Shot of Love
finds
Dylan
still in born-again mode, but he's starting to come alive again -- which isn't as much a value judgment as it is an observation that he no longer seems beholden to repeating dogma, loosening up and crafting songs again. And it's not just that his writing is looser, the music is, too, as he lets himself -- and his backing band -- rock a little harder, a little more convincingly.
still isn't a great album, but it once again has flashes of brilliance, such as
"Every Grain of Sand,"
which point the way to the rebirth of
Infidels
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine