Bob Dylan: Watching the River Flow

by Paul Williams

A collection of Dylan-related essays by Paul Williams, a US editor and critic, opening with his 1966 review of Blonde on Blonde and closing with his observations about Dylan's 1995 tour with Patti Smith. The book traces Dylan's career development and includes a comprehensive discography.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0711955700
• ISBN13: 9780711955707
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Omnibus Press
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Leading Authority on Dylan's Music

I have enjoyed this book & the 2 others Paul Williams has written about Dylan's music & also the one he wrote on Neil Young's music. The "Performing Artist" volumes are more scholarly & well-thought-out (I'm still waiting anxiously for volume 3 in the series) but this book ( & the Young book) are written more from a fan's viewpoint. But a fan who really knows his subject. Williams can be rambling & eccentric at times but his enthusiasm for his subject's work is so infectious, you find yourself caught up in his thoughts & feelings. He definitely makes you want to run to your stereo & play Dylan's albums. And that is what the job of a good critic should be. He makes you even want to run & play albums that he doesn't like, just so you can see what he's talking about. He writes these essays in a very excited enthusiastic manner. He is someone who really listens & studies & tries to get everything out of a recording that you can possibly get. And he makes you want to do the same. He makes you want to look at all kinds of art the same way - to really spend time looking, listening, reading & watching. He tries to teach you how to truly appreciate art. That is a hard task in the time that we live in, where everything has to be consumed in a half hour. We treat art (movies, albums, books, etc.) in a very impatient, cynical manner - waiting to be entertained, instead of putting some effort into it, to truly get all that can be gotten out of it. He points out that to appreciate art in a deep & lasting way, we also have to put some effort into it - not just the person who created the art. We're part of the creation as well. I can read these essays over & over again - which I have. I truly wish there had been a lot more. As someone else pointed out, Williams' writing is like a performance itself. He doesn't worry much about saying something the correct way - he just unleashes his thoughts in a mad, rambling way (often repeating himself) that truly grabs you. It's nothing but a joy to read this man. And I really trust his opinion on Dylan's work. Like Lester Bangs, he really is a fan of music & his reviews & essays are as much about himself as the people he writes about. They are worth reading, even if you don't agree with them. But unlike most critics, Williams gives you his own personal opinion but doesn't assume that you feel the same way or that you should feel the same. I look forward to several more books on Dylan, Young or anybody else he may want to share his opinions about. Definitely get this book. It's a must for Dylan fans & an even bigger must for people who have never gotten into Dylan's music. If this doesn't get you to listen with "new" ears, nothing will.

Buy it. . .

"Buy it, give your money to the rich as long as you have it, you're better off with the music." Williams on "Down in the Flood" (p. 34)Superlatives? I'll give you superlatives. Paul Williams is as much a performing artist as Bob Dylan, only he uses a pen rather than a guitar. Like the great Dylan performances, the best pieces in this collection should be "heard" more than once; "Blood on the Tracks" (1974) "Dylan - What Happened?" (1979) and "The Supper Club Shows" (1993) are just three of the ones I return to again and again.You should expect a mostly positive assessment of Dylan's output here. The author admits in the introduction that he prefers to write about performances which excite him ". . .because disappointment was not the kind of news I felt compelled to spread." (p.11) We'll have to wait (how long?) for volume three of Willams's outstanding Performing Artist series to read more about such "disappointments."Williams has resisted the temptation to tamper with the originals (he does, however, introduce and provide context for them) so in effect WTRF is a snapshot of two artists' work-in-progress.So buy it. You'll be better off with the book.

Bob Dylan approximately

Spanning over 30 years of an incredible career, "Watching the River Flow" is a fantastically perceptive collection of Dylan essays and comment by perhaps the most e enthusiastic - and least pretentious - author/critic who regularly writes on Dylan. Rather than read it cover to cover like a novel, I like to return to it now and again and skip around, knowing I can still pick it up and read a review or essay that I haven't read yet. If you're into Dylan, I suggest picking this one up. William's passion for Dylan's music is contagious, and his insights illuminate the music. I heartily recommend Williams's 2-book "Performing Artist" series about Dylan as well. (And if you're looking to buy a Dylan album, I suggest "John Wesley Harding.")

A great book by the best commentator on Dylan's live work

Paul Williams is easily the best (and most pleasant to read) commentator on Dylan's live performances. This book contains reviews of Dylan's live work, plus other pieces of note. Contents include 24 essays. Of special interest to this reader are the review of Hard Rain, the essay "Who Pagan Became," an extended 72 page essay "Dylan - What Happened" dealing with Williams' impressions after the initial November 1979 concerts following Dylan's becoming a Christian, an essay "Those Talking Crazy, Spilling My Buttermilk, Not One More Kiss Blues" about Under the Red Sky, and reviews of World Gone Wrong, the Supper Club Shows, and the Paradise Lost Tour. Buy this book.