Saved (Bob Dylan album)

Saved is the 20th 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 Evangelical 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.

Saved
Studio album by
Bob Dylan
ReleasedJune 23, 1980 (1980-06-23)
RecordedFebruary 11–15, 1980
StudioMuscle Shoals Sound Studio[1]
GenreRock, gospel
Length42:39
LabelColumbia
ProducerBarry Beckett and Jerry Wexler
Bob Dylan chronology
Slow Train Coming
(1979)		 Saved
(1980)		 Shot of Love
(1981)
Re-released cover

Artwork

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)".[2]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC–[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
CCM Magazine[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Tom HullB–[8]

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."[2] 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".[9] 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".[10]

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Satisfied Mind"Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes1:57
2."Saved"Tim Drummond, Bob Dylan4:00
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

Technical

  • Barry Beckett – production
  • Gregg Hamm – engineering
  • Bobby Hata – mastering
  • Mary Beth McLemore – assistant engineering
  • Arthur Rosato – photography
  • Jerry Wexler – production
  • Paul Wexler – mastering supervision
  • Tony Wright – artwork

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.[11]

References
  1. "Billboard Magazine" (PDF). Billboard. February 2, 1980. p. 12. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  2. "Reviews / Bob Dylan Saved". CCM Magazine. 3 (1): 27. July 1980.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Saved at AllMusic
  4. "Robert Christgau review".
  5. "Entertainment Weekly review". EW.com.
  6. 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.
  7. "Bob Dylan: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  8. Hull, Tom (June 21, 2014). "Rhapsody Streamnotes: June 21, 2014". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  9. "Robert Christgau: CG: Bob Dylan".
  10. "Saved".
  11. "Bob Dylan - Saved".
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