Customer Reviews

Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow

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Although this disk explains the period of Dylan's life that took him and his listeners down unexpected paths, it lacks any commentary from him and any actual performances other than those you've seen already. It does give insight to the performer's plight with his convictions and the vicious attacks by critics. It also includes some interesting commentary by producers who explain their adaptations to Dylan's unique recording styles. Especially with the Shot of Love album.

If you expect footage of live performances, there is no pot-o-gold here!

Bob Dylan 1978-1989 Both Ends of the Rainbow is the third Dylan documentary in the series produced by UK-based Chrome Dreams. The first two are now part of a limited edition set titled Bob Dylan: The Golden Years 1962-1978. If you like documentaries and are a Dylan fan, you can't go wrong by adding both of these to your DVD collection. It doesn't get much better than this.

The DVD starts with extensive commentary on one of the most fascinating and controversial periods in Dylan's career. It encompasses the period marked by the three recordings that made Dylan's new Christian faith evident: Slow Train Coming (1979), Saved (1980) and Shot of Love (1981).

If Dylan's emergence as an icon for the counter-culture in 1965 divided the hip from the unhip, his declaration of the gospel on Slow Train Coming divided the saved from the damned. Many saw this as a betrayal. Slow Train Coming went platinum, but his next two Christian recordings charted poorly in the US, which reflected the disenchantment of some of his fans. The opinion of a record storeowner that I spoke with during that time probably reflected the views of many Dylan fans. He liked the music but didn't like the message. There was nothing subtle about it, and it was too much for many fans to handle.

What remains a mystery is where Dylan stands in relation to his faith today. One person reiterates that he has never renounced it. Dylan has chosen to keep this subject out of the limelight.

The film shows what a difficult time the eighties were for Dylan and other aging rock stars. MTV, disco and DJs took music in a new direction less favorable to rock. Dylan struggled to be successful in his recordings and performances.

Infidels (1983) was a departure from the Christian trilogy that preceded it. Dylan was once again becoming more subtle and poetic. Empire Burlesque (1985), Knocked Out Loaded (1986) and Down in the Groove (1988) charted poorly, but they contained standout tracks that are now revered as classics. The release of Oh Mercy (1989) was seen as a return to form.

The DVD feels a little long at 127 minutes, but the depth of analysis is excellent. It even provides a perspective on the politics of the time. The performance clips and appearances are brief but noteworthy, punctuating some of the highs and lows of Dylan's career.

One of the highlights is a short segment of Dylan performing "Maggie's Farm" with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It makes you wish you could see the whole song, but this is a biography and documentary.

I think the producer gets the content right. Full performances are outside the scope of this independent review and critique. One interesting bonus is an audio interview of Dylan when he was in the most fervent phase of his Christianity.

This is a must-have for fans and anyone interested in Dylan's music and career.

like the previous two 'isis' documentaries, "tales from the golden age" and "after the crash", this new one continues to travel down the long, illustrious career of bob dylan, with great interviews and insights into what made him who he is, and what he is...

this film takes over just when dylan was hitting, what is essentially, his 'trinity trilogy', the albums that truly displayed his christianity...

that's not to say that he didn't ever display his faith before (as many 'fans' seem to think...)

no, quite the contrary...on all his albums prior to, and preceeding, this period, you can find themes that deal with the spiritual side that are illuminated throughout this period...

from the brilliant "slow train coming" album to "saved" and finally "shot of love", dylan pressed his soul out on his sleeve, concerned with hearts, rather than the charts...

the fans and critics that obviously never understood him turned away at this point, but those who found it a natural flow stayed with him to present day...and this documentary continues that flow up to the "oh mercy" years, which only suggests that there will be even more great documentaries to follow...thank God...

As noted by another reviewer, this is the third Dylan documentary in the series produced by UK-based Chrome Dreams. This one is far superior to the first ("Tales from a Golden Age" - which covers the same period, but certainly not as well, as "No Direction Home") and better than the second ("After the Crash"). It benefits from improved filming techniques and access to album versions of several songs being discussed. These are accompanied by music videos, and must reflect easier legal access to those as opposed to the album cuts themselves. In the earlier documentaries, music performances (where they existed) were essentially limited to televised live versions, with notations that the "original version" was on this or that album. This documentary features much less involvement by Clinton Heylin, and his contributions were obviously filmed at the same time as those included in the first two documentaries. That said, this films opens with the same statement by Mr. Heylin that closed "After the Crash," which nicely ties the two together.

The film offers some fascinating insights into the albums. I would not say that I agree with all of the interviewees about the quality of one or another album. Having come to appreciate Dylan much more recently, I have had the advantage of looking at his work as a whole, all at once. Thus, I do not have the visceral reaction to some of the albums that others have. Also, as a child of the `80s, that decade does not offend me, as it seems to have many of the individuals in the film.

