The Dylan tapes Friends, players, and lovers talking early Bob Dylan

An extended, illuminating footnote to the author's classic 1971 biography. Scaduto's Bob Dylan is considered one of the best biographies of the iconic singer/songwriter. Thanks to Trudeau, Scaduto's wife, 24 interviews the author conducted with key people in Dylan's life have been literally resurrected from a basement. Collectively, they provide a road map to the birth and development of Dylan's quixotic career--and Scaduto's book. Echo Helstrom, a high school girlfriend who believes she was the inspiration for "Girl From the North Country," provides an early picture of Dylan singing and playing guitar on a street corner in the fall and reading John Steinbeck. Gretel Hoffman, a friend from the Minneapolis days, recalls watching Bob "build the myth, the legend of himself…very consciously, very deliberately." Thanks to David Whitaker, who lived down the street, Dylan got hooked on Woody Guthrie, and Mike Porco talks about him singing Guthrie songs and "Blowin' in the Wind" in his New York City club. Musician Dave Van Ronk tells Scaduto that Dylan wanted to be a superstar--until he didn't. The author also interviewed the Clancy Brothers; Phil Ochs, to whom Dylan tried out a "new" song, "Mr. Tambourine Man"; and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, who didn't share Dylan's affinity for Hank Williams. It's not all sweetness and light. Some people are cranky and critical, including Suze Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend who appeared on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The esteemed record producer John Hammond Sr. fesses up--"he didn't play the greatest guitar, but so what?" The Joan Baez interview from 1970 is a veritable gold mine of Dylan lore. Finally, Scaduto struck pay dirt when Dylan agreed to a wide-ranging, amiable interview. He read the manuscript and told him, "I like the book. That's the weird thing about it." These insightful interviews are like pieces to a puzzle that the author ably wove together. For Dylan fans, it's like revisiting an old friend. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.