Re: gospelBob

Date: 3 Apr 2003 06:57:35 -0800
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Size: 2,410 bytes

Sometimes around here we've
> considered "Shot" a "christian" recording, and given some of its content
> it's undeniable. Just wondering what the official line is: If SoL is not gospel (arguably not), is it still part of bOb's "christian" recordings
This won't get to your question exactly, but I think we need to use
the following categories in thinking about Bob's "gospel" period (in
descending order of specificity):
"Evangelistic": ie, music that addresses the hearer and lays out an
overt claim and either an invitation or challenge. It doesn't just
say, it says something to you and explicitly demands a response.
There is "Gospel," which refers to a style and content of music drawn
from the, well, gospel tradition. Parts of that tradition can be
broken off--a choir, a way of singing, or even a lyric.
There is "Christian": again, not simple (how overt must the lyrics be
to count?) Much of the controversy here about Bob revolves around the
interpretation of his post-gospel lyrics. Is "Jokerman" Christian?
"Not Dark Yet"? "Sugar Baby"? There is no one musical style out
there to identify this. Depends on whether a song points to Christ,
not just as a historical figure, but as someone to have faith in.
Lastly, we could throw in "Religious," but that's so elastic as to be
virtually meaningless. Or at least useless for periodizing Bob's or
virtually anyone elses music.
I would argue, tentatively, that ST and S were Gospel, and the records
themselves as well as the concerts were at the same time evangelistic. SoL was not as thoroughly Gospel, and was evangelistic only here and
there--residual evangelism, if you wish--but, since it wasn't overt,
we could say it doesn't qualify. Room for argument there. Lastly,
and this is difficult, because Bob deliberately seeks to evade
categories, I would say his music remains Christian since then, but in
a unique way (quite an achievement) and only now and then refers to
Gospel (musically--the new live "Highwater," or lyrically, with bits
of lines broken out of context and incorporated in something new, such
as the "Look up, look up" line in "Sugar Baby").
I recognize that to a lot of people this will seem needlessly, perhaps
perversely, complex, but I can't make sense of his music at all
without these three categories. Only then can I begin thinking about
what fits where.
Hoping we're all still friends, I remain
JH