The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that it's not for everybody. Dylan is in a musical groove here that is as compelling as in his great trilogy from the mid-70's (Planet Waves, Blood on the Tracks, Desire). "Shot of Love" had greater individual songs (Property of Jesus, Lenny Bruce, The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar, Every Grain of Sand), and "Infidels" was more varied and complex, and "Slow Train Coming" was more of a revelation, but "Saved" is the most consistent of the four and the one which works best as a coherent whole.

For this reason, I don't like to single out songs, because they're all excellent and have a cumulative impact. The lyrics are clear, powerful, and theologically both sound and deep ("What Can I Do For You?" and "Saving Grace" showing particular originality). Dylan's vocals are full of such unmistakable joy, thanksgiving, love of God, and concern for humanity that it's impossible for any Christian not to be deeply moved.

The backing band is terrific, with creative arrangements and notable piano playing from Spooner Oldham. Dylan's female background singers, led by Clydie King, have been criticized by some for their over-the-top enthusiasm on his other records from the period, but here their gospelly flair is perfect.

After 1983 Dylan moved away from overtly Christian music. His change in musical style has led some to conclude he's lost his faith, but it's clear from many songs on 1989's "Oh Mercy", 1993's "World Gone Wrong", and 1997's "Time Out of Mind", as well as the old gospel songs he sings in concerts sometimes, that God is still with him and he's still "Pressing On".


You don't get better than this   January 16, 2001
C Rogers (New Zealand)
115 out of 124 found this review helpful

When Dylan produced Slow Train Coming a lot of people thought that it was a brief 'spiritual' phase he was going through. However when Saved was produced it horrified the secular music world as he had obviously fallen victim to the christian faith. John Lennon called him a traitor to his own jewish people and concert goers threw food at him when he refused to sing songs from older albums. I remember walking past record stores who were almost giving the cassette of Saved away (well, for .95 cents anyway). Yet it remains Dylans most rockiest,clearest and arguably his most passionate album he has ever produced. I absolutely love it and always go back to playing it. Time has shown that it was a 'phase' for Dylan, and when I went to a concert of his in 1986 with Tom Petty, all his passion had gone..he didn't seem to know who he was or what he was singing about(the critics had a field day). His obviously has come back since then, but I remember this album as a pinnacle of a singer who gave up his dignity and reputation to follow his heart...and isn't that where all good music comes from?


Dylan. As good as you'll find him.   January 15, 2001
A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com (Glen Ellyn, IL USA)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

What do you need to know?

Should I bolster Dylan's incredible reputation as an incredible songwriter? Should I tell you that he wrote a Christian rock album based on his own genuine faith at the time? Will you buy the album if I tell you it is among my favorite Christian albums, along with Phil Keaggy's (great guitarist with a Paul McCartney voice) and Larry Norman's (singer-songwriter with a folk-blues flavor) groundbreaking work?

Listen to the clips. Dig the blues and black gospel influences. Groove with it. You like Dylan. Of course you do. Even critics of Christianity claim this to be among his best works. When you get into it and feel the verve of his sincerity and depth, you're bound to agree that as a Dylan fan, you have not been disappointed. You'll find he was hardly fundamentalist in his theology, but rich with a complex faith that charged that he should be living out what he was singing about. Nothing namby-pamby is going on here.

The same Dylan who wrote, "The Times They Are A-Changin" wrote every word of "Saved."

If matters of faith cause you to tremble, join the ranks of pop music fans. If spiritual questing, search for meaning and the desire to believe in something that matters in your real life is part of what makes a classic song, buy this CD.

For the less timid, dust off your family Bible and find out he's pulling much of his lyrics straight from Scripture. Check out "Slow Train Coming" or "Shot of Love" to hear more of his work in this genre. If you find out Christian rock is more than Stryper, Amy Grant and jazzed-up versions of "Amazing Grace," boldly go where Christian rock has gone before, and search the net for "In Another Land" or "Only Visiting This Planet" by Norman, or any of Keaggy's stuff.

I fully recommend this album.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com


It's taken years to convert me   January 5, 2007
DirkL (Sydney, NSW Australia)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I tried way too hard to like this album when it was first released, back in 1980. I preferred the thematic content to the actual music which was just where I was at that time in my life. Since then I've experienced changing tastes in music and other things (maybe just getting older). The thing I now value in music above all else is sincerity and passion. That is the raw material from which an artist can produce genuinely meaningful work. I realise now that what I really like about this album is it's spontenaity and exuberance. The vocal performances of Dylan and his amazing backup singers are passionate, heartfelt and intense. The band is road-roughened and ready to deliver what sounds like a live recording of very few takes. In remaining true to the spirit of the original Afro-American gospel sound, I have no doubt that Dylan - always deeply respectful of his musical mentors, pays tribute to the many great known & unknown performers of this wonderful genre. It's pure and unadulterated gospel music but it's also uncompromising and unrestrained rock & roll. I believe it to be up with his very best.


Dylan's musical peak   April 15, 2006
bob turnley (birmingham,al,usa)
23 out of 29 found this review helpful

The great thing about Saved is the fact that in these songs, Dylan is actually singing about something as opposed to tossing off stream of consciousness babble or wallowing in cynicism. And on purely musical terms his band performs at least as well as the music he made with The Band or his current hot lineup. The backup singers on Saved bring out every bit of gospel soul in these songs and Dylan actually sings. Gone is the blaring yelling of the early 70's and the constant nasal whine that has become the Dylan cliche voice had not yet set in. Raving atheists should avoid this and all gospel music. All others will find that this is one of the best albums Dylan has ever produced.