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Gotta Serve Somebody:The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan

Take some gospel songs written by the most famous rock'n'roll convert of the past 25 years, get some of the best acts soul (read:black) gospel has to offer, add some inspired arrangements, and Gotta Serve Somebody:The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan makes for some massive brilliance. Where to start? Shirley Caesar namechecking herself and Zimmy in the muscular titular cut? Lee Williams & The Spiritual QCs' evoking Pops Staples' low-key conviction on "When You Gonna Wake Up"? The Fairfield Four working their usually a capella wonders or Rance Allen and Aaron Neville pouring unreconstituted beauty over minmal instrumentation? Only thing close to a stinker is Sounds Of Blackness's take on "Solid Rock." The kicker is Mavis Staples dueting with the man o' the hour on a righteously bluesy "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking," albeit interrupted by a bizarre dialogue encompassing eating the chickens in Dylan's yard and his reading Snoozeweek to cure his amnesia. It's a fun way to end an album that should introduce African-American church music to many rockers as it successfully interprets great tunes a a Jew who came to the Messiah. Fairly astounding. [Columbia/ Jamie Lee Rake]

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