Heresy, blasphemy, etc.—I just never liked Bob Dylan. As far as sixties demi-gods are concerned, I’d always opt for the gushing aesthetics of non-lyricist Brian Wilson over Dylan’s sparse twang and burlap voice. But pigeon-holing Dylan is a dangerous sport—excepting all other album-to-album stylistic minutiae—he managed to go electric, then crazy, and then Christian in just the first half of his career. Safe to say, Dylan’s all-encompassing American mysticism poked at nearly every meat and potatoes genre, never stopping too long in one spot. And while Dylan can lay claim to the there-first title in most spots, his few born-again albums in the late seventies and early eighties were prefaced ten years earlier by a Californian gospel choir on a fundraising mission.

The Brothers and Sisters of L.A. released 1969’s Dylan’s Gospel. Aside from the ha-ha irony of a gospel choir singing drug allegory “Mr. Tambourine Man,” every cover is immaculate, orchestrated with thick organs and bombastic harmonies. Album opener “The Times They Are A-Changin’” appears blown up seven sizes. Gospel all-star Merry Clayton blisters on lead vocals in a singer cum preacher style, translating Dylan’s brooding pre-apocalyptic version into a rhapsodic plea that pumps urgency into marrow.

Lending itself naturally to balladry, “Lay Lady Lay” required only fine tuning from the Brothers and Sisters. The original left little to be desired (by now Dylan tossed out his characteristic nasal pinch for a natural baritone and topped it off with an undeniable hook). The refigured track eschews the steel guitar and country jangle in favor of a lithe piano on a bass backbone and a throbbing rhythm which can’t help but be secular. This version might also be the best of the countless “Lay Lady Lay” covers, especially in the soul department (The Isley Brothers’ refuses to shake dust; Isaac Hayes pants all over his rendition).

The Brothers and Sisters bring the olive branch with them, offering reconciliation to any Dylan naysayer. And, like any good batch of covers, Dylan’s Gospel opens up the possibilities of Dylan’s work, giving his compositions free-range on a soul-gospel-R&B landscape and managing to put meat on skinny bones.

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