SOUND BITES: A LIFETIME OF LISTENING (Muleshoe Press)
September 14,
2016
Interview with
author Tom Wilmeth about his new book on music,
Sound Bites: A Lifetime of Listening (Muleshoe Press, 2016)
Question: Your new Sound
Bites: A Lifetime of Listening book has a lot of Bob Dylan in it. How are these essays different from what’s
already out there?
Tom
Wilmeth: I try to look at a few
unexplored topics. I have a piece that
examines the edits made to Dylan’s introductory remarks just before his “Last Thoughts
on Woody Guthrie” recitation on The
Bootleg Series.
Question: That sounds pretty obscure. You mean you compare the released Bootleg Series version of the work to
the unedited, unreleased recording?
Tom
Wilmeth: Right. Some interesting things were cut from that
introduction. I also have an article
that discusses Dylan’s use of different keys when playing songs in
concert. That’s one where I learned a
lot about Bob’s ability as a musician.
Question: How so?
Tom
Wilmeth: It gets pretty involved, but
I’ll summarize by saying that Bob’s guitar skills are underrated.
Question: What else do you cover in Sound Bites that relates to Dylan?
Tom
Wilmeth: I include my 1978 interview
with Eric Weissberg, where I ask him about his involvement with Blood on the Tracks. Both Weisberg and his band, Deliverance, had
some interesting things to say about that session.
Question: I assume you have the normal stuff like
concert and CD reviews?
Tom
Wilmeth: Right. Dylan concerts since 1974 and various album
releases. I also review some books that
have fallen off most Dylan radars.
Question: Such as?
Tom
Wilmeth: One by Dave Engel from 1997
jumps to mind, called Just like Bob
Zimmerman’s Blues. It goes deep in
to Bob’s Hibbing days. I spoke with the
author, and he had really done his Hibbing homework. Useful book.
Question: And is Sound
Bites a useful book?
Tom Wilmeth: I believe that it is. I think lovers of music will really enjoy
it. In addition to my pieces on Dylan, I
have a detailed discussion of the history of Hank Williams’ releases, and a
piece that praises 8-track tapes. I
include my interviews with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, and concert reviews from
Stevie Wonder to Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland to Dwight Yoakam to Yes. It is a varied collection.
Question: Back to Bob, as we wrap up. Anything else distinctive about your book
regarding Dylan?
Tom
Wimeth: I guess I would say that Dylan’s
presence permeates my writing about music.
There are pieces on specific topics, such as one that discusses jazz
recordings of his songs. But Bob Dylan
has been so important to my musical life, he can’t help but appear throughout
all the sections of my book. And he
does.
Tom Wilmeth’s
new book is called Sound Bites: A
Lifetime of Listening. It is on the
Muleshoe Press, and is available on Amazon.
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