Rating: 
Summary: An extremely irritating biographical voice!
Review: A.S. Byatt has commented on the near-impossible task of maintaining objectivity in any biography: at some points, the facts are vague, holes appear, and the biographer must resort to subjective speculation in order to continue the story. There is a lot of truth to Byatt's observation, but there is still a difference between a biographer's subjectivity and his or her overt bias. Is Clinton Heylin's updating of BOB DYLAN: BEHIND THE SHADES a good Dylan biography? Yes, in as much as any biography of Dylan can be called definitive. The book is an interesting, engaging account of the artist, and, at times, Heylin's respect for, even adoration of his subject is quite evident. If you want a "warts-and-all" rendering of Dylan's life and art, BEHIND THE SHADES is as good a place to start as any (after the music, of course). The principal weakness of BEHIND THE SHADES is Heylin's own irritating, grating biographical voice, full of personal bias. He condemns outright certain stages of Dylan's art (he is obviously a fan of the "electric Dylan" more than the "folk singer Dylan) and tries to portray him as an artist while showing little, if any, sympathy for the time when the Muse was absent. Heylin might as well criticize Matisse for cutting up paper. A biographer is entitled to his or her interpretation of the life of the subject, but Heylin preaches his own musical tastes to the point of distraction. A prime example of his bias is the way in which he completely dismisses the Grateful Dead, denying the band its place in musical history and in Dylan's life. He "suggests" that Dylan did a series of shows with the Dead in 1987 only as revenge for the Dead playing several of his songs in their own concerts over the years. In commenting on Jerry Garcia's death, Heylin describes Garcia as a man "with a previously sharp mind that had shown as little self-discipline in [his] personal habits as in [his] music making." Heylin then proceeds to note the effect Garcia's death had on Dylan and to quote Dylan's "heart-rending statement" he gave to the press about Garcia. Well, in a biography of Bob Dylan, whose reaction to Garcia's death is more relevant, Heylin's or Dylan's? Yet Heylin is constantly injecting his own biased, half-baked musings into the mix, sounding much like the "brat" he accuses Dylan of being in the 80s and 90s, jumping up and down like a three year-old crying to be noticed. His comments are like massive pot-holes in an otherwise smooth surface. Clinton Heylin, I don't care what you think. Stick to your subject. Heylin often alludes, with glowing praise, to Paul Williams' PERFORMING ARTIST books on Dylan, and he seems to want to imitate Williams' style. He just doesn't make it. If you can stomach Heylin's interruptions, give this book a shot. Me, I'm off to see how the other Dylan biography does.
Rating: 
Summary: JUST LIKE A BIO
Review: Best book about Dylan. Gossipy and wise at the same time. Stuck Inside of Bobby with the Dylan Blues Again. Go get it even if you read the first version.
Rating: 
Summary: Just can't get it right
Review: Clinton Heylin's book is filled with misinformation, inaccurate quotes and pirated material. In fact, he and his publisher are being sued by one of the "many" girlfriends he quotes from throughout for using her copywritten proposal and manuscript in his own book without permission. He even uses the errors in her proposal (i.e., Narette is his daughter), as being true without checking facts. He is also a terrible writer and the editing was awful.
Rating:
Summary: A Balanced Account of Dylan's Life and Artistry
Review: Clinton Heylin's empirical approach to examining Bob Dylan's career is refreshing in the world of libelous, trash rock biography.Rather than throwing out lofty, outrageous statements--like Bob Spitz in his 1989 "Dylan" biography--Heylin lets his sources do the talking. The bulk of "Behind the Shades" relies on first-hand accounts from those close to Dylan, with their names accentuated in bold print. This not only reads well, but at the very least, presents an illusion of credibility to Heylin. Sure, Heylin has an agenda. His preference of Dylan's outtakes and bootlegs, versus his commercially released recordings, can be frustrating (see Heylin's "The Recording Sessions"). But such shortcomings are forgiveable, considering Heylin's appreciation of Dylan's artistry. And although the... price tag might be pretty steep, this is a luxury item that no Dylanologist should be without.
Rating: 
Summary: Cold and condescending. What about the music?
Review: Clinton Heylin's original Behind the Shades was probably the best biography of Bob Dylan, at least until this updated (and apparently much rewritten) volume was released. What makes Heylin so good at documenting the ups and downs of Dylan the man and the artist is that Heylin is a fan--a diehard, intelligent and knowledgeable fan, who treats Dylan seriously as an artist. What makes Heylin even better is he never fawns over his subject. He may very well be Dylan's harshest critic, one who doesn't hesitate to label some highly regarded Dylan performances as junk or to suggest that Dylan found more inspiration in the bottle during the 1980s than he did in his work. The fact that Heylin deals with that often neglected decade in Dylan's career at all makes this a treat. Whereas most biographers give us exhaustive accounts of Dylan in the 1960s and skip over the 80s, Heylin follows the music through the highs (Shot of Love) and lows (Knocked Out Loaded) of that period.
