''Saved'' is the 20th studio album by American singer-songwriter

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, released on June 23, 1980, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. ''Saved'' was the second album of Dylan's "Christian trilogy". It expanded on themes explored on its predecessor '' Slow Train Coming'', with gospel arrangements and lyrics extolling the importance of a strong personal faith.

Artwork

The cover of ''Saved'' originally featured a painting by Tony Wright of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'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 Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...

31:31)".

Release and reception

The album hit No. 3 on the UK charts, reached No. 24 on the US charts and did not go gold. ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...

'' described the album as an "open declaration of Dylan's deepening faith." Critical reaction to the album was mixed.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

awarded the album a "C+", which is described by Christgau as "most likely a failed experiment or a pleasant piece of hackwork". Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'',

Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...

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". In 2020, ''

'' included ''Saved'' in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising Dylan for being "at the peak of his vocal powers, and he’s rarely played with a better bunch of musicians".

Track listing

Personnel

– guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals *

Carolyn Dennis Carolyn Dennis (born April 12, 1954), sometimes known professionally as Carol Dennis or Carol Dennis-Dylan, is an American singer and actress best known for her work with and marriage to Bob Dylan. Career Dennis has also sung back-up for Wonderlo ...

– backing vocals *

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

– bass guitar *Regina Havis – backing vocals *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

– drums *

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

– backing vocals *

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy ...

– keyboards *

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little F ...

– guitar *Monalisa Young – backing vocals *Terry Young – keyboards, backing vocals Technical *

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in th ...

– production *Gregg Hamm –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*Bobby Hata – mastering *Mary Beth McLemore – assistant engineering *Arthur Rosato – photography *

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

– 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''.

References

External links

Official lyrics
fro
BobDylan.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saved (Album) 1980 albums Albums produced by Barry Beckett Albums produced by Jerry Wexler Bob Dylan albums Columbia Records albums Gospel albums by American artists