Audio CD review:
Bob Dylan - Saved

Bob Dylan - Saved

Band: Bob Dylan Title: Saved Rating: Release Date: 20 August, 1990 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: A Satisfied Mind 2: Saved 3: Covenant Woman 4: What Can I Do For You? 5: Solid Rock 6: Pressing On 7: In The Garden 8: Saving Grace 9: Are You Ready

Customer Reviews Dylan's Gospel, Part 2 of 3 This album, plus 'Slow Train Coming' before it and 'Shot of Love' after represent Dylan's essays in religious songs. 'Saved' by Bob Dylan and a first class backup band is a collection of seven Dylan original songs, plus the classic 'A Satisfied Mind' by Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes. And, unlike Elvis' excellent renditions of classic Gospel songs, Dylan is largely giving us original material. So, the big question may be, Is this fair, good, or great Dylan OR is it fair, good, or great Gospel. On the second part of that question, I must honestly say that if I wanted to listen to Gospel, I would rather listen to Elvis' performances. They are not as inspiring for me as the Medieval, Renaissance, and Classical liturgical music, but they are pretty darn good. Dylan does not succeed in bending his style to fit the material quite as well as he did with Rock and Country and Western. On the other hand, as DYLAN material per se, its really pretty darn good. It jumps back to his style of 'Highway 61 Revisited' and 'Blonde on Blond', but never quite reaches the heights of the more memorable numbers on those albums. And, he especially does not reach the memorable feelings captured in one of his later masterpieces, 'All Along the Watchtower', which has some of the most spiritual content. So, I will not throw this away, but I may not listen to it as often as I do Bach, Mozart, or Hildegard von Bingen, or even 'Blond on Blonde'. For Dylan Fans It's quite a bit removed from his well-known early work. If you are a "love him right or wrong" fan of Bob Dylan, this is certainly an album worth owning. It was recorded during Dylan's short-lived "Gospel/Soul" era in the late 1970's and early 1980's. If you want to get familiar with all the different styles of Dylan's work, then you'll certainly want to add "Saved" to your collection. Bringing it all back home......in fine fresh, raw, style.... "Saved" is different, though. As someone who somehow always ('60's, '70's and onwards) retained a strong regard for Dylan whilst buying records that largely reflected my own Christian beliefs, I welcomed Bob's Christian albums - but find that I hardly ever play the too-perfect "Slow Train" these days - and haven't even bothered to get"Shot of Love" and "Infidels" in CD format. It's fresh, exciting, rough-edged and has a loose "live" feel. With the girl trio interacting brilliantly with each other and with Bob the whole thing packs more kick than a crate of mules. . . . This is real music, not the studio-concocted, marketing filtered stuff that passes for the real thing most of the time. . . . Buy, listen, immerse, enjoy - and be uplifted. . . You can see a complete list of all Bob Dylan discography, or go back to the Bob Dylan tabs