For those that want all that additional material – well, there is still the 2011 edition. As Thomson points out, the awarding of the Nobel prize has pretty much put that argument to bed. Also left out are Shelton’s album by album commentaries and his arguments for Dylan to be seen not just as a singer of astonishing songs but also as a poet. This current edition is based on that fuller text, but is an abridged version – leaving out much of the background material of Dylan as a Student and also the scene-setting of the cultural background of Woodstock as well as side-tracks taking in Dylan’s contemporaries. That edition restored much of Shelton’s text, as well as reshaping and updating the book to be in line with Shelton’s original concept of the volume. This edition has been edited by Elizabeth Thomson, a friend of Shelton’s for the last 15 years of his life, and who was also responsible for the 2011 re-issue of No Direction Home. An oversized hardback, weighing in at almost 3 and a half pounds, it’s a book that is certainly not hiding its light under a bushel. This re-issued version of Robert Shelton’s classic insight into what makes Dylan tick has one obvious difference to previous editions: it’s big.
Never judge a book by its cover – but in this case that is going to be the first thing that becomes apparent to the reader. A new re-issue of the classic Dylan biography as he nears his 80th birthday.
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