Perhaps it was inevitable that Bob Dylan would change direction at the end of the '70s, since he had dabbled in everything from full-on repudiation of his legacy to a quiet embrace of it, to dipping his toe into pure showmanship.
Nobody really could have expected that he would turn to Christianity on Slow Train Coming, embracing a born-again philosophy with enthusiasm.
He has no problem in believing in a vengeful god -- you gotta serve somebody, after all -- and this is pure brimstone and fire throughout the record, even on such lovely testimonials as "I Believe in You." The unexpected side effect of his conversion is that it gave Dylan a focus he hadn't had since Blood on the Tracks, and his concentration carries over to the music, which is lean and direct in a way that he hadn't been since, well, Blood on the Tracks.
Focus isn't necessarily the same thing as consistency, and this does suffer from being a bit too dogmatic, not just in its religion, but in its musical approach.
Still, it's hard to deny Dylan's revitalized sound here, and the result is a modest success that at least works on its own terms.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gotta Serve SomebodyBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 05:25 | 0 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | Precious AngelBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 06:31 | 0 MB | 43 MB |
| 3 | I Believe in YouBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 05:10 | 0 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Slow TrainBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 06:02 | 0 MB | 36 MB |
| 5 | Gonna Change My Way of ThinkingBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 05:29 | 0 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)Bob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 03:54 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | When You Gonna Wake UpBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 05:29 | 0 MB | 33 MB |
| 8 | Man Gave Names to All the AnimalsBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 04:27 | 0 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | When He ReturnsBob Dylan | Bob Dylan | Play | 04:31 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 282 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Beckett | Keyboards, Percussion, Producer |
| 2 | Steven Berkowitz | Reissue Producer |
| 3 | Mickey Buckins | Percussion |
| 4 | Greg Calbi | Mastering |
| 5 | Harrison Calloway, Jr. | Arranger |
| 6 | Carolyn Dennis | Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Didier C. Deutsch | Tape Research |
| 8 | Tim Drummond | Bass |
| 9 | Bob Dylan | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Gregg Hamm | Engineer |
| 11 | Regina Havis | Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Catherine Kanner | Cover Illustration |
| 13 | Mark Knopfler | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 14 | George Marino | Mastering |
| 15 | Muscle Shoals Horns | Horn |
| 16 | Nick Saxton | Tray Photo |
| 17 | Christopher Shaw | Mixing |
| 18 | Helena Springs | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Jerry Wexler | Producer |
| 20 | Pick Withers | Drums |
| 21 | David Yates | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |