It's like a breath of fresh air when an article about Bob Dylan is passed down and it isn't about cracking the code to his "inner being." Instead, a manuscript of Dylan's lyrics from 1962 to now, entitled The Lyrics: Since 1962, is the latest from publishers Simon & Schuster.
Two editions of the lyrics, which clock in at 1,000 plus pages, will be available for consumption in November. At roughly 13 pounds, the lesser of the two editions will be priced at a hefty $200 and is part of a 3,500 limited edition copy set.
The greater of the two will come at an astronomical $5,000. This edition, however, comes with a slipcase and gilded pages, and if that wasn't enough, the numbered 50 copies will also feature Mr. Dylan's signature.
Citing it as the most expensive book they ever put out, said Jonathan Karp president and publisher of S&S, the book isn't merely an update from their previous Lyrics: 1962-2001, instead it's presented with a philosophical introduction by Dylan authority Christopher Ricks of Boston University.
For the book's completion, the editors and publishers received a bit of help from old manuscripts and notes but refused to comment further — which was probably in the interest of the Tambourine Man.
Making sure they didn't speak to in-depth, the editors made the book in such a way that it flows with the way Dylan sings and breathes in his recordings.
Instead of using the Align Left tab, the words wrap in vein of Dylan's breath, to wit Allen Ginsberg said of Dylan in No Direction Home he had "become a column of air, so to speak, at certain moments, where his total physical and mental focus was this single breath coming out of his body."
So if Ginsberg noticed it, it must be something to note.
While we wait unremittingly for the release, we need to keep cool with some sultry Dylan, as provided below.
