Bob Dylan's 'Trouble No More - The Bootleg Series Vol 13/1979-1981." I have the 2 CD version. Hard-hitting Gospel music delivered with power and passion.
"The band was perhaps the greatest group of musicians Dylan ever toured with outside of the Band. It included organist Spooner Oldham, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Tim Drummond, keyboardist Terry Young, guitarist Fred Tackett and five highly accomplished female backup vocalists. "On a musical level, he was singing amazing things," says Tackett. "He would sometimes do back-phrasing, meaning he would not come in at the beginning of the line in the song. He'd wait several beats and then he'd start singing and play catch up. I'd think to myself, 'He ain't gonna make it before we change chords!' But he would, man. It was almost this jazz-phrasing, improvisatory stuff. It
impressed me all the time."
impressed me all the time."
I was one of those Dylan fans who was horrified when Dylan decided he was a "born-again Christian." It led to the question, "What the hell happened to Dylan?"
Now, all these many years later, knowing what we know about Dylan and the glorious records that came afterwards, these live recordings are a "revelation." I have found myself singing along to songs that I never thought I would be singing along to: "Ain't Going to Hell for Anybody," and "Man Gave Names to All the Animals."
All that Christian imagery no longer sounds appalling, it's actually all quite appealing. Dylan has worn many masks. I realize I have too.