Houston Press: Bob Dylan Memories Unearthed—More Than 50 Years Later

The life and music of the now 80-year-old Bob Dylan has been analyzed, dissected, dug into, debated, argued about and postulated on perhaps more than any other musical artist. But what The Dylan Tapes has that most of them don’t are the raw and then-relatively recent thoughts and memories of those where there, and early on in the journey.

The raw material and interviews behind Anthony Scaduto’s iconic biography of Bob Dylan draw an intimate and multifaceted portrait of the singer-songwriter who defined his era

Just before Scaduto passed in 2017, he surprisingly unearthed some 36 hours of his original taped interviews for the book, found in the basement of the home he shared with longtime wife, Stephanie Trudeau. She edits this work of those collected and transcribed talks, The Dylan Tapes: Friends, Players, and Lovers Talkin’ Early Bob Dylan.

These full-length transcripts are extra manna and include many things which didn’t make it to the book. And true to the title, elicit memories, stories and opinions from names familiar to the Dylanologist.

Because Scaduto conducted many of these interviews in the same time period while working on the book, he often asks the same questions of each subject. But rather than be boring and repetitive, there’s sort of a Rashômon effect in that each person adds a different piece of the story. And they don’t always agree.

The life and music of the now 80-year-old Bob Dylan has been analyzed, dissected, dug into, debated, argued about and postulated on perhaps more than any other musical artist. But what The Dylan Tapes has that most of them don’t are the raw and then-relatively recent thoughts and memories of those where there, and early on in the journey.

Full review at Houston Press.