Whatever it was Bob Dylan was attempting to salvage himself from with Saved, he left his listeners to deal with. Christian rock with a blues aesthetic marks this turn of the 1980s piece from Dylan as a strange concept influenced particularly heavily by his newfound faith. Slow Train Coming had dabbles of the commitment to Christ featured throughout, but where the songwriting triumphs were clear and consistent in that piece, Saved is drowned in the bulky beliefs Dylan now pontificated. Despite that, Dylan is clearly confident he can convert the sceptics. A relisten for Saved does not save all that much from the worrying mediocrity found within, but it does give broader scope to the mentality Dylan had at the time.
Opening track A Satisfied Mind has all the usual tropes of the Dylan track but they are laid too bare and far too obvious. “I lost every dime / But I’m richer by far with a satisfied mind.” is not quite the electrifying line pairing it could have been. That is an issue that features frequently on Saved. Lyrical waxings that are up to the Dylan standard, washed out by a funk and soul revival that feels out of place. Keen-eared fans will be pleased to hear Dylan offer yet another genre swap, an always-changing artist that never felt comfortable contained by one genre, but Saved is a misfire of strange and uneventful proportions. Spiritual desires are at the forefront, and lyrical and instrumental qualities take the backseat. The title track is a cavalcade of uninteresting lyrical choices and hammering in as many gospel-oriented ideals as possible.
Crashing together without much meaning beyond hammering away at a piano like Steve Nieve or backing weak lyrical smatterings with gospel orchestra, Saved is annoying at worst. At best, it is Covenant Woman, a wonderful track that uses its broad guitar strums and keyboard to balance the crooning of Dylan. Solid Rock and Pressing On are absolutely fine, sombre tracks that deal with Dylan’s lyrical strengths well. Saved is a puncture to the argument that, even at his worst, Dylan could provide resoundingly strong tracks. This is a dark period for Dylan, despite his clarity of faith. How much of that impacts the quality of his work here is unknowable, but it is clear that Dylan is exploring his own faith and hoping to profit from that. Saved is not the impressive rollout of powerful vocals it appears to think it is.
Not the worst piece from Dylan but certainly not the best either. Saved is an articulate bit of Christian rock that hopes to convert faith into rewarding tracks that explain Dylan’s mind. They do not do that. They do not sound that good either. Clydie King and Carolyn Dennis steal the show each and every time with their backing vocals but even then it is nothing special. Dylan croons through another showcase of his faith and failures, but it does not feel as genuine or secure as Slow Train Coming. At least that had good guitar work from Mark Knopfler. To the credit of Saved, though, there are some remarkable instrumental flourishes on In The Garden. Preachy closer Are You Ready is a sickly end to an album barely holding itself together.
Serves me right for clicking the link but why we writing reviews for 42 y/o-plus albums we don’t like? Lovely album.
🎯
Thanks for all your Dylan reviews. I think Save is a fabulous album, with mostly great songs. Perhaps it could have been even better with a different production. I’m glad you rate “Covenant Woman”, which is gorgeous (heavenly?). I find “What Can I do for you” to be similarly poignant and lovely. “Pressing On”, “Solid Rock” and “In the Garden” are superb too, and templates for even better live versions. I find much to enjoy here. I’m not a believer at all, but I’ll gladly listen to great religious music, whether by Dylan or anyone else.
A satisfied mind is a cover song and sounds as wonderful today ( what a vocal performance! ) .as it did when released in 1980.lt is one of his greatest albums and has some of his most personal lyrics together with terrific vocals delivered with probably his best ever band including the amazing backing vocalists.
Dylan is perhaps the greatest artist (of all art forms) of the last 100 years, in my humble opinion. Without question, he is one of the greatest. People misunderstand this period. He had mastered folk, blues, rock and roll, country …many of the great American music genres, leading up to this point and then he decided he wanted to make gospel music. As the true artist that he is, he knew that, in order to make gospel music authentic, he had to become a true believer. So, he went to classes and soaked in as much as he could before he started making this music and then he went to work. Years later, he said that, “it was all about the music” when someone asked him about this period. The point is that he is the consummate artist. There is no other like him!
For years I felt Street Legal was Dylan’s most underrated album. Now I give that title to Saved.
I love them both but I agree with your first assessment. Street Legal is the most underrated in my opinion. Changing of the Guards is one of his best songs (my personal favorite)!
Saved has stayed with me since the day I bought it new. If I had to pare down my Dylan collection, I’d still keep this one.