Dylan - Shot of Love

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by duggan, Jul 30, 2010.

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  1. duggan

    duggan Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    sydney
    What an album.

    I've recently purchased this on CD for the first time. For no rational reason it was the cd missing from my Dylan collection.

    Maybe I have changed but I was surprised at how much more I now enjoy this album than I did in the 80's. The thunderous, pounding, wailing title track kicks off the album with little restraint waranted or given. Despite a couple of lesser tracks (e.g. WDL) it is a superb album rounded off by the sublime Every Grain of Sand and sliced in half by the very welcome addition of "Grooms still waiting at the alter".

    Is it time for a reassessment of this album?

    P.S. I'm just about to make a CDR adding the Biograph and Bootleg Series 3 tracks to the album, does anyone have any suggestions on the sequencing.
     
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  2. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    I think it's better than Infidels.
     
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  3. Jerryb

    Jerryb Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I wouldn't go that far! I like SOL but Infidels is on another level entirely.
     
  4. Expectant One

    Expectant One Well-Known Member

    While I've only heard the album 5-6 times, I don't like it too much. As for Every Grain of Sand, I love it, but only the Bootleg version. Grooms is also a cool song.
     
  5. Marc 74

    Marc 74 Senior Member

    Location:
    West Germany,NRW
    Shot Of Love is okay. Not as good as Infidels but certainly better than Knocked Out Loaded or Down In The Groove.

    My faves are Property Of Jesus,Heart Of Mine and especially Every Grain Of Sand.
     
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  6. pianomanfan88

    pianomanfan88 Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Of all his 80s albums, I'd only rank "Oh Mercy" above "Shot of Love." They have opposite feels to them, where I'll only listen to SOL in the summertime (no pun intended) and OM in the winter. Dylan fans seem to love "Infidels," but that's one of his albums I've never liked.
     
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  7. Expectant One

    Expectant One Well-Known Member

    I know what you mean, Oh Mercy is quite suited for autumn/winter.
     
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  8. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    With "Groom" as the centerpiece, it's a much better album, but Infidels with "Blind Willie McTell" would be remembered as a classic.
     
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  9. pianomanfan88

    pianomanfan88 Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Agreed. Anything with "Blind Willie McTell" would outshine any of his other 80s works. "Man in the Long Black Coat" and "Shooting Star" are great songs, but not as great as "Willie."
     
  10. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Shot of Love marked a welcome return to writing about things other than God and Jesus. I don't mind the religious subject matter, but having it be the only thing he wrote about became tedious. I also like that he started applying his bitter, spiteful, Dylan persona to his religious songs. Shot of Love and Property of Jesus sound like the type of religious songs you'd expect Dylan to write: judgmental, angry, spiteful, condemnatory. A Positively Fourth Street view of the Lord. I also like the ramshackle production style, which contrasts with the heavily polished style of his other best 80's albums.
     
  11. duggan

    duggan Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    sydney
    Any thoughts on sequencing a Sot Of Love redux would be appreciated.
     
  12. jpmosu

    jpmosu a.k.a. Mr. Jones

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    This was one of the last Dylan albums to enter my collection, and I was pleasantly surprised, too. "Lenny Bruce," aside--which is just a painfully bad song--the album has many highlights for me. In addition to the obvious winners ("Grain of Sand," "Groom"), I really enjoy the title track, and "In the Summertime" is a lost classic, IMHO.
     
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  13. INSW

    INSW Senior Member

    Location:
    Georgia
    Great vocals on this record. Take out Trouble and Watered Down Love, put in Caribbean Wind and Angelina.

    Shot of Love
    Heart of Mine
    Property of Jesus
    Lenny Bruce
    Angelina

    Caribbean Wind
    The Groom's Still Waiting At The Alter
    In The Summertime
    Dead Man, Dead Man
    Every Grain of Sand

    Leave room on a b-side for his version of Mystery Train.
     
