“He don’t sing nothing like he used to, that’s it,” is the review one fan gave of a Bob Dylan performance in 1980, storming out of the venue into a sparsely populated street, albeit one with a cameraman from local news standing there. It is an opinion of Dylan which is still held by the passive listener, but perhaps for the most volatile time around the release of Saved, the second of three born-again Christian-themed albums. The incensed fan from that fateful night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, may have changed their heart over time, but the immediate reaction was clear. Dylan had no interest in his hits and, for the first time, shed himself completely of his folk hits and rock and roll highs. Saved is an album which lost its way in the studio, and it did little for Dylan’s flock, either.
But while the studio works of Dylan in the 1980s paled in comparison to prior efforts, it was not through a lack of lyrical care. Dylan had observed a change in his outlook and experiences, and as such, he was moved in new ways. That is no surprise – he had done this before with Nashville Skyline, and again with Blood on the Tracks – but the reason Saved is not regarded as highly is, in part, due to the choices made in recording these nine songs. He is moved solely by adapting the church-going experiences, the gospel backing vocalists overwhelming each song. A shame, too, as what becomes very clear is the clarity Dylan has in his lyrical choices. His sudden switch from subconscious folk influences to the conscious chase of meaning and the delicacy of wordplay is a change marked before Saved, but it is highlighted here brilliantly.
Where some of these songs may sound underwhelming in the studio, the sudden end to A Satisfied Mind and the underwhelming instrumental layers of the title track, they are brilliant live pieces. You can just about hear where the song will lead to when shared with an audience. Dylan walks a fine line between preacher and performer in these early 1980s shows, but gets through it not just because of his lyrical conviction, but the fundamental reason he remains an exhilarating live performer. His constant need to fiddle with and change the foundations of the work is what brings the very best out of Saved. It means the title track can leap from piano rock origins to heavy rock and soul at a moment’s notice.
Typical of Dylan around this time is the quality of his live shows. For five years before this performance, Dylan would undertake yearly instrumental reinventions. He would tackle classics with a new sensibility, be it the heavy rock and roll thrills of Hard Rain or the hint of gospel thrill on a bootleg like Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. Whatever the case, Dylan is searching for a new meaning and finds it on stage. It is a feeling which cannot be replicated in the studio, as Dylan is moved not by the higher power there, but by the height of the charts. Saved would fare well, peaking at number three in the UK Charts but marking one of many dud releases. It did not hit gold. His performances, however, are a mark of the quality to be found in these songs.
Dylan observes a thankful approach to religion. He tackled the parables on Slow Train Coming and would get lost on the trail with Shot of Love. Saved, then, is an active participation in his born-again experiences. Covenant Woman is a borderline sermon, and despite the heavy religious materials found within, it is the closest Dylan gets to preaching to a listener. Though he would leave behind Saved almost in its entirety after 1981, its impact on his presence as a performer is a fascinating footnote. In the Garden would be the sole, consistently revived piece from his 1980 release, and even then, its sole performance in 2012 is hardly Dylan re-engaging with an album moulded by his influences, rather than the man himself. There is a rare sense, then, that Dylan was listening to his audience. Dwindling in numbers as they realised he would be playing nothing but these born-again works, the Gospel Tour and subsequent Shot of Love release would leave Dylan with some of his harshest reviews to date.
Deserved? Possibly. Saved and the live performances to come from this early period of religious awakenings are a touch stronger than the tours to follow in the 1980s, particularly the Grateful Dead appearances. Where Dylan may have lost his audience along the road to personal clarity, he also loses a confidence which would not reappear in his performances until the months before his MTV Unplugged resurgence. He was rudderless and, thanks to a CBS deal which required five albums in five years, the well of songs began to dry. Saved and Shot of Love were written during a prolific period for Dylan, where his faith guided his pen. It is as close to the subconscious writing of the 60s, though not what people wanted to hear.
Where listeners and an audience may want, demand, even, an honest touch from their favourite artists, it does not mean they will like what they hear. Dylan offered what was on his mind and in his heart and was damned for it. These songs are all the better on stage than they are on the album, the latter still an underwhelming but occasionally enlightening listen. The Trouble No More bootleg highlights those depths. The title track performed from the Paramount Theatre stage has Dylan give a truly engrossing moment, as does In the Garden in Kansas City. Solid Rock, too, albeit better in the sudden return it was given in 2002 than its contemporary period. What it does not give him is applause, favour with the attending crowd. Saved is amplified by the spontaneity of live performance, the humble approach to songs of faith.
A passing listener, no matter how much they say they care for the meaning of a song, is not going to take on board the personal messages of faith, even if the hits were put in there. Without them, a volatile atmosphere is created, one which proves Dylan and his focus right, more than anything. Ironically, it is now that people find Dylan worthy of the “prophet” or “preacher” tag. He is not, nor has he ever claimed to be, but such is the read on his mystique, the line drawn between fan and family as a boundary for the artist is misinterpreted as some unspoken allure. What it is, actually, is what it has always been, what Saved highlighted.
Dylan is an artist who can do what he wants, not because he is not beholden to a label or license to perform, but because he is guided by what his heart wants. That is it. That is the simple reason Saved became such a staple of the stage for three years. Audiences do not need to connect with that, nor should they feel forced to. Dylan puts on a show of interest to him. Audience involvement is tertiary, minimal at best, in modern performances. The same goes for Saved. Where Dylan may have lost the audience, he had found himself. The latter is far more important. Salvation is shared and yet not suggested. Moments of religious clarity do not overwhelm the strong instrumental sense. Those heavier instrumentals for the more dedicated listener, the fan who wishes to seek out those near-perfect Solid Rock performances, amplify the lacklustre studio works.
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