Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 – Both Ends Of The Rainbow

From God to godawful

When Dylan found Christianity on his massive 1978 tour, he subsequently divided the world into the Saved and the Damned, just as, Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin puts it, he’d divided it into the Hip and Unhip in the mid-60s. With Dylan now accepting a Higher Authority, as opposed to questioning all notions of bowing to anyone but oneself, the fans’ response to his late 70s/early 80s shows was reminiscent of 1966: catcalling, booing, walking out. The power of Christ was as upsetting as the power of electricity.

In the third instalment of Sexy Intellectual’s ongoing Dylan studies, this DVD takes Dylan’s faith-finding (or, finding satisfying answers to his questions, as opposed to more questions and inadequate responses) as a springboard into losing himself and his art in 80s production and a shifting industry that bucked against his rootsier way of working.

No one needs to describe the rubbish albums – only hardcore Bobcats will own them, and they’ll have worked it out themselves. These switch-off moments aside, however, it’s a tale well told, if not a hugely engrossing dissection. Oh Mercy’s artistic resurrection leads us into teasers of a failed early 90s, meaning that the fourth instalment is probably not far off.

Chrome Dreams/Sexy Intellectual | CVIS 603

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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