Take what you can with these unreleased efforts. Unofficial compilations of unreleased studio material remain fascinating. Where it comes from, how it is scrubbed up and the eventual release all make for a satisfying conveyor belt of solutions which are thoroughly taken for granted. But this, Coming from the Heart, has the look of an essential piece for those wanting another slice of late-1970s Bob Dylan. A rewritten version of Lay Lady Lay mixed in with some fine examples of his craft at a time when his slide into religious material was just beginning. Once more a compilation reliant on the context of the times. Dylan in his rough spot, the post-divorce blues were well documented by works like Blood on the Tracks and Desire. Some extreme choice was needed to haul himself out of this malaise. The choice taken was Street-Legal, and how he got there can be heard on Coming from the Heart.
Drastic personal changes are the key reason some of these songs went unloved, unreleased. Stop Now could have been a funky start to the new decade, its saxophone and brass feel bold and rewarding. Coming from the Heart hopes to showcase another, subtle side to Dylan during this period. One where he was muddled by the mistakes of his past and trying to make good on this image that had been built up of him by audiences. Stop Now sounds like a jolly addition to those expectations but it was never meant to last, as the rest of these songs soon realise. Tender realisations are made on pieces like The Man in Me, contemplative moments which are for Dylan and Dylan alone. It would feature on Planet Waves but eight years on it takes on a new form, this rugged and shadowy beast of estrangement. Brutal, but brilliant.
Stepchild (Am I Your Stepchild), where Freud would have a field day, also feels like an early grasp at Serve Somebody in its instrumental tone. Follow it up with the raw and rugged You Don’t Love Me No More, and Dylan is working out the last of his looming rage. The bulk of these songs are slower in their tempo, and harsher in their rage. More than Flesh and Blood and some revisions to Lay, Lady, Lay, are monumental. Coming from the Heart has an exceptional pace, an album-like collection of unreleased songs which work rather well together because they all experience the burning heart, and the feeling of isolation in both the professional and personal minefields. A pre-conversion Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others) is a clear example of this – the impact this born-again turn had on Dylan is clear to hear.
A tremendous collection once more shining a light Dylan could not do on his own. Compilations of unreleased material are the real route to his heart, as little as he gives away on his studio releases. Coming from the Heart documents the troubles Dylan was experiencing with such a blistering frankness you would think the bootleggers were in the room with him. Lay, Lady, Lay, stands out as the obvious highlight but later pieces like Angel and Coming from the Heart (The Road is Long) are subtle spots where we can gauge the mood in the studio. Barbed would be an understatement. As Dylan sifts through these works and looks for a way out of his malaise, there comes an extremity, a desperation, to how he refits these songs as religiously moved later down the line.
