What's your opinion of Dylan's "born again" albums?

I generally like them, on occasion disagree mildly with his theology. A few comments have been made of Infidels. I consider it to be an extension of his faith. While small there is a messianic movement, and I don't consider his work on that album inconsistent with Christian faith (I know some non-messianic Christians that would agree). Slow Train Coming in my opinion was one of Dylan's best later works.

 

I used to feel that way too.
Still not my favorite Dylan period by any means,
but some live performances, his singing is incredible and the passion just blows me away.
And I am not religious at all.
(and his kind of Christianity he was embracing was a hostile one to non-believers also...)

 

Shot of Love is my favorite of the three, Like them all, and agree that Infidels should be included in that group. In fact, you could perhaps read the tea leaves on Street Legal.

 

I like all three "born again" albums, but I prefer the live versions of the songs
in 1979. Those concerts rocked. It was the loudest he's ever played in concert.
"Slow Train" and "Gotta Serve Somebody" were middle-of-the-road AM radio
music on the albums but in concerts they rocked liked hellfire and brimstone.
Of the three albums I prefer Saved because it's most like the concerts and was
recorded in the studio with his touring band.

 

My favorite Dylan period. Even if one doesn't agree with the message (I happen to), Dylan has rarely been as impassioned in his lyrics and performances than in 79-80.

 

They suck.

 

As an agnostic who finds insufficient evidence to believe, after massive consideration, I like the albums a lot. Great players and music. Excellent work by Bob, even if I think he was delusional.

 

All three are truly remarkable albums.. Superior material.

 

I like them a lot and listen to them more often than most of the other albums that I own from that time period.

 

I’ve never cared for Slow Train Coming as an album. It seems overproduced and less energetic compared to the live shows of the era. For example, the studio version of Gotta Serve Sonebody sounds cold & lifeless to me. Saved is a pretty good representation of the live band’s sound, & is probably Dylan’s most underrated album. Shot of Love sounds a bit scattershot, like it suffers from the burden of being released in a period where Dylan expected his albums to be ignored.

I didn’t hear any of these albums until the late 90s in my teen years. I’d already had Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 for a few years by then, so having access to outtakes from these albums before hearing the full released product probably colors my view of them. Hearing “Angelina” & “Need a Woman” before hearing the Shot of Love album especially made the released lineup a letdown.

I’m very glad the Trouble No More box came out, as it has completely changed my view of this period & made me appreciate it so much more.

 

I love Mark Knofler’s playing and Danny Kortchmar’s playing on them.

 

They're Bob and I enjoy them...

 

I only know a few tracks from these. I'm not religious at all, but I think "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "Every Grain of Sand" are quite beautiful.

 

Question: Is it a "later" work when it was issued in year 17 of a (so far) 57 year recording career?

(I don't mind that interpretation myself, as I am only interested in Dylan's recordings from 1961 to 1989.)

 

I've heard only Shot of Love and thought it was pretty good

 

I thought someone might say that! Well you have later, much later and much, much later!

Seriously, it was later than his "big hit" period 1963 to about 1970 and later than the "inconsistent" period that had some good albums and some not too good albums. That's what I meant.

 

Don't like 'em at all, unless you include INFIDELS in the group. But Dylan was in a very patchy rut before them and after them.

 

A patchy rut before them? Desire and Street-Legal? (I guess you could count Budokan too.)

 

The live stuff makes the studio versions unnecessary in terms of performance quality. That being said, the most disappointing part of that phase was how hamfisted the lyrics were. I get it, the evangelical convert has a tendency to be VERY eager to show how intensely they believe to the point of hectoring. But eventually you have to examine WHAT you believe and not just THAT you believe. Dylan had peppered religious imagery in his songs for a while, so it was a missed opportunity for him to be so surface level about it all like he was.

REALLY good band on those records though.

 

Initially, I loved Slow Train, hated the title track of Shot of Love and loved Saved.

Long term: I haven't listened to Slow Train in decades, still like Saved and have a new appreciation for Shot of Love (after a @RayS song-by-song thread and the recent Trouble No More).

 

I rarely play them but, when I do, I always get something out of them. I suspect my experience is common to many.

Shot Of Love is the best of the three lyrically (and contains what may be Dylan's single greatest song) but is let down by its production.

 

Like others here have stated, I went through Catholic schools and upbringing and ultimately, as an adult, turned away from organized religion. Dylan said in a more recent interview that his religion comes through music, and I have a similar view. As such, I love these albums, but agree with others that the live versions are where the songs really take off, especially with the "Saved" material. STC is one of his best "sounding" records, but "Saved" lacked the passion that he gave those songs in live performance. I picked up the Bootleg series box of this era and love it! I will go for that ahead of any of the three albums these days. Like "Infidels," SOL could have been special with more time, revisions, and better song selection. He had material at the time that was way better than some of the songs that made the album.

 

I reckon they are great albums, and personally I think if the subject matter didn't rub people the wrong way, they would be considered more frequently in his top ten albums.
I personally look at the period as running from Slow Train to Infidels. Infidels did better in reality because the Christian messages were more subtle, and most of the songs were pretty straight lyrically.