Bob Dylan - Yonder Comes Sin (1981)

Following Bob Dylan's two religious-oriented albums, 'Slow Train Coming' and 'Saved', he began writing songs for the next record, with 'Property Of Jesus', 'Yonder Comes Sin', and new arrangements of older material like 'Ain't Gonna Go to Hell (For Anybody)' being composed during this time, as were 'Caribbean Wind' and 'The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar'. In March 1981, Dylan held some informal sessions at both Rundown and Studio 55, rehearsing some of his new compositions while auditioning a potential producer, Jimmy Iovine. These sessions focused on the song 'Caribbean Wind', an ambitious work that had been performed live once during November, and which was hoped to be a potential centerpiece for his upcoming album, but despite numerous attempts it was not considered quite finished. In the meantime, Dylan concluded that another producer was needed, and although legendary producer Bumps Blackwell stopped by one day and oversaw the recording of 'Trouble', 'Magic' and 'Shot Of Love', he didn't return for further work, possibly because of health issues. Chuck Plotkin, who had experience working with Bruce Springsteen, was eventually hired, and five sessions were scheduled for Plotkin's Clover Studio, producing usable takes of 'Property Of Jesus', 'Watered-Down Love', 'Heart of Mine', 'Lenny Bruce', 'Dead Man, Dead Man', 'In the Summertime', and 'Every Grain Of Sand'. An extensively rewritten and rearranged version of 'Caribbean Wind' was also recorded at Clover, but once again, Dylan was disappointed with the results, and it wasn't considered for inclusion. 

After listening to a preliminary version of the album, he decided to remove 'Angelina' and 'Magic' from the final sequence, and to re-record three of the remaining songs. Unlike Dylan's previous studio album 'Saved', 'Shot Of Love' included more secular material as well as overtly religious and evangelistic songs, and a number of critics had already turned on him for the evangelism of his last two albums, so the reception for 'Shot Of Love' was particularly harsh. Despite lavishing praise on 'Every Grain Of Sand', Paul Nelson of Rolling Stone savaged the rest of the album, and Nick Kent of New Musical Express called it "Dylan's worst album to date." In recent years, some critics have grown to appreciate 'Shot Of Love', while others continue to disparage it, but there are some fine songs on it, and no-one can dispute the quality of 'Every Grain Of Sand'. Many of the songs mentioned didn't make it to the final cut of the record, but luckily they have survived, and many of them would have been a welcome addition to the album. In fact, Dylan himself has said that the 'Shot Of Love' version of 'Heart Of Stone' is not as good as some of the other takes, and so now you can decide for yourself, as one of them is here, along with a wealth of other unreleased material from the various sessions. 'Borrowed Time' required a bit of work to give it an proper intro, and to clean up the ending, and as 'Wind Blowing On The Water' was only a one and half minute quasi-instrumental, I've added it as a coda to 'Caribbean Wind'. A few others needed a bit of cosmetic editing, but generally they were fine just as they were, including a raucous cover of 'Mystery Train' to end the album in fine style.

Track Listing

01 Caribbean Wind (Blowing On The Water)
02 Hallelujah
03 Heart Of Mine  
04 High Away (Ah Ah Ah Ah)
05 Yonder Comes Sin
06 Is It Worth It?  
07 Borrowed Time
08 Let's Keep It Between Us  
09 Magic  
10 Mystery Train