Chronicles - Vol. 1

I borrowed Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One from my local library the other day, and it's a fascinating read. It's refreshing to read about Dylan's life from his own perspective, having read so much that's been written about him by others. Cutting through different periods of his life, he uses details of his everyday reality to paint a compelling picture of his own experience. The feeling is real, rather than adding to the mythology, and not overly sentimental. The insight into his own struggles with creativity, those times when inspiration didn't come easily, are particularly interesting.

"Then, from out of nowhere in the midst of it all, came "Where Teardrops Fall." It was just a three-minute ballad, but it made you stand straight up and stay right where you were. It's like someone had pulled the cord to stop the train."