Stian Andreassen

En ny Dylan-dokumentar treffer DVD-hyllene den 4. april. Denne er fire timer lang, og har fått tittelen «Bob Dylan: 1975-1981 Rolling Thunder and The Gospel Years». Den vil, som tittelen ganske riktig antyder, omhandle den kreative oppturen rundt «The Rolling Thunder Revue», og den påfølgende Gospelperioden med en gjenfødt-på-ny-som-kristen Dylan.

Amazon skriver i sin produktbeskrivelse:

Bob Dylan’s creative genius reached a crescendo as he hit the road with a rag-tag band of folk troubadours in the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue. Appearing unannounced in small venues, the Revue culminated in "The Night of the Hurricane" benefit at Madison Square Garden for wrongly-convicted boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. In his first interview in 30 years, "The Hurricane" tells all. Folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, violinist Scarlet Rivera, bassist Rob Stoner, and Ms. Jacques Levy reveal the inside story of the Desire album, Joey Gallo, the Rolling Thunder Revue and the maligned tour film, Renaldo and Clara.

Following his reinvention as "The Entertainer" in 1978, Bob Dylan fell into the Arms of the Lord through the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church. Dylan made three Gospel albums, winning a Grammy for "Gotta Serve Somebody." However, his radical new direction alienated fans and enraged critics as he preached evangelical messages from the Book of Revelation. In his first-ever interview, Dylan’s Bible class teacher, Pastor Bill Dwyer, describes Dylan’s born-again transformation. Legendary Slow Train Coming producer Jerry Wexler, background singer Regina McCrary, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, Award winning songwriter Al Kasha, San Francisco Chronicle rock reporter Joel Selvin, AJ Weberman and others tell the tale of Bob Dylan’s Gospel Years.

Director and Producer Joel Gilbert (Bob Dylan 1966 World Tour-The Home Movies, 2004 and Bob Dylan World Tours 1966-1974-Through the Camera of Barry Feinstein, 2005) weaves the story of this monumental period of Dylan’s life and music through revealing insider portraits, exclusive photos, live concert video clips and TV footage from 1975-1981, and with visits to Rundown Studios, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the Vineyard Church, and the Fox Warfield Theatre. Music by Dylan’s key musicians including Scarlet Rivera, Rob Stoner, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, and Regina McCrary with Joel Gilbert and Highway 61 Revisited. Special features include Journey to Hibbing, Ramblin’ Jack’s Early Days, and Photo Gallery 1975-1981.

Tar man en titt på coveret ser man at det bl.a. står a totally unauthorized documentary, samt med liten skrift [Contains no Bob Dylan songs]. Man kan dermed verken forvente å se eller høre noe fra Dylan selv, slik man gjorde til gangs i Scorseses tretimersdokumentar «No Direction Home» fra i fjor. Det kan likevel være svært interessant å høre hva folkene som var med på The Rolling Thunder Revue har å si – kanskje spesielt Scarlet Rivera og Jacques Levy. Og kan vi nå snart håpe å se «Renaldo and Clara» foreligge på DVD?