Chronicles: Volume One

A fascinating, frustrating book. Dylan in his own words is unlike any “rock” autobiography you've read. Split into five long chapters, this superbly written book opens with the young Dylan playing his songs for Lou Levy at Leeds Music Publishing, after an introduction by John Hammond, who had just signed him to Columbia. From there we get the story of how the fledgling would-be folk singer arrived in New York City from Minnesota and began building the Dylan persona.

At this point Dylan is a sponge, soaking up atmosphere, songs, people and places. He introduces us to the denizens of The Village and the folk scene - such as Dave Van Ronk - and others who would influence and mould this young man. So the first couple of chapters set the scene. Dylan gets gigs, a repertoire, finds his way, his place in the world, and who he wants to be. It is vividly drawn stuff because its Dylan and he's a bloody good writer. You get the sense of a black and white New York in the early sixties where the times truly are a-changin'. Characters drift in and out of the narrative, each one a piece in the Dylan puzzle. He leaves us at the end of chapter two on the brink of the breakthrough, the epiphany that would make him “Bob Dylan”.

So the next couple of chapters come as something of a shock. Leaping forward to the early 70's we find a Dylan ground down by fame and expectation. World weary and wary, he's lost all faith in his ability and seemingly makes records because that's what he's expected to do. His heart isn't really in it, because the world want “Bob Dylan, Voice of a Generation” and he can't or won't give them that any more. So we get the story of the recording of New Morning (as well as his attempts to write songs for a play), a middling effort hailed at the time as a “return to form”, amidst being hounded by fans and fanatics. It's a bleak chapter about a man who no longer believes in what he's doing, but can't do much else.

Next is another time jump to the late 80's and New Orleans where he records another “return to form” album, Oh Mercy, with producer Daniel Lanois. At this point Dylan is trying to kick-start his muse, trying new ways of singing, arranging, performing. He still seems unsure of himself a decade and a half later, not knowing where the songs come from, or when, or even if they are any good when they do. It is fascinating that Dylan has chosen to highlight two fairly average albums and two periods of artistic crisis. He may have been expected to focus on the triumphs, and there were many - Freewheelin', Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blond on Blonde, Nashville Skyline, Blood on the Tracks - and I'm sure its what many fans wanted, but Dylan is never one to “give them what they want”.

The last chapter return us to his early days as he signs to Columbia and refines his persona and craft, hearing Robert Johnson for the first time, Joan Baez, seeing a Bertholt Brecht play that opens his mind to the way lyrics can be obtuse, obscure and yet revealing. Here is where he sets himself to head into the storm that would be the sixties.

It is a superb read, revealing and honest.....and yet, and yet.... does Dylan embroider the edges a little? Is everything here true, did it happen? A bike ride from New Orleans is full of strange places and characters, like he's travelling inside one of his own songs. I don't know. We'll never know, because Dylan is Dylan and the only one who knows for sure, is Dylan.

This is Volume One. No sign of Volume Two yet. Perhaps there never will be. Be grateful we got this one. Highly recommended.

বইটা বেশ চমৎকার, সুখপাঠ্য। অন্য দুনিয়ায় ঢুকে গেলাম। ডিলানের একরকম সরলতা আছে, লেখায় তা আপনিই প্রকাশ পায়।

বইটার শুরু কলোম্বিয়ায় তাঁর প্রথম রেকর্ড বেরনো থেকে। কাহিনী বলতে বলতে আবার সেখানেই এসে পৌঁছেছেন। অনেক গল্প, অনেক টানাপোড়েন, বোঝাপড়ার, অনেক মানুষের গল্প হয়ে গেলো মাঝে। লোকটার বিস্মিত হওয়ার ক্ষমতা আমার ভালো লেগেছে, এবং সেটা ফুটিয়েও তুলতে পেরেছেন। “হঠাৎ আলোর ঝলকানি লেগে ঝলমল করে চিত্ত”-রকমের ব্যাপার আরকি। যেখান থেকে যা নিয়েছেন ও দিয়েছেন যেখানে, যা ভালোবেসেছেন ও ঘৃণা করেছেন তা অকপটে বলেছেন। দুটি জায়গা ক্যোট করি, একটি গান নিয়ে, অবশ্য প্রায় সব আর্ট ফর্মেই কথাগুলো খাটে:

“I'm not that good at math, but I do know that the universe is formed with mathematical principles whether I understand them or not, and I was going to let that guide me.”

পরেরটাও গান নিয়েই, আবার তাঁর দর্শন নিয়েও বটে:

“I felt right at home in this mythical realm made up not with individuals so much as archetypes, vividly drawn archetypes of humanity, metaphysical in shape, each rugged soul filled with natural knowing and inner wisdom. Each demanding a degree of respect. I could believe in the full spectrum of it and sing about it. It was so real, so more true to life than life itself.”