Saved

About a year ago, following the example of my friend Gordy and upgrading my subscription to Spotify, I started picking artists with the intent of listening to their entire catalog. My two guidelines were:

1. I didn't have any of their albums
2. I really should have

For the record, there are some surprising artists I do not have in my record collection - The Rolling Stones for example (though I used to have an 8-track of Love You Live), mainly because I live in St. Louis and just have to turn on the radio to get all the Stones I want and then some. Plus the wife owns "40 Licks".

So far I've been through:

• David Bowie - missed mostly because I was growing up in Iowa when he was good and loathed "Let's Dance"
• Loudon Wainwright III
• Steve Earle - He'd hit the scene when I went through a 'I'm going to produce more music than I consume phase" and didn't produce much or consume that much beyond Richard Thompson & Jonathan Richman
• Velvet Underground

. . . and now Dylan in a year when his recorded output and I both turn 50.

Technically, I forgot I owned "Before the Flood", but to me that was always a Band album. The biggest surprise? Despite the mass of impersonators (not musically, but rather mocking the vocals) and that weird foray into fake country croon around "Nashville Skyline", his voice holds up (so far) and I'm not tired of it yet (looking at you Wainwright).

I'm up to 1980 and album 20 out of 35. I've covered the classic ("Blood on the Tracks"), the god-awful ("Bob Dylan at Budokan"), and the surprising how-did-I-miss-this in 35 years? ("New Morning").

"Saved" is the second of Dylan's Born-Again trilogy and, despite getting tepid reviews, I think it holds up as a sincere, well-made body of songs (the only cover, "Satisfied Mind", is run through the re-mixer).

I remember what a big deal "Slow Train Coming" was (back when I subscribed to Rolling Stone and it covered music instead of fashion). Produced by Mark Knofpler in the midst of Dire Straits' pomp, it surprised many with its turn to Jesus.

But "Saved" is exactly what it seems, a master song-writer turning his attention to a subject matter covered by many and shining with songs as strong as any in his career. It didn't rate well with critics at the time, but I found it a very pleasant surprise.