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Why it matters
Mixing faith songs with secular ones, it closed the gospel period and ends with Every Grain of Sand.
Dylan recorded Shot of Love in Los Angeles in 1981, mostly with producer Chuck Plotkin, keeping the gospel singers and road musicians who had backed him on his recent tours. The sound is rougher and more rock-driven than the two records before it, with loud drums, ringing guitars and a choir of women's voices answering his lead. Alongside songs of belief sit things he had not done in two years: a tender tribute in "Lenny Bruce" to the comedian, and love songs such as "Heart of Mine". The closer, "Every Grain of Sand", is a quiet, searching hymn that many now count among his finest songs. At the time, though, reviews were cool and sales were weak, and some strong songs from the sessions were left off. Its reputation has grown since, and listeners now hear it as a bridge out of the gospel years.
Track list · 10 songs
The singer defends a believer from the mockers around him, insisting he belongs to Jesus and cannot be bought.
faith
Its page ›A fond remembrance of a rule-breaking comic who was hounded in life and is missed now that he is gone.
death
Its page ›True love is pure, patient and selfless, quite unlike the weak and grasping imitation people settle for.
love · faith
Its page ›A man searches for a vanished woman in a world that seems to be falling apart around him.
love · faith · loss
Its page ›The singer confronts a spiritually dead man, perhaps his own old self, and asks when he will finally rise.
faith · death
Its page ›Looking back on a summer long ago, the singer remembers a love or grace that changed him.
love · time · faith
Its page ›Trouble is everywhere, in every street, home and institution, and nobody can escape it.
America · time
Its page ›A humble meditation on finding a guiding design in every small detail of an imperfect life.
faith · time
Its page ›
Where its songs lead
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