The documentary covers, in quite a good depth, a little discussed period in Dylan's biography. However, although segments of it were certainly filmed subsequent to Dylan's Chronicles, Vol. 1, the documentary does not benefit from access to "Tell Tale Signs," as the commentators will occasionally lament the unavailable of other versions of some of the songs that do appear on that collection. That said, it is important to understand that this is a documentary about the process of the making of Dylan's music, the critical response to it at the time of its release, and a reassessment of it with the passage of time. The film touches on Dylan's biography only to the extent that it touches on the songs themselves. If that is what you are looking for, then you will be well pleased with this film. If you are looking for something else, however, then you should look elsewhere.

Both Ends Of The Rainbow is a well done documentary as I am just now watching documentaries concentrating on this time period. The points I didnt like was the anti-Christian bigotry displayed by too many of the venomous critics. It is true, and I do believe that only those who are born-again are going to understand the lyrical content of these albums. As the book says, to those who are saved, it is the fragrance of life. To those who are not, it is the steanch of death. And that is very evident on this documentary.

I also was frustrated how they would take an entire album, take the hokiest song from that album, and that song alone, and play it over and over as if to say the whole album is just like this. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Dylan fans know, these are some of the most creative and sincere of his career. Lets face it, if the lyrics would have been secular, the critics would have been applauding.

Finally, after listening to the arm-chair generals knock the Live Aid performance, there was a brief cut from Farm Aid with Tom Petty. I felt this deserved more attention. That night was pivitol for Dylan. He was rejuvinated and his performance was nothing less than phenominal.

All in all I would still recommend this dvd as long as you can get by the one sided points of view.

One more thing, I liked the "Shot Of Love" cover.

True, there is not that much music on this DVD. But- many Dylan fans have more than enough Dylan music and enjoy the different commentaries and remarks available on this DVD. I would not expect to see this type of DVD filled with music, it is not concert footage so one should not feel disturbed by this more "chatty" Dylan DVD. As a Dylan fan, I thoroughly enjoyed much of the new information available here.

Received the item quickly, not what I really expected. Too, much talking and not much Dylan.

Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow Great item. I feel the best period of his time. He keeps getting better with age. Very informative mixture of documentary discussions and live performances.

Okay, I have sung paeans to the youthful career of Bob Dylan, who was among the influences of my own youth. And rightfully so. His litany of modern folk/rock songs like "Blowin' In The Wind", "Desoaltion Row", "Visions Of Johanna" , "Sad-eyed Lady Of The Lowlands and so on, will stand the test of time. I have also paid an inordinate amount of respect to the various, bootleg, garage, basement and every other nook and cranny tapes that have surfaced over the past decade or more. There are plenty of songs in that lot that will stand the test of time as well. Furthermore, I have spent some time on the "resurrection" of Mr. Dylan's career over the past decade or so. Some of that material will also stand up and be listened to by future generations. What, to be very generous, will not stand up is most of the work that Dylan recorded between 1978 or so, when he began to serious espouse his form of Christian fundamentalism that crept its into his music and 1989 when he broke out of his slump with the then well-received although now somewhat overwrought "Oh, Mercy" album. With a few exceptions, most notably "Brownsville Girl" and, maybe, "Grain Of Sand" this period will draw a pass.

Not so, however, for the mainly British commentators, authors and music critics who spend two hours dissecting Brother Dylan's obviously fallow period. Recently I made a comment, in reviewing and panning a similarly formatted review of a DVD about the mid-career work of Tom Waits, that not all musical film documentaries are created equal. That proposition gets tested here in the positive. This is an exceptionally informative film with some of the same British academic and professional music critics who I couldn't abide in the Waits effort redeeming themselves here. Moreover, with the exception of sometimes beating a subject like Dylan's haphazard and controversial conversion to Christian fundamentalism in the early 1980s, this film moves along well. And here is the best part. Now that Bob Dylan has created such a large body of work over a long career all, except the inevitable diehard aficionados, will be able after viewing this DVD to skip this period of his career and concentrate on the good stuff like the early "Highway 61" and "Blonde on Blonde" or the late "Time Out Of Mind" album. Thanks, guys.

This film chronicles what is generally considered to be the lowest period of Bob Dylans career. If it wasn't for parts of "Infidels" and "Oh Mercy" the period 1978 - 1989 would have been a total write-off. The beginnings of this period were his so-called gospel phase and although the religious references slowly tailed off they were still ever-present. The hard core gospel albums are particularly desolate because they are so one-dimiensional in tone. Sadly, this film does not contain new interviews with the man himself or with key collaborators such as Daniel Lanois and Mark Knoppler.