We’ve gotta serve somebody? In one way or another, definitively yes. “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”.
It’s pretty odd, I think Christianity is just another kind of mind-poison as any other organized religion and I have my doubts about the so-called “born-again thing”, but still, everybody have to do as he/she please. I’m not even what might be called a huge Dylan fan, and once again, still, I love “Slow Train Coming”. My mom had it in her record collection – obviously talking bout the good old vinyl’s – back in the 80s and somehow it felt alright to listen it. It has magic. Released on 20th August, 1979, 32 years ago, “Slow Train Coming” still is one of my favorite records.
In the late 1970s, Dylan became a born-again Christian and released two albums of Christian gospel music: “Slow Train Coming” in 1979 and “Saved” one year later.
American author, music journalist and cultural critic, Greil Marcus wrote “Dylan selling a prepackaged doctrine he’s received from someone else” – but I actually took Jesus out of this, I was listen to the music and I “translated” the lyrics out of any Christian and religious context and prejudices.
Dylan took five months off at the beginning of 1979 to attend Bible classes. His subsequent album “Slow Train Coming” reached No.3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and included the Grammy-winning song “Gotta Serve Somebody”. In response to Dylan’s song, shortly before his murder, John Lennon wrote and recorded “Serve Yourself”… Dylan is 70 years old, Lennon were gunned down at age of 40… Still, if there’s a God, something is very wrong with him, with us and generally speaking with our communication and relation with others and ourselves. Read more Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming (1979)
roots rock
The Felice Brothers – Celebration, Florida (2011)
This is the American dream, or the sparking of it, what’s left from it. Ian,James and Simone Felice, sons of a carpenter, used to play on Sundays at their father’s afternoon barbecues. They stayed in a little apartment in Brooklyn and The Felice Brothers started as a band playing in the New York City subway stations at 42nd Street and Union Square and in Greenwich Village. Ian is the main vocalist and plays the guitar and piano, James contributes vocals and plays the accordion, organ, and piano, their friend Christmas Clapton, previously a traveling dice player plays the bass guitar. Simone Felice was the drummer as well as a vocalist and a guitarist, he is also an author, having released books entitled “Goodbye Amelia, and Hail Mary, Full of Holes”. Simone left the band in 2009 and now leads his own band: The Duke & the King, Dave Turbeville was put behind the drum kit and Greg Farley is the fiddle player. They album “Through These Reins and Gone” released in 2006 made it onto Radio Woodstock WDST’s top 25 albums of 2006 and in 2008 it was announced The Felice Brothers had signed a record deal with Team Love Records, since they traveling the country in their “Short Bus”, touring extensively. Read more The Felice Brothers – Celebration, Florida (2011)
