May 2011 sees the 70th birthday of Bob Dylan. To celebrate, we're taking you on a journey through the lesser celebrated avenues of his back catalogue. A journey down Highway 61 that won't stop off at 'Blowin' In The Wind', 'All Along The Watchtower' or 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door' but will call by...I Believe In You (1979)
There are plenty of hardcore Dylan fans around who stayed with him through thick and thin for nearly two decades. No matter what point they got on board in the ‘60s or ‘70s, their loyalty stood unspoiled even by 1970’s baffling ‘Self Portrait’, helped considerably by the abundance of classic releases that came along in the mid-seventies. And as for the electricity-fearing-folkies who once booed at the very sight of an amp, given time you’d be hard pushed to find many that would deny the reactionary foolishness they’d displayed. But there do remain plenty of Bob-loyalists who believe that ‘Street Legal’ was his last good album and that he never really recovered from the Christian conversion announced in 1979 with ‘Slow Train Coming’.
The ironic thing is he actually made a very strong album, seeking for the first time really a commercial touch with the sound and production which lead to the involvement of Mark Knopfler. And as for inspiration, it could be argued that ‘Street Legal’ was showing signs of a burn out; it was overall weaker than the previous three studio albums and with his fortieth birthday approaching why wouldn’t Bob be looking for a new angle with his writing; a new perspective for tackling some bigger questions perhaps? If God really needed to be confronted head on then it’s so typical of the Dylan character to position himself as the newly-converted evangelist and stir up some reaction that way. But many didn’t go along for the ride; past works like ‘Gates Of Eden’ were such strong pillars that he’d never stand convincingly shoulder to shoulder with a Johnny Cash when dealing in spiritual matters. Such a shame because from a songwriters perspective he generally hit the mark, indisputably so when you hear an act like The Staples Singers take on ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’.
Armed with the prior knowledge that Bob had ‘got religion’ and taking a glance down at some of the titles, it’s likely that those who did still show allegiance and buy the album only gave the songs a cursory listen. The idea of a song called ‘I Believe In You’ on a Christian rock record, to be fair, is off putting enough for all but the most devoted. But that’s not what you get here, there’s a sweet gospel inflection for sure yet taken out of context ‘I Believe In You’ comes across as a straight forward song of undying faith in someone, possibly a living person even albeit one of debateable popularity. When Cat Power sings it below she revs up the soul and turns the whole thing in on itself as if trumpeting support to the composer himself (a touch that’s stapled in on her ‘Juke Box’ album as she follows it up with her own superb ‘Song To Bobby’). I’m not denying the spiritual message that’s easily read into this of course, it’s there for all to see. But as with all the great Bob work, the potential for a variety of interpretation is ripe. Now listen to Cat Power, a singer-songwriter whose version of ‘Paths Of Victory’ is also well worth digging out.
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