Maps of Music

Saved (1980)

Where the lyrics of Saved take you, and where it was really made.

Saved first used a cover showing Jesus Christ's hand reaching toward believers, but the cover was replaced with a painting of Dylan on stage to downplay its religious nature.

Key places

Recording at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio (1980)

Recording site Muscle Shoals Sound Studio — Saved was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. The point marks the studio building itself, so the exact room used is not specified. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Saved: twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan
• Released June 23, 1980 by Columbia Records
• Second album of Dylan's "Christian trilogy"
• Expands on themes from its predecessor, Slow Train Coming
• Gospel arrangements and lyrics that stress the importance of a strong personal faith

Background

• Continues the faith-centred direction that began with Slow Train Coming
• Dylan plays guitar, harmonica, keyboards and sings
• Backing vocals by Carolyn Dennis, Regina Havis, Clydie King, Monalisa Young and Terry Young
• Band includes Tim Drummond on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Spooner Oldham and Terry Young on keyboards, and Fred Tackett on guitar
• Production credited to Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler

Recording

• Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama
• Engineering by Gregg Hamm, assistant engineering by Mary Beth McLemore
• Mastering by Bobby Hata, with Paul Wexler supervising mastering

Cover

• The original cover, painted by Tony Wright, showed Jesus Christ's hand reaching down to touch believers' hands
• It was replaced by a painting of Dylan performing on stage
• Some later re-releases restored the original cover
• The sleevenotes quote Jeremiah 31:31

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota; raised in Hibbing, Minnesota.
• Moved to New York City in January 1961 to pursue a music career.
• Signed to Columbia Records after playing harmonica on Carolyn Hester's album; debut album Bob Dylan released in 1962.

Members

• Solo artist; backed over the years by bands including the Hawks/the Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and his touring band led by bassist Tony Garnier.

Career

• Breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements.
• Went electric with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966), provoking controversy among folk fans.
• Motorcycle accident in 1966 led to nearly eight years without touring; Basement Tapes recorded with the Band.
• Converted to Christianity in the late 1970s and released gospel albums; won Album of the Year Grammy for Time Out of Mind (1997).
• Has toured since 1988 on the Never Ending Tour; won an Academy Award and ten Grammy Awards; awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau gave the album a "C+"
• Kurt Loder, writing for Rolling Stone, praised Dylan's backing band but felt several songs were hampered by overtly religious messages
• Loder singled out "In the Garden" for its "lovely, billowing arrangement"
• CCM Magazine described the album as an "open declaration of Dylan's deepening faith."

Reappraisal

• In 2020, Rolling Stone included Saved in its "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list
• The same piece praised Dylan for being at the peak of his vocal powers
• In 2014, Tom Hawking of Flavorwire placed the album on his "The 50 Worst Albums Ever Made" list

Records

• UK: No. 3 on the albums chart
• US: No. 24 on the albums chart
• Sold around 380,000 copies
• Did not go gold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover was first a painting by Tony Wright of Jesus Christ's hand reaching toward believers, then replaced by a painting of Dylan on stage.
• The album was the second part of Dylan's "Christian trilogy", following Slow Train Coming.
• It was first reprinted in 1985 and released on CD in 1990.
• It was remastered in 2013 for The Complete Album Collection Vol. One.
• Tom Hawking of Flavorwire listed the album among "The 50 Worst Albums Ever Made" in 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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