John Wilkes Booth: Shot of Love
Overall Album Score: 7.4 out of 10 The born-again trilogy of Bob Dylan albums is at an end! And it's better than Saved! (Yaaaaaaaay!) Unfortunately, this album isn't full of exciting moments or anything. I like three songs on here pretty well. "Shot of Love" is a good, moody song that would remind one of Dylan's days of old. "Every Grain of Sand" might be a bit overlong and tedious, but it remains quite a thoughtful song. My favorite song on here, however, is the straight-up pop-rock ditty "Heart of Mine!" The rest of the album is pretty darn consistent ... I gave everything else a score of either a 7 or a 7.5. With that said, I don't normally like albums that have a lot of just 'mildly enjoyable' songs on it. I want more spunk! SPUNK, BABY! ... Oh well ... At this point in the Dylan discography, we've already come to terms with the fact that Dylan had already reached beyond his peak ... and this is simply another product of that. This is a lukewarm album. I think the lyrics have gotten a little bit better, too. They're quite a bit more complex this time around, and these are not worship songs. However, many of these tracks have a touch of gospel in them. Overall Song Score: 7.4 out of 10 (Eh. This is far too bland to be really considered something that even Dylan fans need to go out and purchase ... but it's far from the failure that was Saved. ((Whoah ... with a little work, I might turn that into an effective pun!!))) Average Song Score: 7.8 (Most of these songs are kind of dull to have to sit through, but there are no true bombs on here. There are about three minor gems on here, too.) Album Tilt: 7.0 (Ooooh ... I need a little more excitement in an album than this ... or at least some interesting innovations ... OR SOMETHING!) Artist Rating: 7.5 (I can't really discount Bob any points here. He continued to do what he set out to do, i.e. make Christian songs. And, whenever it was intentional, he usually made them moody and/or heartfelt.) Track Reviews Shot of Love 8.5/10 This is a pretty good song! It's moody ... the tune is good ... the instrumentation is pretty nice. It's sort of a gospel/blues concoction. Even though I usually don't care too much for either of those genres, I do like this song! It's entertaining. I don't even hate the background vocals! Heart of Mine 9.5/10 Even better! The melody here is spot-on excellent! The song itself is fun and playful. The instrumentals were nicely done. ... It's just a good ole' regular rock song! It's certainly a highlight of Dylan's later period. Property of Jesus 7.5/10 Not bad ... this one really just fails to catch fire that much. But Dylan continues to prove that he still has thuh stuff and can make a song that might not be perfect, but it's solid. Lenny Bruce 7.5/10 This is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow but thoughtful song. It's also rather quiet. The principle instrument here is the piano, and it's played as if it were being featured at a Middle School play. Oh well! But this song is rather nice. I'm bored, though. Watered-Down Love 7/10 Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... No ... I think this song is a little bit inspiring, but it's not nearly as inspiring as it sounded like Dylan wanted it to be. I don't know ... I kind of like the effort, though. The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar 7/10 I EAT VVVVVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY SLIPPERY FISHHHH!!! ... ... Sorry ... I'm really not sure why I just said that. This song is based on rather boring old time R&B standards. It's not really that exciting. Ho hum. Dead Man, Dead Man 7.5/10 Well ... At least Bob Dylan was trying something a bit different here with this sorta reggae thing. This song really isn't too bad, either. I don't like reggae, though ... but I guess that's my problem. In the Summertime 7.5/10 I actually kind of like this song! The melody is pretty good (although ... it's not especially good). Bob Dylan kinda sounds like an old man with that harmonica, but ... old men usually look pretty cool when they're playing the harmonica. Trouble 7/10 CHILI CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!!! ... ... What are you looking at *me* for? ... I don't actually *like* chili cheesecake ... In fact, I think I just made that type of food up. I really don't know why I said that, either (I'm not getting paid! I can say whatever the heck I want!) ... WELL, this song starts out kind of nice, upbeat and groovy, but it slowly starts to get dull and kinda monotonous. Oh well. Every Grain of Sand 8.5/10 This one is slow, and a teeeeeeeeeeeny bit tedious, but it's nice and thoughtful ... and it may even break your heart! Who knows? I'm still not a big fan of it. I like to keep my heart in one piece if that is at all possible. I do *like* it, though. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooottttttt me here! |
All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. His nose was offended when he tried to pick it using his middle finger.
