Trouble No More

A Bob Dylan concert from his 1980 tour. Captures Dylan during his "Christian period" - Dylan found Christianity in the late-1970s and had released two Christian albums - "Slow Train Coming" and "Saved". All the music in his concerts of the time was Christian music. Interspersed with the 1980 concert footage is a series of mini-sermons, with the preacher played by Michael Shannon.

Quite a rare recording, as it captures Dylan during his Christian period. Due to this seeming departure from his usual style, this period often gets overlooked, or viewed as an anomaly, when examining the Dylan musical lexicon. As such, the concerts from that period don't get much airplay.

Great music, profound lyrics and Dylan seems more animated than I recall from seeing other concerts of his. You can sense that, to him, this isn't just music, but a personal statement and belief. I am a Christian myself, so maybe I can relate more.

I initially thought the Michael Shannon preacher interludes were just the director trying to turn the film into something arty and pretentious, or even make fun of Dylan's faith. However, the messages are quite profound and accurate, theologically, and Shannon doesn't turn the whole exercise into a parody. Whatever the director's motives for putting the mini-sermons in, they work just fine.

I discovered the existence of Trouble No More today after someone asked me what got Dylan started in his religious phase, and as I didn't know for sure I started doing some Internet research, and wow, there's a Dylan concert film called Trouble No More? I did not know that. So I found it online and watched it.

The most important aspect of the film - the music - did not disappoint. Dylan and his fine group of musicians doing Do Right To Me Baby is not only more proof - not that I needed any more proof - that Dylan is at the highest level one can be as a musician, but that his brilliance also lies in his ability to select musicians who are not only first-rate, but who are perfect Dylan dance partners.

The Michael Shannon preaching segments didn't do anything for me; I was there to see Dylan. I get it, that it was sort of a re-creation of the gospel church experience, interspersing the preachings of a charismatic preacher with some holy rolling gospel music. But with Dylan's music there was already wonderful sermonizing, so all of those preacher segments were superfluous to me. I wish those segments had been replaced by a story line about what led Dylan to become a born-again Christian, and if there was any footage of Dylan discussing his spirituality during his Slow Train Coming and Saved phase, now that I would have liked to see.

Dylan...the music, the lyrics, the persona. It's all here. The band is raw and full of oomph. In tune yet out of tune...sorta...the way it should be. This is a moment in time. Brilliant rocking' bluesy Christian music at its finest. The lyrics have a touch of the social gospel about them before it was cool. But that doesn't detract...these songs are gems.

The only disappointment is the silly fake/staged preacher who is sending up the American Southern Pentecostal preacher stereotype. Whoever wrote that script doesn't have much insight. He or she hasn't had their life changed from the heart like Bob had at the time. If he or she did, they would have written the script that was about grace, salvation by faith etc. Why not film a real preacher? I'm sure Bob would have liked the authenticity.

If you ignore the fake preacher, and enjoy the concert, you will be rewarded well. Come back home Bob.