Read Online On the Road with Bob Dylan by Larry Sloman - Free Book Online Page A

waltz, that’s it, that’s it! All right!” There was a pause between takes and Dylan and Stoner broke into some old country tunes like “I’m Dreaming Tonight of My Blues Eyes.” “Let’s sing this one for Johnny,” Dylan announced. “Send it out to everyone who loves Johnny Cash,” and they broke into “I Still Miss Someone.” Take three began at 1:25, slow at first, then building up in intensity, until the tempo fell off. DeVito clicked on his mike and announced into the studio, “Hold that tempo, Bob, that was starting to smoke.” On the next take, everything jelled; Wyeth did some ethereal drumming, and Dylan seemed satisfied. Kemp leaned over to DeVito and smiled. “He knows it’s good.”
    They began take five, Blakley doing some sort of pagan dance, waving her hands in the air, and at the end, Dylan blew some harp, weaving it in with Scarlett’s violin, a weird interplay. They faded out slowly, and DeVito announced, “A good rehearsal.” It was clear that Dylan was getting restless. “Hey Don, it’s past rehearsal time,” he moaned. “What was the matter with that one besides fucking up the lyrics?” DeVito ordered another take and Dylan kids, “But Don, we all got dates tonight.” DeVito pointed to Lou Waxman, the middle-aged engineer. “Keep ’Em here with Lou, they don’t call him Lou the Tongue for nothing.”
    The sixth take was incredible, the band really smoked, and Dylan rode that energy, straining, punching out the words as Blakley did some cheerleader moves, and Bob screamed. “But one time he coulda been the champion of the woorrlllldddd.” DeVito nonchalantlycalled them in for the playback. “I think we got it covered, let’s do just one more for insurance.” It was close to 2 A.M. and Dylan lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. He obviously needed prodding. Levy took up the battle: “I think the next one might be great.” But Dylan was stubborn: “C’mon, we want to get this out, time is of the essence, Don. Maybe you ought to decide which take by a roll of the dice. I mean, we can always do it better. What does everybody think, let’s vote.” So a straw poll was taken with Dylan polling the band. “Scarlett says no,” DeVito looks at Steve and Howie who seem dissatisfied, “Steve and Howie vote yes,” DeVito added. “They do?” Bob blurted, “OK, let’s do just one more. I might just fade away. I mean we can do it seventy-five times but I just want to get it out on the streets.”
    Everyone went back into the studio, but Dylan lingered in the control room. Some cheese and wine had been brought in and I was nibbling on the Brie. “Hey Larry, did you hear the song I dedicated to you before.” I nodded, “Yeah, it was great, you even got some of the words right; I’ll tell Kinky.”
    Dylan smiled. “Hey, Kinky doesn’t understand me. He’s been in Texas too long. I told him that he ought to live with Allen Ginsberg for a year, that’ll straighten him out.” Stoner joined us and started discussing the takes with Dylan. “We can do it better, we’re pros.” Dylan looked at me. “We got either pros or cons on this tour and you can quote me.” We drifted back into the studio and Dylan pulled me over to the piano.
    “Hey, I rewrote ‘Simple Twist of Fate.’ Wanna hear it?” And he began a stunning solo recitation. The lyrics were changed a bit, to give the song a more cohesive narrative, and by the third verse, Stoner and Wyeth joined in, kicking the piano along with some fine rhythm. Jacques came into the room and called for some order, and Dylan dutifully returned to his setup. “Hey, I also rewrote ‘If You See Her Say Hello,’” he shouted as I turned to head back to the control room. “It goes, ‘If you see her say hello/shemight be in Babylon/she left here last early spring/it took me a long time to learn that she was gone.’”
    Dylan then signaled DeVito. “Hey Don, do we have to use the Dolbys?” DeVito went through a patient