These programs were such a heady rush through a rich time and history. Those tunes take you back faster than a time machine. I am intrigued by the corresponding musical growth in my family--like Don, my father (John Dwyer) was no fan of Dylan back then, and I don't think he ever changed his mind. Yet as I watched the first night and listened to so many of the groups and works that informed and inspired Dylan, I saw a parallel track to what Dad was following with his early music.

Part of the difference no doubt was that my Dad was about 20 years older than Dylan, was a librarian with a job and a family, and in the early years of learning music he decided to take the purist approach, learning the Child Ballads and working forward from there. Dylan took a lot of traditional music and words and processed them, coming out with songs as rich but in the end, more meaningful (because of its wider dissemination) to the popular culture of this modern generation. Dad was close to his research and found Dylan's work off-putting.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the program. As to whether I would like Dylan as a person in person or not, that question is not likely to be resolved. But I am, as someone else mentioned, happy to see the remarks from so many people of the era, collected into this film, especially people like Ginsberg.

Here's a clip to add to the collection of citations growing in this thread: "Fresh Air from WHYY, December 8, 2004 · Rock historian Ed Ward reviews Bob Dylan's new autobiography, Chronicles, Vol. I.

SRS