The Birth and Valor of Dylan’s Never Ending Tour as Presented by Andrew Muir

“A lot of people don’t like the road, but it’s as natural to me as breathing.
— Bob Dylan

I don’t have a precise count but one of my 25 or so books on Dylan is Andrew Muir’s One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour. During a business trip in 2013 I downloaded and read the beginnings of a dozen or so Dylan-themed books into my Kindle, then ordered a couple faves for my collection, including this one. One More Night is a compelling read for any Bobfan,

Actually, I should have started with The Razor’s Edge (2001) which details the first half (or will it be first third) of the Never Ending Tour (NET). But alas, once I started this one I decided to fasten my seatbelt and ride it to the end.

Have you ever watched a skilled artist draw portraits at an art fair? In a few minutes you find a very accurate rendition of a child or old man in the fewest of strokes. This is what Muir has done in the book’s first chapter titled Before the Never Ending Tour. It is one of the most concise and lively sketches of Dylan’s career that I have ever read, from Greenwich Village to the kickoff of the NET.

In four pages Muir carries us from the Village to the Vineyard. The next three or so pages walk us from finding Jesus to getting…