In the last few weeks on my trips to local bookstores, I noticed several new releases in a format that can only be described as “facsimile scrapbook”. The Bob Dylan Scrapbook, 1956-1966 contains 64 pages of text detailing Dylan’s early years, an audio CD of music and interviews, but most curious to me were the facsimile reproductions of old concert tickets, handwritten lyrics, newspaper ads and other ephemera attached (sometimes hand-taped) to the pages or presented in glassine envelopes. I think the addition of these items takes something away from the authority of the volume. They just seem too gimmicky to me.
The B. B. King Treasures is a little meatier weighing in at 160 pages and contains a CD as well. I’m a big B.B. King fan, having once worked with him for a week at Capitol Records recording studio, and I’d love to read the book and listen to the CD but once again I’m turned off by the parchment keepsake sleeves that hold reproductions of King memorabilia like show programs, tickets, etc.
Even Disney has gotten into the act with The Disney Treasures and The Disney Keepsakes which offer reproductions of commissary menus, greeting cards, tickets and other removable items.
I’ve visited the Experience Music Project in Seattle, where the many exhibits of rock ‘n roll culture hold authentic pieces of music history. It feels real because it is real, being what a museum is intended to be, communicating a history through the use of multimedia and authentic materials.
Is this an attempt by publishers to bring a museum-type experience into the home of the fan? I can understand a fan wanting to read the books and listen to the CDs, but what value or pleasure could be had from the addition of these pieces, especially when presented so preciously? Well, I’m definitely in the minority because as of this writing the Amazon sales ranking of the Dylan book is #195.
As for me, I think I'll read Chronicles: Volume One.