Most of you will I'm sure have read Andy Gill in one or other of the many music journals for which he has written over the years He is Currently rock critic for 'The Independent' as well as a regular contributor to 'Mojo, ''Q' and NME

'Classic Bob Dylan" tracks from his eponymous 1962 debut album through to the close of that magical decade and "Nashville Skyline.' That's ten albums and ten chapters, "The Basement Tapes' is placed in the time period that the songs were written not at their final release date some eight years later I like the 'angle' from which Gill 'attacks' his subject, focusing on the historical events, political forces, and literary influences at work at the time Dylan wrote the songs in question.

Also used in the preparation of this text, are extracts from interviews conducted by Gill with. Joan Baize, Robbie Robertson, Al Kooper, Don (sic) Pennebake and 'Highway 61...' drummer Sam Lay Though from what I can see none of these interviews are contemporary with the writing of the book

While this song-by-song analysis has much to offer the committed Dylan fanatic its primary aim would seem to be a couple of divisions down The author reveals his proposed target audience in the books foreword: "This book is basically to help people like James " Gill then describes the James' of the world

Andy Gill:

"Dylan's progress through that decade (1960s), is a trail which constituted the primary motor for my own development, as if did for so many others; yet to a younger generation his position grows progressively less clear. more vague and blurred - possibly because of his constant creative flex, but also. I think, simply as a result of the accelerating erosion of knowledge which accompany our supposed "information society A case in point in a weekly British music paper recently. the guitarist with a highly successful American post- grunge rode band we'll call him James - cited Dylan's 7he Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll as one of his favorite songs. Fine, except that he erroneously claimed it was a fictional story - and one which. furthermore was apparently issued on an album called 'Don't Look Back'

This 144-pages hardback features over 90 photographs some in colour, though less than a third of the pics are actually of Dylan. Published by 'Carlton' and priced at £14.99 Available on mail order from My Back Pages, See their advertisement in the back pages of this ISIS