Infidels Recording Sessions Summary
This is a summary of Michael Krogsgaard’s (MK) article on the Infidels recording sessions at the Power Station in New York from 11 April to 18 May 1983, as published in "The Bridge" issue 2.
Dundas #265 - The Circulating Infidels Sessions Tape
| Tell Me - 2 takes, second released on
"The Bootleg Series 1-3" Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart - 2 takes, second released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3" Death Is Not The End - released on "Down In The Groove" after overdubs Foot Of Pride - released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3" Julius And Ethel - still unreleased This Was My Love (Jim Harbert) - still unreleased Sweetheart Like You - 3 takes, only the third complete Unidentified Instrumental Sweetheart Like You - 2 incomplete takes Sweetheart Like You - 3 instrumental fragments Sweetheart Like You - complete Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground - released on singles Union Sundown - 2 takes Jokerman Don’t Fall Apart On Me Tonight Clean-Cut Kid Dark Groove (instrumental) Don’t Fly Until It’s Safe (instrumental) Sweetheart Like You - 2 takes Lord Protect My Child- released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3" Blind Willie McTell - 2 takes, band (still unreleased) and solo acoustic (released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3") |
Krogsgaard Part 6
The day's sessions are in the boxes, my notes are outside the boxes.
Songs labelled (???) I haven’t heard of before or don’t know the authorship. Song titles in bold are released on "Infidels". Song titles in blue are released on other official albums. Song titles in red are unreleased but circulating. Song titles are in italics where the recording date of the released take is uncertain. Songs in the "Plus" section look like jams or messing about to me J
It had been rumoured that the band played The Sultans Of Swing, but there is no record of it in the sessions.
| 11 Apr 83 Run Down (instrumental) - 14 takes, one labelled as complete. MK notes that these were probably Blind Willie McTell rehearsals Blind Willie McTell - 7 takes, 2 labelled as complete (takes 3 & 5) Oh Babe (???) - 2 takes Don’t Fall Apart On Me Tonight - 5 takes, one instrumental, 3 labelled as complete Plus: Instrumental Jam |
| 12 Apr 83 Don’t Fall Apart On Me Tonight - 11 takes, 5 labelled as complete. The last (labelled "Take 4") was released on "Infidels" |
| 13 Apr 83 Jokerman - 5 takes, one labelled as complete Slow Try Baby (???) Columbus Georgia (???) Back To The Wall (???) Oklahoma Kansas (???) Licence To Kill - one take, complete, released on "Infidels" (an "ace"!) Plus: Blues (2 takes) |
| 14 Apr 83 Clean Cut Kid - 3 takes, all labelled as complete Rainbow (???)/This Was My Love (Jim Harbert) Man Of Peace - 3 takes, one labelled as complete, the last (Take 3) released on "Infidels" Jokerman - one take, complete Sweetheart Like You - 2 takes |
MK does not note which take of Jokerman was used subsequently for overdubbing on 8 May 83, but it may have been the one above.
| 15 Apr 83 Don’t Fly Unless It’s Safe (instrumental) - 2 takes Clean Cut Kid - 5 takes, 3 of which are labelled "slow" and one "fast" Jesus Met The Woman At The Well (traditional) - one take Half Finished Song (???) - 2 takes 16 Tons (presumably the Tennessee Ernie Ford hit) - one take He’s Gone (???) - one take |
| 16 Apr 83 Oh Susannah (traditional) Dark Groove (instrumental) - 4 takes, one labelled as complete Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart - 6 takes, 2 labelled as complete Plus: Bluesy Jam (3 takes), Dadada Grateful Dead, Reggae Toms Toms Jam, Bob Said Tape This, Mark Soop Pick Up, Mark Plunks Tasty & Diddling |
| 18 Apr 83 Sweetheart Like You - 18 takes, 4 labelled as complete. The ninth (labelled "Take 3") was released on "Infidels" Blind Willie McTell - 2 takes, both labelled complete |
| 19 Apr 83 Neighbourhood Bully - 6 takes, 3 labelled complete. The fifth (labelled "Take 2") was released on "Infidels" Green Onions (Steve Cropper/Al Jackson Jr/Booker T Jones/Lewie Steinberg - there’s also another credit for a song of the same name by Willie Johnson) Trees Hannibal Alps (???) Plus: Love You Too Jam |
| 20 Apr 83 Aquarium (Sly & Robbie) This Was My Love (Jim Harbert) - 8 takes, 5 labelled as complete, one listed as "Reggae My Love" Borderline (???) - 3 takes, one labelled as complete Plus: End Bob 12 String & G Boogie |
| 21 Apr 83 Tell Me - 8 takes, 6 labelled as complete MK does not state which take was released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3" |
| 22 Apr 83 The "Christmas Album" day! Foot Of Pride - 9 takes, 2 labelled as complete Christmas Song (???) Choo Choo Boogie (John W. Schaum - possibly the Louis Jordan song) Silent Night (the carol!) Glory To The King (??? - 2 songs of this name, one by White, the other by Miller/Hubbard) Lovers Concerto (Brian Bennett - presumably the Toys’ hit) Dark As A Dungeon (Merle Travis) Plus: Reggae Jam |
| 23 Apr 83 Foot Of Pride - 17 takes, 7 marked as complete - 5 labelled "acoustic", 5 labelled "piano" and one labelled "reggae" |
| 25 Apr 83 Foot Of Pride - 9 takes 2 labelled complete Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart - 3 takes, all labelled incomplete One unidentified take just labelled "Take 5", MK assumes this is Foot Of Pride |
"The Bootleg Series 1-3" booklet gives this as the recording date of Foot Of Pride, but MK does not indicate which take was released. This is also the date given in "The Bootleg Series 1-3" for the recording of Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, but all takes are labelled incomplete!
