Saved (album)

Saved
A painting of a giant finger reaching from the clouds to touch several outstretched hands
Studio album by Bob Dylan
Released June 23, 1980 (1980-06-23)
Recorded February 11–15, 1980
Genre Rock, gospel
Length 42:39
Label Columbia
Producer Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler
Bob Dylan chronology
Slow Train Coming
(1979)		 Saved
(1980)		 Shot of Love
(1981)
Re-released cover
A painting of Dylan playing harmonica onstage into a microphone with a guitar slung over his shoulder

Saved is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 23, 1980, by Columbia Records. Saved was the second album of Dylan's "Christian trilogy", following his conversion to born-again Christianity. It expanded on themes explored on its predecessor Slow Train Coming, with gospel arrangements and lyrics extolling the importance of a strong personal faith.

Cover art

The cover of Saved originally featured a painting by Tony Wright of Jesus Christ's hand reaching down to touch the hands of his believers. However, this cover was subsequently replaced by a painting of Dylan on stage performing during that time period in order to downplay the overtly religious nature of the original cover. It has since been changed back on some re-releases. A quote inside the sleevenotes reads: "'Behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah' (Jeremiah 31:31)".[1]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]
Robert ChristgauC+ [3]
Entertainment WeeklyC− [4]
Rolling Stone[5]
CCM Magazine[1]

The album hit No. 3 on the UK charts, reached No. 24 on the US charts and did not go gold. CCM Magazine described the album as an "open declaration of Dylan's deepening faith."[1] Critical reaction to the album was mixed. Robert Christgau awarded the album a "C+", which is described by Christgau as "most likely a failed experiment or a pleasant piece of hackwork".[6] Writing for Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder praised Dylan's backing band, but felt that several songs were hampered by overtly religious messages, although he did single out "In the Garden" for having a "lovely, billowing arrangement". Loder stated that Dylan's efforts at a gospel album were not as remarkable as others "not just because he lacks the vocal equipment but because he's too inventive, too big for the genre", but summarised Saved as a gospel work with "some distinction".[7]

Track listing

All tracks written by Bob Dylan, except where noted.. 

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."A Satisfied Mind" (Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes)1:57
2."Saved" (Tim Drummond, Bob Dylan)4:00
3."Covenant Woman"  6:02
4."What Can I Do for You?"  5:54
5."Solid Rock"  3:55
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Pressing On"  5:11
2."In the Garden"  5:58
3."Saving Grace"  5:01
4."Are You Ready"  4:41

Personnel

Additional musicians

Technical

Releases

Originally released in 1980 on LP and Cassette, the album was first reprinted in 1985 and released on CD in 1990. Saved was remastered in 2013 for the release of The Complete Album Collection Vol. One.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Reviews / Bob Dylan Saved". CCM Magazine. 3 (1): 27. July 1980.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Saved at AllMusic
  3. ↑ "Robert Christgau review".
  4. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly review". EW.com.
  5. ↑ Loder, Kurt (September 18, 1980). "Rolling Stone : Bob Dylan: Saved : Music Reviews". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Robert Christgau: CG: Bob Dylan".
  7. ↑ "Saved".
  8. ↑ "Bob Dylan - Saved".
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