I've been reading Dylan's "Chronicles" the last few nights, and just finished a very revealing passage about all the garbage he recorded between "John Wesley Harding" (hey, I like "Nashville Skyline," too, but it ain't peak Dylan) and "Blood on the Tracks."
He was sick of being called the "messiah" or "conscience of his generation," and genuinely fearful for what would happen to his family at the hands of the counter-culture nitwits who kept coming to his house.
He intentionally began recording anything that popped into his mind in an effort to turn his fans and the music press against him. He specifically cites "Self Portrait," which wasn't deemed bad enough by some idiot critics who still worshipped him, so he released "Dylan," which was the stuff not good enough for "Self Portrait."
"New Morning" was partly an attemtp to write some songs for an Archibald McLeish play that Dylan found utterly bleak and nihilistic.
"Planet Waves" was apparently based not on his own experiences, but Chekov short stories.
He said great songs -- "the kind that roar in your head" -- simply weren't coming to him during these years, and he was glad. Every time he wrote a great song, it made him that much more a god, and made it that much harder to lead the normal life he craved.
Regarding Bob Huntley's encounter with Dylan in the early '70s, I think it's entirely possible that Dylan was simply weird, but in the context of this book, it seems just as possible that it was part of his effort to put people off so they'd leave him alone.
I dont' know why he did "Blood on the Tracks" and went back on the road, but I suppose it was because his kids were older and his marriage was breaking up. The normal life he'd wanted to live wasn't going to be possible anymore.
I met him during this period. He visited his old hometown, Duluth, with Joan Baez and some of the other Rolling Thunder tour members. I was introduced to him by a cousin, and he asked me about places in town where he could take his kids skating. He was cordial though a bit wary, and just wanted to talk about normal stuff.
I envy his talent -- his gift, actually -- but not his life.