| 26 Apr 83 Foot Of Pride - 3 takes, one labelled complete Prison Station Blues (???) Forever My Darling (actually Pledging My Love by F. Washington/D. Robey, an Elvis cover) Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart - 3 takes, 2 labelled complete Choo Choo Boogie (Part II) (???) - 2 takes, one labelled complete Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams) Movin’ On (??? several songs by this name, e.g. by Bad Company - Mick Ralphs - and the Pointer Sisters) KIM (???) [note name is in capitals] Plus: 2 Vocal Overdubs, song names not given |
My hunch is that the recording date of the released version of Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart should be today, 26 Apr 83 (the date of Lord Protect My Child is also a day out).
| 27 Apr 83 From Paul (???) Foot Of Pride - 4 takes, 2 labelled complete Union Sundown - 2 takes, both labelled complete I And I - 8 takes, 3 labelled complete - the 3rd complete take (labelled "Take 2") released on "Infidels" Julius And Ethel - 2 takes, both labelled complete Plus: Harmonica, Bob Keep & 2 unidentified takes |
| 29 Apr 83 Don’t Drink No Chevy (???) - 3 takes How Many Days (???) - 2 takes, both possibly complete Home On The Range (traditional) Buttons + Buns (???) Wash That Man ("South Pacific" standard?) Great Buttons Again (???) Foot Of Pride - one take, labelled "Inc" Plus: Harmonica Jam (3 takes), Bluesy Riff, Mark Pickin Gro…ve [Groove?] & Bob Lead Jazz. |
Clydie King was present at this session, so maybe it was South Pacific's Wash That Man, sung by her.
| 2 May 83 Lord Protect My Child - 10 takes, 7 labelled as complete Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson) - 12 takes, 4 labelled complete, the last of which was released on singles in Europe as the B-side of either I And I or Union Sundown (see 1983 and 1984 of "Searching For A Gem") Union Sundown - 5 takes, 3 labelled as complete, the last released on "Infidels" Green Grass (Claude "Curly" Putnam Jr) 2 takes, one labelled as complete [Heylin lists The Green Green Grass Of Home as a rumoured out-take] Death Is Not The End - one complete take, released on "Down In The Groove" |
MK does not state which take of Lord Protect My Child was released on "The Bootleg Series 1-3". The album booklet gives the date wrongly as 3 May 83 - there was no session that day.
| 5 May 83 Blind Willie McTell - 2 takes, both labelled complete |
This is the date given in "The Bootleg Series 1-3" for the recording of this song, but both takes are shown with band (as are the takes on 11 & 18 April)!
| 8 May 83 - Overdub session Neighbourhood Bully Jokerman Fly Me (???) Don’t Fall Apart On Me Tonight |
MK thinks Fly Me is either Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground or Don’t Fly Unless It’s Safe. I’d go for the former!
| 10 May 83 - Overdub session Sweetheart Like You Man Of Peace Neighbourhood Bully |
| 17 May 83 - Overdub session Neighbourhood Bully |
| 18 May 83 - Overdub session (Full
Force) Tell Me Death Is Not The End |
Heylin’s book dates the overdubs as June-July 1983. MK was unable to find records of these, according to this article the overdub sessions took place immediately after the sessions themselves.
Other References
The Bootleg Series - Volumes 1-3 [1961-1991], produced and compiled by Jeff Rosen, liner notes by John Bauldie (Columbia, 1991)
Back Of The Tapestry by Ian Woodward (My Back Pages, 1991)
Tangled Up In Tapes: The Recordings Of Bob Dylan (Third Edition) by Glen Dundas (SMA Services, 1994)
Dylan: Behind Closed Doors - The Recording Sessions [1960-1994] by Clinton Heylin (Penguin, 1996)