's adventures on the Rolling Thunder tour, filled with intimate details of Dylan and his co-stars, makes for a compulsive read