Rating:
Summary: Best Dylan bio to date
Review: Clinton Heylin's original Behind the Shades was probably the best biography of Bob Dylan, at least until this updated (and apparently much rewritten) volume was released. What makes Heylin so good at documenting the ups and downs of Dylan the man and the artist is that Heylin is a fan--a diehard, intelligent and knowledgeable fan, who treats Dylan seriously as an artist. What makes Heylin even better is he never fawns over his subject. He may very well be Dylan's harshest critic, one who doesn't hesitate to label some highly regarded Dylan performances as junk or to suggest that Dylan found more inspiration in the bottle during the 1980s than he did in his work. The fact that Heylin deals with that often neglected decade in Dylan's career at all makes this a treat. Whereas most biographers give us exhaustive accounts of Dylan in the 1960s and skip over the 80s, Heylin follows the music through the highs (Shot of Love) and lows (Knocked Out Loaded) of that period.
Rating:
Summary: Thus far, the definitive biography
Review: Clinton Heylin's revised edition of Behind the Shades is, at this point, the definitive Dylan biography, and is not likely to be surpassed anytime soon. In spite of it's comparative neglect in relation to Sounes' Down the Highway (published almost simultaneously, to coincide with Dylan's 60th birthday), Heylin's book is a more informative and rewarding book. In tone, Heylin's writing is not as journalistic as Sounes', and more judgmental of Dylan as artist and musician. It draws heavily on interview material with associates and friends of Dylan's, and is significant in giving detailed attention to Dylan's career in the 80's and 90's, which is necessary for anyone seeking to understand Dylan's recent critical resurgence. Based on his knowledge as the world's pre-eminent Dylan scholar, Heylin gives extensive commentary on Dylan's albums and their recording, a process he has given even greater attention to in his companion book Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions (1994). This is one of the major differences between Heylin's book and Sounes'. Sounes does not focus so much on Dylan as a musician or even Dylan as a lyricist. Sounes' biography is more, well, biographical, providing tons of anecdotal accounts of Dylan's life and travels, while missing the point - Dylan matters because of his music and his lyrics above all else. His life, so cloaked in mystery and seclusion, is a mystery, and will remain so. A recording artist is ultimately most communicative through their recordings - through what they are, what they're not, and how they are presented to the artist's audience. Sounes attempts to fill in the mystery of Dylan's life, which is ultimately an impossible task, at the expense of communicating any real understanding of his music. Heylin's biography is also superior in that it draws on an extensive knowledge of Dylan's unreleased recordings. When dealing with a subject whose own officially released canon is so often poorly representative of his recording career, Heylin's knowledge is wide-ranging and intensely critical. An informed and considered discussion of Dylan's unreleased recordings, which are in many cases superior to those he has chosen to issue, is especially important when examining Dylan's 1980's output, a series of albums sometimes marred primarily by the choices of which songs and takes of songs to include on the released albums. Sounes barely acknowledges the existence of important unreleased recordings, and that diminishes the importance of his biography considerably. Sounes' one trump over Heylin's biography is the much-publicized revelation of Dylan's second marriage. How important this biographical detail is to understanding or appreciating Dylan's music, however, is very debatable. If you are looking for an easily-readable, readily-digestable account of Dylan's life with little detailed discussion of his music, go for the Sounes bio. Otherwise, Heylin's Behind the Shades, especially in its new revised edition, is the real deal and is the preeminant Dylan bio. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The One to Buy
Review: Dylan hit 60 and the publishing world reaped a bonanza, but of the recent spate of biographies this "revisited" ten year old version is the best of the batch. Clinton Heylin has an artist's feeling for the life of art, and he finds in Dylan an anti-Humpty Dumpty with the incredible ability of falling apart and putting himself back together again and again. By his own admission Mr. Heylin picks up where Robert Shelton leaves off, that is, with Dylans middle years and into the present. There isn't much left to write about Dylan's entry into stardom, and the dregs of those years have been revealed in the tabloid pap of David Hajdu's "Positively 4th Street..." In truth there isn't that much I want to know about Dylan's private life, and the dregs of this troubled man's relationships are revealed in the tabloid pap of Howard Sounes's "Down the Highway." What Mr. Heylin gives us is a well researched, amply documented biography of Dylan the artist - warts and all, but without the sensationalism of the previously mentioned attempts. Bob Dylan is the archetype of the troubled genius who has reached his senior years as a person and an artist with integrity and skills intact. In a 40 year career Dylan has made plenty of choices: good, bad, ugly, and awesome. Hajdu and Sounes trample over Dylan's soul, Mr. Heylin explores his creative heart.
Rating:
Summary: Elusive Bob
Review: Enigma Bob would be a difficult subject for any biographer. Unfortunatley, Clinton Heylin's biographical answer to decades of Dylan myths, exagerations and lies is a pedantic pinning down of mostly inconsequential facts. In this too-long book, readers learn who said and played what on which tour or studio session.
Heylin takes great delight at quoting eye-wittnesses who have mistakenly misrecalled a factlet and correcting them. But all this 'for the record' documentation is tedious, and, more imporantley, besides the point.
I'm interested in Dylan because his records are a warped mirror of his personality and America -- even long after his protest song phase ended.
Heylin forsakes this larger picture for a telescopic view of Dylan. Heylin's Dylan is only motivated to write by his latest relationship. Missing is a biographical assesment of Dylan's musical progress and how it relates to both himself and society.
Details of his personal life aren't wanting -- but except for the most egregious examples of Sara-era lyrics, the big mysteries of Dylan's inspiration are not addressed.
Rating:
Summary: Biography of Bob Dylan
Review: Excellent biography. Covers into the 1990's. Heylin is objective, and a fan. Covers the artist's life with a focus on the music. Includes an excellent chronology of the recording sessions that produced the songs.
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