Another new album wouldn't emerge until 1983 after a roughly two-year absence from the stage and the record racks. He made the case that all of his music was on the same continuum. (Would Dylan have it any other way?) He began incorporating his "old stuff" into his live shows in November 1980, long before the Augrelease of Shot of Love. Then something magical and mysterious happened. Audiences and critics alike were divided on Dylan's immersion into evangelical Christianity - some were angry, some were puzzled, some happily went along for the ride. He had wrapped up a fiery tour on in which he only performed his gospel material.
16 (1980-1985) opens, Dylan was two-thirds into his so-called "Christian trilogy" comprising Slow Train Coming (1979), Saved (1980), and Shot of Love (1981).
In the fall of 1980, when Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. Only Bob Dylan knew where he was headin'. Señor, señor/Can you tell me where we're headin'?