Thanks for that useful and interesting list. I myself would recommend That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound, by Daryl Sanders. This is an exhaustively detailed account of the Blonde on Blonde sessions, garnered from the studio logs, the outtakes and interviews with the session musicians. It is utterly absorbing because it evokes with great detail how Dylan wrote and recorded those epic tracks. What is startling is the speed at which he worked, a seemingly endless torrent of words and music spilling forth and being expertly set to music just as quickly, often in one night, by the musicians. The title is Dylan's phrase for the sound he sought, and it is illustrated perfectly in the quicksilver transformations of the basic material into what are now classics of words and music. No wonder he burnt out shortly after, but here is a portrait of an artist at the peak of his powers, effortlessly composing in the heat of the moment, even as the songs were being recorded and reworked. You can almost feel what it must have been like to be there.
Thanks for that useful and interesting list. I myself would recommend That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound, by Daryl Sanders. This is an exhaustively detailed account of the Blonde on Blonde sessions, garnered from the studio logs, the outtakes and interviews with the session musicians. It is utterly absorbing because it evokes with great detail how Dylan wrote and recorded those epic tracks. What is startling is the speed at which he worked, a seemingly endless torrent of words and music spilling forth and being expertly set to music just as quickly, often in one night, by the musicians. The title is Dylan's phrase for the sound he sought, and it is illustrated perfectly in the quicksilver transformations of the basic material into what are now classics of words and music. No wonder he burnt out shortly after, but here is a portrait of an artist at the peak of his powers, effortlessly composing in the heat of the moment, even as the songs were being recorded and reworked. You can almost feel what it must have been like to be there.
Many thanks for your recommendation. I’ll be re-reading my copy with your comments in mind.