I remember buying Slow Train Coming at the time and quite liking it. I was a less passionate Dylan fan than some of my friends who did say "that's it" and so had no strong attachment he could betray. I thought the music was pretty good (Mark Knopfler) and many of the lyrics pretty successful at what they were trying to do. With no interest whatever in religion I wasn't favourable to the Christian content nor put off by it, any more than I'm put off -- to agree with the other commenter -- by the Christian content of many gospel songs.
Re following the puck: wasn't much of the influence on going electric the Beatles? In his autobiography Ian Tyson of the 60s folk duo Ian and Sylvia -- pretty big at the time and buddies with Dylan -- describes driving down the New Jersey Turnpike with his band and hearing on the radio, for the first time, She Loves You or I Want to Hold Your Hand. He says he knew at that moment that it was over for folk music.
And may Dylan have been one of those artists, like Picasso and unlike, say, B.B. King, who needs to be constantly changing styles and orientations if he's to keep his creative juices flowing? I sometimes think of the Christian albums as a reflection of that.
I'm no expert, but I do believe The Beatles were an influence. On the other hand, he was singing Little Richard in a band in the '50s, so it was always a latent interest.
I remember buying Slow Train Coming at the time and quite liking it. I was a less passionate Dylan fan than some of my friends who did say "that's it" and so had no strong attachment he could betray. I thought the music was pretty good (Mark Knopfler) and many of the lyrics pretty successful at what they were trying to do. With no interest whatever in religion I wasn't favourable to the Christian content nor put off by it, any more than I'm put off -- to agree with the other commenter -- by the Christian content of many gospel songs.
Re following the puck: wasn't much of the influence on going electric the Beatles? In his autobiography Ian Tyson of the 60s folk duo Ian and Sylvia -- pretty big at the time and buddies with Dylan -- describes driving down the New Jersey Turnpike with his band and hearing on the radio, for the first time, She Loves You or I Want to Hold Your Hand. He says he knew at that moment that it was over for folk music.
And may Dylan have been one of those artists, like Picasso and unlike, say, B.B. King, who needs to be constantly changing styles and orientations if he's to keep his creative juices flowing? I sometimes think of the Christian albums as a reflection of that.
I'm no expert, but I do believe The Beatles were an influence. On the other hand, he was singing Little Richard in a band in the '50s, so it was always a latent interest.
I actually like gospel music, and his is perfectly fine.