Expecting Rain

Yeah, the lyrics on "In The Summertime" are pretty lightweight. It's definitely the melody that gets me.

I think that "Slow Train" (the song, not the album) is one of Dylan's great angry anthems (probably one of his LAST great angry anthems). Yes, you can look at it solely as a religous song, but its about A LOT more than that. Sort of an "Idiot Wind" for the human race. Dylan pulls it off with conviction.

how great an anthem it is depends largely on your opinion of sheiks. my uncle's uncle was a sheik and i was bit offended by this so called great anthem.

Yes, I've always found the Zionist polemic of the "Sheiks walking around like kings" verse spoils a great track.

Oh well

Sheik, rattle and roll.....

I think you mean the version on Biograph, and Yes. It is fantastic. Apparently that's Dylan on the organ.

dylan started playing his old songs late in 1980, after saved, the last overtly Christian album. he found a nice accord between secular music and his Christian beliefs, and that secular (not overtly Christian) music does not have to be anti-Jesus. shot of love seems to be a kind of transition from Christian songs only to songs and albums with just hints of it.

btw, i like shot of love the song too. in the summertime is a great confession, and heart of mine has been a huge encouragement to me for perseverance.

I take back what I said about the lyrics of In The Summertime. They are beautiful and it's a great song.

I think given the heightened activity of the spirituality thread and the like, the time is nigh to revisit the Christian Trilogy.. examining it's net worth, and so on. Over time, Saved has grown on me, as has Shot of Love, but my favorite has always been Slow Train Coming....

here are the highlights according to Raging Glory's ongoing research:

The definitive Slow Train Coming, based on a compilation of 6 lists up to this point.

1. Precious Angel (appeared in 5 of 6 lists, 28 points)
2. Do Right To Me Baby (appeared in 3 of 6 lists, 23 points)
3. I Believe In You (appeared in 3 of 6 lists, 22 points)
4. When He Returns (appeared in 2 of 6 lists, 13 points)
5. Gotta Serve Somebody (appeared in 4 of 6 lists, 12 points)


The definitive Shot of Love, based on a compilation of 8 lists up to this point.

1. Every Grain of Sand (appeared on 8 of 8 lists, 56 points)
2. In The Summertime (appeared on 6 of 8 lists, 28 points)
3. The Groom's Still Waiting At the Altar (appeared on 5 of 8 lists, 27 points)
4. Heart of Mine (appeared on 6 of 8 lists, 24 points)
5. Property of Jesus (appeared on 4 of 8 lists, 13 points)

Saved: not compiled yet...

Slow Train and Saved are both strong records. The former takes the palm by virtue of the titanic title track; the latter is mostly a collection of good gospel songs, lacking any obvious 'great' Dylan songs.

I don't mind 'Are You Ready' as a closer. It's something different - an ominous note to unsettle the listener. But no question, it's not one of Bob's great closers, being basically a list song, and is definitely some notches under 'When He Returns' and 'Every Grain.'

Then there's Shot of Love. No, it's not a gospel record, but a Christian perspective still runs through most of that material. 'Property of Jesus' is the most fun on the record, 'Every Grain' the obvious masterpiece. Really, but counter-intuitively, this boils down to a POP record. 'In the Summertime' is not a masterpiece (too much lazy writing) but it is a fine pop song. Same goes for 'Heart of Mine' and 'Watered Down Love' and the title track. A shame about the crappy vocals and dismal production values, and about dumpster-quality rubbish like 'Lenny Bruce,' 'Trouble,' and 'Dead Man.'

SOL gives us Dylan at the point where his latest Big Idea had begun to run out of gas. Confusion ensues, marked by the WORST editorial decisions of his entire career. Some enterprising soul should re-record that album, leaving in the great omitted songs and performing and producing the surviving material properly. Could be stellar.

mental illness and religion closely linked.

I have always skipped this group of albums generally. I have NO desire to be preached to...not even by Bob Dylan. Maybe ESPECIALLY by Dylan. That's not what I come to him for. I come to him for an intelligent outlook on life and good music.

Having said that I have listened to Slow Train. Though never all the way through. Somehow I picked up on the song Slow Train Coming and Precious Angel. I like them both. I especially love Angel. Terrific song!!

I also like the song Every Grain of Sand but from BS 1-3 not the album it's on. Not even sure what album that is.

I was going to ask people to convince me why I should give these albums a chance but I really don't much care. I don't feel I'm missing anything.

^^Jimb, I also skipped over Bob's Christian albums...I didn't want him preaching to me, either.
But a year or two ago, i finally decided to give them a listen, and found out that i had
been missing something for all those years...the album "SAVED".

Slow Train...I love Precious Angel... I Believe in You and Man Gave Names to All the Animals are okay.

Shot of Love - In the Summertime ... Every Grain of Sand...Lenny Bruce ...
- love those songs, but not much more on the album.

