Audio CD review:
Bob Dylan - Shot of Love

Bob Dylan - Shot of Love

Band: Bob Dylan Title: Shot of Love Rating: Release Date: 29 May, 1990 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Shot Of Love 2: Heart Of Mine 3: Property Of Jesus 4: Lenny Bruce 5: Watered-Down Love 6: The Groom's Still Waiting At The Alter 7: Dead Man, Dead Man 8: In The Summertime 9: Trouble 10: Every Grain Of Sand

Customer Reviews Least of the Three Gospel Albums, but still worthy I agree with most people who have reviewed these three albums that this is the least of the three, with 'Slow Train Coming' generally being considered the best. 'Shot of Love' is Bob Dylan's third album of mostly original gospel songs from 1979 - 1981, after 'Slow Train Coming' and 'Saved'. I believe there are two relatively objective aspects about the album which support this evaluation. First, the earlier two were produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, while this was produced by Dylan and the relatively unknown Chuck Plotkin. The difference in the sound is palpable. 'Shot of Love' sounds like either a 'live' album or one recorded in Dylan's basement. The sound capture sounds positively crude. This may be a virtue in some cases, but here, Dylan has some of the very best sidemen in the business at the time, including Jim Keltner on drums, Duck Dunn on bass, and Ron Wood on guitar. A second consideration is that while Dylan's texts on songs for the first two albums are quite familiar to active Bible readers, some of these songs lean to the obscure now and then. Not something useful in a gospel song. and there is no obscure use of the material. Otherwise, the musical and lyrical style is similar to the earlier two albums, and if you like these, you will appreciate 'Shot of Love', especially if you cover up the really dreadful cover!. One Of The Best Great songs (Shot of Love, In The Summertime, Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar, Every Grain Of Sand) with some obscure gems like "Property Of Jesus" & "Lenny Bruce". Amazing Dylan from the early 80's. Top notch musicianship, the greatest voice of all time - what's not to like? Put it on & crank it up. The end of Dylan's Christian period At least it isn't insincere gospel like Saved was. Dylan rediscovering rock? Or just another dead end? To me, it's a bit of both. I mean, he hadn't written a decent set of lyrics since Desire (or at least I think - I haven't heard Street Legal), but some of these songs do show potential. At least the title song has some energy, and a decent guitar part. Then for the next few cuts he goes overboard with the preaching and I tune out ("Heart of Mine"; "Property of Jesus"; "Watered-Down Love"; "In the Summertime"; "Trouble" - this entire part crawls by like a snail addicted to sleeping pills), because I don't like to be preached at! "Lenny Bruce" isn't preaching, but it is a flat-out, no-holds-barred, full-speed-ahead bore. "Dead Man, Dead Man" is pretty preachy too, but unlike all of those other songs it's commendable because of Dylan's creepy intonation in the chorus. And I love "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar", a venomous, screaming blues-rocker that puts the rest of this album to shame. All except for the gentle testimonial that closes the record out, "Every Grain of Sand", which is one of the most beautiful songs Dylan has ever recorded. This is a cut above Saved, but a couple cuts below Slow Train Coming (which is actually pretty good as far as Christian Dylan goes), and a pretty bad record no matter how you slice it. . . You can see a complete list of all Bob Dylan discography, or go back to the Bob Dylan tabs