Bob Dylan – Pressing On Review

At the turn of the 1980s, it certainly felt as though Bob Dylan was, as this compilation is titled, pressing on. His work was not slipping in quality but in popularity. A drive for new influences and experiences fundamentally shifted his interpretations of the world around him. That much was clear on Desire and later Street-Legal. Both were opportune times for Dylan though his audiences of the time thought less of them than the booming experiences of Highway 61 Revisited or Bringing It All Back Home. At least they had warmed to the electric guitar after a few years though it would take a few decades to get listeners on board with his Born-Again pieces. Pressing On, an unofficial compilation of performances around the time of Slow Train Coming, at least highlights the more pressing urgencies of Dylan at the time – and does it well.  

Open with the likes of Gotta Serve Somebody then. It became a staple of his shows long after the release of Slow Train Coming and hearing it in its earliest live conceptions is a good indicator of its growing qualities. Those backing vocalists would be frequently utilised over the coming decade. Get used to them. Pressing On does just that, it presses on and through a time where Dylan could have capitalised on the vast depths of his hit-laden past. But his predilections for faith guided him elsewhere and the results, as this compilation outlines, were to overhaul his old numbers with gospel teachings and tired tones. His mind was elsewhere, and he cannot be blamed for feeling that way. There are no hits within this compilation and instead, the focus is on those refined and sharper moments from the first Gospel Tour.  

Latter pieces, especially the titular Pressing On, hear Dylan try his hand at those religious intertextualities. His battle with heaven and hell is extended and feels raw, though it would be cut significantly on later performances – likely because he has found the time to put his point across in fewer verses. Even then these performances linger as a fresh slice of exciting live performances. I Believe in You has a whooping and reciprocating crowd which would not always be the case for Dylan in these performances and the decade ahead. Dylan declaring himself a man who “believes God can raise the dead” on When You Gonna Wake Up brings out the news-rattling showcase of those who live by the cycle of dread. It, along with many of the omissions collected here following the release of Trouble No More, makes for a better listen than the official Bootleg Series release.  

Intense vocal work on When He Returns goes a long way in selling this new period for Dylan. It was likely the high point of his religious period. Though it was not downhill from here the buzz and booming display, the interest he held in live performances and ripping the material into new directions, feels lost for much of the period ahead. Roaring through on Slow Train Coming after some preamble of picking up speed is without question the best performance Dylan has given the titular 1979 piece. Conflict runs through Pressing On – the speeches found on End Times Sermon gives Dylan a shot at prophetic wisdom and his references to those hits like Blowin’ in the Wind are right there. His salvation starts well enough and booms through. A surefire and necessary, unofficial compilation which highlights just how deep and meaningful this period was to Dylan.