Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153608 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
4 stars '...Griffin tells a thorough, entertaining tale in a style thats part conversation, part journalism, part heroically detailed linernote.' Mojo, December 2007 --Mojo, December 2007

3 out of 5 stars '…Sid Griffin points the way forward for future authors… Griffin examines the story in admirably forensic detail, which should leave hardened devotees more than satisfied.' Q, December 2007 --Q, December 2007

'...Griffins informality is light years away from the high-falutin , impressed-with-themselves style that many Dylan scholars feel compelled to use in order to get their point home. As such, he captures the relaxed nature of the Dylan-Band recordings made at Big Pink... As a look into what Griffin posits as Dylans most creative year, its invaluable.' Record Collector, December 2007 --Record Collector, December 2007

Synopsis
Documents the story behind Dylan's seminal "basement tapes" of revered and misunderstood works made during casual sessions while he was out of touch in the summer of 1967, in an account that analyzes the artist's fascination with electric music, the personalities who contributed to their creations, and their subsequent influence on a resulting Amer

Customer Reviews

Some new information, at least to me
As a somewhat obsessive researcher of written information and comments on the Band, I am familiar with a lot of the sources Sid Griffin used for this book. However, he does seem to have managed to get new talk about what went on in the basement - there is considerable information about the recording process Garth Hudson used and comments from experienced recording engineers about what was done. There are also some detailed notes, sometimes speculative, about who played what when, and who sang various backup vocals. I appreciate having this from skilled musician ears rather than my own guesses.

This book complements Greil Marcus's work on the topic. Marcus usually focuses on the history of Dylan's possible sources; Griffin concentrates on Dylan's results, and what went down on tape. One hopes that readers of this book have managed to track down some of the more recent bootlegs of the Basement Tapes; otherwise the book will only cause sadness and frustration.

At last, we're allowed into the Basement...
At last we have the fullest possible guidebook to the legendary Basement Tapes. Griffin shines an often witty light on who sang and played what in the Basement of Big Pink, West Saugerties, NY 1967-68.

This is a fascinating book for Dylan fans (BobCats), Band fans (we're BandHeads) and all music-lovers curious to learn more about this wonderful episode in rock history.

If you have any of the music but feel hindered from listening further through 'mixed-up confusion', you can now make sense of these often chaotic pieces with help from Sid Griffin's detailed notes. The music becomes more enjoyable and more remarkable. We learn that the musicians (soon to be known as The Band) were so much more than just Dylan's back-up guys. And as The Band, they were one of the greatest groups ever.

Thanks to Sid Griffin, for a wonderful book. All music-lovers: Enjoy!

All you need to know
Sid Griffin,founder of the Long Riders and later Coal Porters,has written a book about a mysterious area of Dylan music and it seems to be pretty complete.
After all since the rumors began in 1967 which were more to do with a motorbike accident these recordings have filtered in slowly to the U K.And though theres now a double album called The Basement Tapes we learn that there were over 200 songs,many unfinished,but you can see on the horizon the possibilities of another Bootleg Series.
In fact the first ever recordings from these sessions wafted their way to the collector on the first ever bootleg The Great White Wonder.
Meanwhile many of the songs were covered in the U K by Manfred Mann,the Brian Augur Trinity and an entire album by Coulson Dean McGuiness Flint .
Manfred Mann,named by Dylan as the best interpreters,were being sent demos from the States such as The Mighty Quinn.
Today its matter of fact