Re: Gotta Serve Somebody The Gospel Songs

Date: 15 Apr 2003 14:37:50 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Size: 4,684 bytes

Here's mine:
1. Shirley Caesar, "Gotta Serve Somebody" - A
The funky music just grabbed me from the get-go and the vocal is
awesome. Remember her performance at the Kennedy Center Awards (where
she sang this at Dylan's request and he responded with a wolf-whistle
and standing ovation)? And she sings a neat little intro here where
she references the book of Joshua and then namechecks Bob: "I wanna
share Bob Dylan's song with you. Here it is!"
2. Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs, "When You Gonna Wake Up" - B
minus
This has a nice groove but loses points for the re-written lyrics,
which in every instance pale in comparison to the original (and I'm
not just saying that on principle either).
3. Dottie Peoples, "I Believe in You" - A
Another powerhouse vocal. Check it out on bobdylan.com
4. Fairfield Four, "Are You Ready" - A
A fitting and inspired a capella arrangement from a terrific group.
5. Sounds of Blackness, "Solid Rock" - B minus
This sounds kind of like a Broadway showtune - especially the annoying
"Gotta keep on hanging on, gotta keep on holding on" part. Great music
from the mostly-'79 alumni band though; Unfortunately the band is
mixed too low.
6. Aaron Neville, "Saving Grace" - B minus
That little trill he puts in his voice sounds mannered and gets
tiresome for me but this song is well-suited for him.
7. Helen Baylor, "What Can I Do For You?" - A
What can I say? Another incredibly powerful female vocal. The funky
guitar is really nice too.
8. Chicago Mass Choir, "Pressing On" - A plus
Regina McCrary (from the '79/'80 shows) sounds as great as ever on
lead vocal. As with most of the selections here, she's perfectly
suited to the song. The call and response between her and the choir is
terrific and I love the new "You gotta keep pushing" part.
9. Mighty Clouds of Joy, "Saved" - A minus
A joyous old-school gospel shout. It doesn't rock as hard as the
original but this is a gospel performance, not rock and roll. That
said, the drummer is fantastic.
10. Rance Allen, "When He Returns" - A
This took a while for me to get into b/c he doesn't start off the song
grandstanding like Bob does but quietly builds in intensity instead.
Nice spare arrangement with just vocal and B3.
11. Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples, "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking" - A
The best reason to get this. The whole thing rocks much harder than I
ever would have imagined and George lays down a funky syncopated beat
that makes me glad Dave Kemper's not still around.
I love how the only verse that survives from the original is _before_
Mavis arrives. It's as if Bob's saying, "It used to go like that, now
it goes like this." They sound really great together - not concerned
with trying to sing in unison but both just hurtling through the
lyrics with supreme confidence. I love the "Oh"s and "Hey"s Mavis
throws in between the lines too.
Dylan growls his way through it sort of like he does on Lonesome Day
Blues. His voice is rougher here than on the recordings he's made
since then (M&A, 'Cross the Green Mountain) and I wouldn't be
surprised if it turned out this was recorded at the same session as
Waiting for You (Bob's croakiest studio vocal ever) but it sounds more
fitting here since he's belting instead of crooning.
The new lyrics are great too - my favorite being the way he juxtaposes
two closely related yet contradictory cliches - "I'm as hungry as a
horse" / "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse"!
don freeman <email-address-deleted> wrote in message news:<email-address-deleted>...
> Gotta Serve Somebody, The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan tribute album,
> continues to stay on my play list, and I think I'm ready to grade it.
>
>
> 1. Shirley Caesar - Gotta Serve Somebody -- good solid female soul
> - B+
> 2. Lee Williams, & The Spiritual QC'S - When You Gonna Wake Up --very
> smooth soul - A-
> 3. Dottie Peoples - I Believe in You --more strong female soul,, though
> not Sinaed - B+
> 4. Fairfield Four - Are You Ready --irresistable acapella soul -A
> 5. Sounds of Blackness - Solid Rock -- funk pop lite, very compelling
> - A-
> 6. Aaron Neville - Saving Grace --What can you say about Aaron?- B+
> 7. Helen Baylor - What Can I Do for You? --solid pop shlock - B-
> 8. Chicago Mass Choir - Pressing on --good solid female soul - B+
> 9. Mighty Clouds of Joy - Saved --gospel pop lite -B-
> 10. Rance Allen - When He Returns --overwrought soul sermon - C
> 11. Bob Dylan / Mavis Staples - Gonna Change My Way of Thinking
> --growly voiced rock B+*
> *that's without taking the joke into account. I don't know how to grade
> the joke.
>
> All in all, these are very high marks for a tribute album. Well done,
> Bob!