The Gospel Years

D001.sf/D187 LIKE A MORNING STAR

This is a double review, looking at D001.sf and D187, two DVDs which present the wonderful Toronto 20.4.80 show in slightly different ways. The two discs have much in common: thus sound and image quality are equally good in both cases. Both discs feature all of Bob's songs with almost all complete (first two lines of Precious Angel are gone and there's a badly-executed cut - more like a hack - which takes away all of the play-out of In The Garden). But then come the differences. The seven minute rap Bob delivers to introduce Solid Rock is retained on D001.sf only. There are eight songs and a story performed/told by other band members during the course of the show and these too are cut from D187. But this disc has other added material - to begin, Bob's three-song Saturday Night Live performance of 20.10.79 (very fine, but available elsewhere) and, to end, a Gospel Show encore song, I Will Love Him, recorded the previous evening. Less than fully realised, this performance is more like a live rehearsal than anything else, though none the less interesting for that. D001.sf's menu also features two additional bonuses - first a 16 minute interview (sound only) given by Bob to Paul Vincent on 18.11.80 and second a picture gallery which, at the click of a button, leafs through over 400 pictures of Bobs old and young, colour and b/w - an enjoyable mix of the common and not-so-common in five well-presented chapters.



You'll need to decide for yourselves which of these discs you'd sooner have. Maybe, like me, you'll want to acquire them both. Bob's sixties legacy is justifiably celebrated but, y'know what? Stacked alongside Bangladesh, RTRs I & II, BOTT/Desire, the '78 World Tour and the FW shows of late '79, these DVDs makes a strong case in support of the possibly heretical notion that D's most living, giving decade was actually the seventies. (Sure, the show-date is April '80, but the link back to his late-seventies "Born Again" phase is clear.)

I was mislead by having seen When He Returns on Through The Years 1 into thinking that the Toronto film was visually lame. Indeed, that track - Pressing On too - are shot with a single static camera due to D's piano-bound back-of-stage location. But otherwise the film is alive with colour, movement, plenty of revealing and varied camera angles - and, better yet, studded with performances of awe and wonder. See Bob brim full of grace (which I suppose makes him graceful), see him radiant with belief, burning with divine fiery zeal. You don't have to buy into his (arguably dubious) philosophy to enjoy these performances, but be warned - his passion and commitment are infectious! Don’t believe me? Check out the faces - sold every one - of the audience-members down by his feet.



Of course Rolling Thunder's great, of course it's indispensable - but this is too. These essential DVDs are among the elite few around that fully justify a five star rating. If you haven't already, get one or both of them now!

To Pete K and Steve A: I wanna thank you, boys... To Sony: a Fox Warfield '79 show for the next Boot Series release? PLEASE???

STARS Five

This is a good shoe that shows Bobs best Christian show.
Being a christian myself, you'd think i would love it.


It is worth having though.

L

An incredible document form this under-appreciated time in Bob's career.
Yes, I do miss the speech before "Solid Rock" but his is still a great disc.
The bonus song from the day before is simply beautiful.

Great stuff!!

This is a very special document, featuring a very inspired Mr. Dylan and a truely Excellent band, powerful deliveries, and great audio and video.
My favorites include sizzling Slow Train Coming and Solid Rock, and the slow building In The Garden.
All the SNL tracks are really wonderful, truely swinging. Epic stuff.
I would like to have the version with the performances from backup singers and Bob's 'sermon', but this is still a 'must have', 5 star, dvd.

If your a fan of Gospel era Dylan then this is the DVD for you. Professionally shot so the quality is superb, and the performance is top-notch! Dylan is dripping with sweat and every line is delivered with passion and gusto. The band is superb, and the setlist is brilliant too. If you haven't got this DVD then get it as soon as possible, because it's a must-have!

This is a tremendous document. Impassioned singing and playing. The man is good when inspired as he is here. A very generous soul (there are many here) sent me this when I had no dvd's. It is one of the best! The SNL songs are cool too!

Excellent sound and video. SNL footage is crystal clear. Canada footage is a tad darker, but only because of stage lighting. Nice energetic performances on Bobs part.

I like it, I like it!

What amazes me is how these old Dylan performances get better with age ...

Two Thumbs Up -

This is simply an amazing DVD! To start I had seen video of the SNL show before seeing it on this and was shocked at how much better the quality of the SNL material was on this DVD. The quality of that show is so good it is beyond words.
Getting to the Massey Hall concert the quality is not as good as the SNL show because the far away shots are too dark but the close ups are amazing. Messey Hall was OK untill the song 'Ain't Gonna Go To Hell,' from that song the show really takes off with some great little speeches by Bob.
The final song (It was never recorded and I think this was the only time it was even performed) 'I Will Love Him' has to be one of the best I have ever seen/heard Dylan. He is sweaty and full of life banging on his piano in this one with amazing motions and at the end a strut to center stage.

I miss the gospel girls' speech as introduction of the film, as well as Bob's sermon. These parts of the show are included in the old video VHS version. I think is really important to understan those concerts as a whole.

"The Gospel Years" present a significant advance in visual quality, compared to video and VCD, in both its parts, SNL and Toronto 20/4/80. SNL, the day of Revelation, has 3 immaculately televised segments. His songs might not date...but we are treated with a heavily mannered 70's performance and some bass bouncing! Fantastic to have.

"Contract with the Lord" is the most wonderful of the Christian period concerts but Toronto goes close. The professionally filmed footage is at its best in close-up but dark and shapeless in long-shot. Here, Dylan brings passionate, unique magic to the gospel genre. The girls, the band, the formal attire and the lighting make a medicine stage show. The undoubted highlight is "What Can I do For You?", also the highlight of "CWTL", and particularly Bob's harmonica solos during this song.Thankfully the shot remains close-up as Bob defies time!