BUT.... SAVED blows me away!
These are all great songs...IMO:
Saved
Covenant Woman
What Can I do For You
Pressing On
In the Garden
Saving Grace

This is what blows me away about SAVED...Bob isn't preaching or condemning anyone...he
is so humble in the lyrics of these songs. .....

It doesn't matter how many times i hear Saving Grace > the sincerity in these words always touches my heart :

If you find it in Your heart, can I be forgiven?
Guess I owe You some kind of apology
I’ve escaped death so many times, I know I’m only living
By the saving grace that’s over me

By this time I’d-a thought I would be sleeping
In a pine box for all eternity
My faith keeps me alive, but I still be weeping
For the saving grace that’s over me

@Queenie,

I appreciate your opinion and maybe I should have a look but I WON'T buy them.

Anyway I find those lyrics embarressly personal. Not to mention maudlin. I think people should keep these types of subjects personal. I know that Dylan writes all the time about personal issues(as do most lyricists) but this is way, way personal. It'd be like your friend telling you in great detail about a fight he/she had with their spouse about their sex life/problems. Whoa!! Keep it to yourself.

Just an opinion.

^^ Well, that's an interesting viewpoint...
- I usually like it when Bob bares his soul...although, i agree....sometimes he does
go too far and i feel like covering my ears!
.....but not when i am listening to "Saved".

Bob Dylan has always sung about Jesus, from Gospel Plow to Christmas in the Heart.



And Bennyboy...what you said? That would explain why you are always visiting the religious threads!

Yes, In The Summertime is a great song... beautiful and inspiring... and the Shot of Love album is exactly that, a shot of love... probably my personal favourite Dylan album... an album that has helped me through bad times and helped me celebrate good times... simple, sincere and sweet songs of salvation and strength!

This album has everything you need to help you through life... a pure masterpiece.

"Shot of Love" is my favorite of the three, I suppose I have a soft spot for its light pop sound; and "Every Grain of Sand" is one of his most meticulous and inspiring poems. I happen to love "In the Summertime".

While I've grown to enjoy "Slow Train Coming" and "Saved" more over the course of last year, they don't really hold my interest all the way through, though both have some great tracks on them. I love "Precious Angel" and "Covenant Woman".

The Christian Trilogy! One of my favorite periods, though I do recall thinking that it was the end of Dylan at the time. How pleasantly wrong that was! Do yourself a favor and spin these on some Sunday morning and try and tell me that it doesn't bring smiles to the surface of your beautiful face! Bob does what he wants and succeeds again!

All due respect to Raging Glory, I did that research. The credit belongs to me , and Saved will be done as soon as I have enough free time. Hopefully tomorrow, if not tomorrow, then at least within a few days.

By the way I just listened to a lot of the songs from Saved and Shot of Love today when I was driving to town to get myself some brewskies, and as I always do when driving around listening to Bob I found them quite enjoyable, maybe I was in a more upbeat mood than normal, but I really had a fun time listening to Saved, Solid Rock and Property of Jesus. I was singing them at the top of my lungs as I drove and really "getting down" as they say. Good times

jimb if you're going to download a few of the songs to see what you think of the albums, might I suggest from Saved the song "Saved" itself, "Solid Rock", and "What Can I Do For You?" the last one is particularly religious sounding, so go with the first two from that album prior to listening to that one. Providing you like them of course. Shot of Love is pretty enjoyable indeed I'd say, you may have heard "The Groom's Still Waiting At the Altar" from Greatest Hits Vol. 3, but if not I recommend it. Afterward the song "Shot of Love" and the album version of "Every Grain of Sand" are phenomenal. My personal favorite from Slow Train Coming is "Do Right To Me Baby" which doesn't particularly strike me as religious to be honest, and I think that's a good thing.

Oops, SORRY ROLLING THUNDER..., I got my screennames crossed, they tend to roll of the tongue when I type fast. A lot of work that good research is you are doing, so kudos! I think there's some great singing on these discs, and some songs which demonstrate an impressive vocal range

I'm never disappointed when I play saved, only thoroughly impressed...

A friend of mine once made this comment regarding sex...

I guess if you don't get it, you don't get it. Not much else one can say...


I find all three quite interesting and enjoyable. This era gave me hope that mid-70s Bob wasn't a fluke, that he had sustaining power and wasn't going to slip back into back to the '60s.

UP with all due respect bud, the only people on this forum who disrespect his 60's work are you and Johanna Parker. Everyone else is firmly in touch with reality on this issue.

i find the singing during the Europe 66 tour quite annoying. but nobody's asked about it 'til now...

and i'd love to hear Blonde on Blonde with the New Morning voice...

Disrespect I reserve for really terrible singers and bands... dislike is more what I feel for '60s Bob... no one in their right mind would disrespect the songs he wrote... the way they were released has never done a thing for me and his live performances then left a lot for me to be desired. But he certainly grew.

Reality, on the other hand... I'm firmly in touch with my reality but it has rarely been in sync with the world.

And why that is I've never figured out.