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  14. Peter_R

    Peter_R Maple Syrple Gort Staff

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    This is a Dylan album I have yet to investigate. I'm familiar with about 70% of his work, but there are a couple of albums that were under the radar.
    Now, I'm intrigued & I find myself wanting to track it down. From that period, I love Infidels. I also really do enjoy Down In The Groove & Slow Train Coming. So, naturally, I find myself intrigued by the comments.
     
  15. Peter Harrar

    Peter Harrar Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Here's my alternate version:

    Shot Of Love
    Heart Of Mine
    Yonder Comes Sin
    Let's Keep It Between Us
    Caribbean Wind

    Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar
    In The Summertime
    Every Grain Of Sand
    Need A Woman
    Angelina
     
  16. Ragu

    Ragu Forum Resident

    Location:
    LA
    To each his own. I think Lenny Bruce is a fabulous song. I like the "He was an outlaw that's for sure, more of an outlaw than you ever were..." Maybe being a huge Lenny Bruce fan in addition being a Dylan fan helps.
     
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  17. Joe N

    Joe N Forum Resident

    I like that song a lot too, along with most of rest of the album. Though I wish he had included "Angelina" on it. That would have made the difference between a very good album, which I think it is, and one that would have bordered on great.

    I think "Every Grain of Sand" is one of his greatest songs.
     
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  18. rstamberg

    rstamberg Senior Member

    Location:
    Riverside, CT
    I LOVE "Lenny Bruce," so there you go.

    SHOT OF LOVE's high points are absolutely grand. I think "In The Summertime" is an awesome song and features one of Bob's best-ever harp solos. "Property Of Jesus" rocks in a slithery sort of way, "Heart Of Mine" is fantastic ...

    One of my favorite Bob Dylan albums. There are quite a few of those, too.
     
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  19. rstamberg

    rstamberg Senior Member

    Location:
    Riverside, CT
    I think DOWN IN THE GROOVE is a much-maligned and totally misunderstood album. Bob actually worked on that album and its track lineup for ages before it was released, hence there are pre-release versions of DOWN IN THE GROOVE with different tracks, different running orders, etc.

    There's a vibe to DOWN IN THE GROOVE that's undeniable. Some great recordings are there.
     
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  20. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff

    "Every Grain of Sand" is a classic, one of the greatest songs Dylan ever wrote, IMHO. I'm also very partial to "Property of Jesus," and enjoy "Lenny Bruce" immensely. However, I've always felt that there was a definite downhill trend to his Christian trilogy, with "Slow Train" ranking right up there with his finest records, "Saved" a little less so, but with some great songs, and "Shot Love," well, finishing it off as he moved on.
     
  21. Yorick

    Yorick Senior Member

    Location:
    the Netherlands
    Heart Of Mine is one hell of a song, anyone else in love with those great Ringo toms coming in in one of the later verses?
     
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  22. honkymagic

    honkymagic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vienna, VA
    I think SOL is as much a "could have been" record as Infidels or Time Out of Mind. If some combination of "Yonder Comes Sin" and "Angelina" and "Need a Woman" and "Caribbean Wind" could have made the tracklist (and a few others fallen off), it could have been a post-Blood on the Tracks classic. He's singing remarkably well during this period.
     
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  23. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Yes, and Woody doing that awsome reggae guitar riffin' just burns it up!

    This is demo quality material. If one has the LP and a good set up, you get to hear an amazing recording and mix job. The CD sounds fine as well, but on vinyl it really comes alive.
     
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  24. Hey! I think "SHOT OF LOVE" is extremely underrated but it sure isn't as good as "INFIDELS" which IMO is one of his top tem albums.
     
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  25. There's also some fantastic vocal performances from Bob on "DOWN IN THE GROOVE" which people seem to miss for some reason.
    Then again I think his vocals are underrated on 'UNDER THE RED SKY" too...
     
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