Bob Dylan's 2004 book Chronicles Volume One is one of the all-time great rock memoirs, at least in part because it's so radically unsatisfying. In a series of elliptical memories, Dylan writes fascinating stories about different points in his career, but he largely stays away from his own most legendary accomplishments. For a long time, the book's title looked like a bit of a high-concept joke. The most Bob Dylan thing would be to just leave that book hanging, to never write another Chronicles. Apparently, though, Dylan's got another Chronicles on the way. That's what Sean Penn says, anyway.
Bob Dylan published another book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song, in 2022. Years ago, Dylan said that he was writing about his early years in New York for another Chronicles book, but it's been quiet on that front for a long time, until now. Sean Penn did the audiobook narration for Dylan's first Chronicles, and now he says that he's doing the same thing for Chronicles Volume Two. As Cult Following reports, Penn blabbed about the book in an interview on Spotify's Louis Theroux Podcast. When Theroux brought up Penn's first Dylan audiobook, Penn said, "Yeah, I think I’m about to do the second one, actually. Yeah, Chronicles Two."
Admittedly, this is not the most reliable source. Sean Penn says that he hasn't actually read this new Dylan book yet, since he waits until he's doing the recording to read the book, but he confirmed that he's not just confused about The Philosophy Of Modern Song. Also, this bookstore has a listing for Chronicles Volume Two, but it says it's coming out in 2030 through Simon & Schuster. I would hope that we'd get it before then, but who knows with this guy?
In other Bob Dylan news, he's on this year's version of Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival tour, which kicked off on Tuesday night in Phoenix. During his set, Dylan played a bunch of songs that he hasn't performed in a long time. For instance, he did "Mr. Tambourine Man" for the first time in 15 years. Dylan also covered songs that he's never covered, including George "Wild Child" Butler's "Axe In The Wind" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "I'll Make It All Up To You." He ended his set with a version of the Pogues' 1986 classic "A Rainy Night In Soho." Below, check out fan footage of some of those songs, including the Pogues cover, as well as Dylan's setlist, via Setlist.fm.
SETLIST:
01 "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
02 "It Ain't Me, Babe" (Bob on guitar)
03 "Forgetful Heart" (first time since 2015)
04 "Axe And The Wind" (George “Wild Child” Butler cover, live debut)
05 "To Ramona" (first time since 2017)
06 "Route 66" (Bobby Troup cover, first time since 1986)
07 "All Along The Watchtower"
08 "I'll Make It All Up To You" (Charlie Rich cover, live debut)
09 "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry"
10 "Mr. Tambourine Man" (first time since 2010)
11 "Under The Red Sky"
12 "Scarlet Town"
13 "A Rainy Night in Soho" (The Pogues cover, live debut)
