Tag Archives: Bob Dylan

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Song of the Day #692: ‘Jokerman’ – Bob Dylan

After four years of the “Christian thing” (which is a long time in music years), Bob Dylan released the (mostly) secular Infidels in 1983 and it was celebrated as a return to form.

And indeed it is his best album from that mid-70s to late-80s period when he was at his shakiest. As I’ve discovered through these blog entries, that period wasn’t quite as shaky as I’d been led to believe but it was shaky.

Infidels is another album that I purchased expressly for the purposes of this blog and I’m really glad I did. I’m not sure why I never got around to buying it in the past, because I’ve always heard it’s a good album, so it was nice to have the excuse.

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Song of the Day #686: ‘Every Grain of Sand’ – Bob Dylan

1981’s Shot of Love is another of those notorious albums which have been called Dylan’s worst by fans and critics alike (and I’m guessing a ranking of Dylan album covers would see this one near the bottom of the list as well).

It’s another album I don’t own, so I can’t side with the detractors or the equally passionate fans of Shot of Love. But I will say that a trip through the album via 45-second sound samples left me a lot more intrigued than depressed. Sure, the album seems to lack focus (it introduces secular subject matter into the mix, despite being his third Christian album in a row) but it sounds pretty damn good.

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Song of the Day #685: ‘Pressing On’ – Bob Dylan

1980 saw the release of Saved, the born-again-iest of Dylan’s born-again Christian albums.

Full disclosure here: my prejudice against both gospel music and organized religion makes me distrust and even dislike albums like this without even hearing a bar. The very thought of it creeps me out.

But I have a greater calling here, one that has me exploring all of the Dylan albums I’ve avoided through the years, and I have to admit this is one of the more interesting detours.

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Song of the Day #679: ‘When He Returns’ – Bob Dylan

I could have gone with any of the remaining eight tracks on Slow Train Coming to finish off this weekend.

‘Slow Train’ and ‘Gonna Change My Way of Thinking’ are two fine examples of how Dylan does the blues better than most (the latter boasts a guitar lick straight out of the Clapton songbook).

‘I Believe in You’ is a beautiful gospel ballad with a melody that sounds so familiar to me that I’m sure it was either stolen or has been stolen, though I’m not sure which.

‘When You Gonna Wake Up?’ is the funkiest white-boy Christian rock song you’ll ever hear.

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Song of the Day #678: ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ – Bob Dylan

In 1978 and early 1979, following the negative critical reaction to his recent work and the personal turmoil stemming from his divorce, Dylan was at the end of his rope and looking for answers.

When a fan threw a silver cross onstage during one difficult show, Dylan pocketed it.

He found himself holding onto it during the next show and its deeper meaning began to sink in. So began the conversion that shook up his fan base even more than the moment he went electric: Bob Dylan, evangelist and Christian rock musician.

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