First he went electric. Then he went soft. And now his fans were just as confused to find that Bob Dylan had become a born-again Christian. His concerts no longer featured any of his hits, but concentrated solely on his new original, spiritual material—nine of which would appear on Slow Train Coming—and featured long “raps” about Armageddon.The cover art features some fairly obvious cross depictions, but for the most part the lyrics (on side one anyway) don’t pound the Gospel into your ears. “Gotta Serve Somebody” goes against the “a list is not a song” rule, but he can get away with it. The remarkable “Precious Angel” has a tension that builds, and fortunately is not ruined by the more gentle if direct “I Believe In You”. “Slow Train” was one of the first songs written after his conversion, and it’s a good one.
Side two doesn’t always register, starting with “Gotta Change My Way Of Thinking”, but has its moments. “Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)” is another rare excursion into odd tempos, while the fire and brimstone of “When You Gonna Wake Up” ruffled many feathers. “Man Gave Names To All The Animals” is essentially a kids’ song; it’s good, but not exactly the poetry we’d come to expect. The album closes with “When He Returns”; just voice and piano, it works because of that.
Part of the success of Slow Train Coming can be ascribed to the producer Jerry Wexler, whose legendary no-nonsense approach suited Bob’s needs just fine. And the band was great too: Barry Beckett of Muscle Shoals plays keyboards, Tim Drummond adds understated basslines, and the one-two punch of Mark Knopfler and Pick Withers of Dire Straits gives the album a sinuous sound. Even the horns don’t get in the way. The religious overtones notwithstanding, it is a strong album that should get more respect.
Bob Dylan Slow Train Coming (1979)—3
Most of this really was better live, but 'When He returns' is an exception. Dylan's performance here is just incredible – the line 'How long can you hate yourself for the weakness you conceal?' somehow manages to move between anger, panic, self-hatred and sheer astonishment, at the same time as being a knowing nod back to 'Like a rolling stone'. Just compare this to the very worthy but way inferior version on the 'Gotta serve somebody: The Gospel songs of Bob Dylan' tribute album, and it tells you all you need to know about Dylan's vocal mastery.
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