By Stein Arne Nistad
You either hate or love it. Dylans 2009 effort "Christmas in the Heart" is about far more than emotions. The pieces fit perfectly in the puzzle. Dylan is completing his musical testament.
Ever since the release of "Christmas in the Heart" the album has received much attention. In the beginning hardcore Dylan fans carpet bombed discussion threads with their negative opinions about the project, and Dylan's artistically mistake. The general public around the world have either loved or hated the album. It seems that they either understand and love the concept or simply don`t get it. I was however convinced from the first moment, that the album was another masterpiece (Read my Fidelity review here: http://bit.ly/uC0Bwt)
Then came "Self Portrait" in 1970. The album was received by the Dylan fans much in the same way as this year's Christmas effort. As time goes by "Self Portrait" manifests itself as a good but not great album. It also makes a kind of sense in the Dylan catalogue. It is Dylan's "White Album". It includes a variety of genres, expressions and musical styles, covers and originals. Greil Marcus wrote in his Rolling Stone review: "What is this shit". He did not get it at that point in time. The statement feels today as an absurdity. "Self Portrait" is simply far better than its reputation.
Dylan's religious period is also an important and neglected chapter. Again, the members of the Dylan church went black. My first concert ever with Dylan, was in Drammen, Norway in 1981. The audience did throw stink bombs in the middle of the concert. Many of them had written Dylan off completely after he released and performed his new religious songs. The concerts got poor reviews in the papers. In retrospect, the concert was amazing. The bootleg documents an intense and well performing artist.
In this perspective, it is appropriate and important that Dylan releases a Christmas album. The album is true to the songs origin. Dylan performs them with love, respect and he is in my opinion true to the songs values and intentions, just as he was on "Good As I Been To You" and "World Gone Wrong". Dylan obviously loves this Christmas project. It is expressed in the hilarious video – but most of all in the way he performs the songs.