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Monday, November 4, 2013

Faithful: Unreleased Recordings, 1983-1984



Faithful: Unreleased Recordings from the Infidels Era, 1983 - 1984

Don't Fly Unless It's Safe - Outtake
Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight - Outtake
Man Of Peace - Live: June 11, 1984
Sweetheart Like You #1 - Outtake
Jokerman - David Letterman Show, 1984
Dirty Lie - Tour Rehearsal, 1984
I & I - Outtake
Don't Start Me Talkin' - David Letterman Show, 1984
To Each His Own - Tour Rehearsal, 1984
Treat Her Right - Letterman Rehearsal
This Was My Love #2 - Outtake
Enough Is Enough - Live: June 28, 1984
Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart - Outtake
Julius And Ethel - Outtake
Tell Me - Outtake
Almost Done #2 - Tour Rehearsal, 1984
Union Sundown - Outtake
Blind Willie McTell - Outtake
License To Kill - David Letterman Show, 1984
Dark Groove - Outtake

[Link Removed - See Below]

Welcome back,

Thank you for sticking with the blog during my October hiatus. There will be plenty more great unreleased recordings being posted here in the months ahead, beginning with this week's exploration of Bob Dylan's unreleased Infidels-era recordings.

The songs here fall primarily into four categories: outtakes from Infidels, live performances from the 1984 Tour of Europe, rehearsals for that tour, and songs from Dylan's appearance with The Plugz on David Letterman's television program.

The outtakes are among the most treasured unreleased songs that you'll hear on this website. This is largely because they are generally considered to equal or surpass the final release of the record. In some cases, the difference between this and the final release is the mix. Mark Knopfler had apparently created an entirely unique mix of the record before it was fully remixed prior to release; "I & I" is one such song. Most of the outtakes here, however, are very different from the tracks released on the album, or have not been released in any form; "Julius and Ethel" and "This Was My Love" are two that remain fully in the vaults. Even the songs that were eventually released on The Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3, "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart," "Tell Me," and the legendary "Blind Willie McTell," are radically different on this compilation.

The live songs and rehearsals are the slimmest selections found on Faithful. Though "Tangled Up In Blue" received an extensive rewrite for the year, you can find it and many other reworkings of old classics on the official release Real Live, a link to which is found below. Instead, I have presented only contemporary songs. "Man Of Peace" benefits tremendously from the energy of a live airing, and "Enough Is Enough" was never recorded in a studio. "Dirty Lie" and "Almost Done" are two songs which could have become extraordinary additions to Dylan's catalog, but are not known to have been played again after these sessions; they remain deeply compelling sketches.

The true gems of this release, in my opinion, are the tracks from the David Letterman Show. This is one of the most passionate, fierce performances that Bob Dylan delivered in the '80s, or at any other time. Each of the tracks has something to say, from the aggressive cover of "Don't Start Me Talkin'," to the wildly impressionist debut of "Jokerman," to the sincere indictment of man's pride in "License To Kill." We are lucky to have this moment preserved in such a high quality recording.

If you enjoy these recordings, please purchase the following official releases from Columbia Records (The Bootleg Series is a particular treat, containing two of the finest outtakes from the Infidels sessions, "Foot of Pride" and an acoustic "Blind Willie McTell"):


I would like to thank you for your patience during the month of October. Devoting the extra time to my wedding was a smart move, and I enjoyed both the wedding and honeymoon tremendously; clearly I married the right person, as they encourage this rather time-consuming hobby!

Next week, we will move on to the next stage in Dylan's 1980s development, with the best outtakes and live tracks surrounding the release of Empire Burlesque. Until then, keep yourself healthy and listen to some good tunes.

-CS 
 
Update - September 17, 2021: The link has been removed due to content being officially released in The Bootleg Series Volume 16.

24 comments:

  1. Amazing stuff
    Just got to find time to listen to it all !!
    Many thanks

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  2. Thanks again for sharing this amazing stuff. Your time and effort is much appreciated.

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  3. Great to have you back. Hope the wedding went well.

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  4. The month's hiatus for your wedding/honeymoon gave me time to catch up on listening to all of this great stuff. Welcome back!

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  5. Congratulations on your Wedding and Honeymoon. Thanks for sharing this music!

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  6. Great quality sound. Many thanks for sharing this outstanding music. Any chance of some more outtakes from Infidels?

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    1. If you like this, and/or the official releases, I recommend the following website: http://albumsthatneverwere.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/bob-dylan-infidels-original-mix.html

      It's got the primary track that my collection lacks - an alternate studio take of "Jokerman". I didn't include it because we already had one performance of the song on this release.

      I won't be uploading any more Infidels-era recordings, but there are a few more cuts from the 1984 Tour Rehearsals that will be published at some point in the future. All of the best outtakes are here, but if you search around you can find the leftovers on the excellent bootleg Outfidels Intakes.

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    2. Here is a more comprehensive source for the Infidels outtakes and the Knopfler mixes:
      http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=322

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  7. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I was wondering if you will be doing any pre 1967 compilations in the future. Welcome back after the wedding, hope the family's all had a good time.

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    1. Virtually all releases going forward will be in chronological order. One of the earliest posts on this blog is my 1965-1966 collection, Shades of Blue. That's as early as I'll go; recordings earlier than that entered into a very weird legal territory over the past couple of years as they have been released by Columbia and other unscrupulous record labels under quasi-legal circumstances.

      I actually did compile and release a chronicle of Dylan's 1960-1961 unreleased tracks prior to the current deluge, called "The Ghost of Woody Guthrie," and published it on Expecting Rain, but didn't think it suitable to post here due to the changed circumstances. The years 1962-1965 don't really interest me too much, especially outside of the excellent official records. It's been done to death, so to speak.

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  8. Hi CWS, thanks for replying. I know what you mean about Columbia et al. I used to have a audio rip of Fort Collins 1976 given to me by a dear friend now departed. Sadly this went walk-about during a party. I'm still trying to replace this as it has great sentimental meaning for me. So if anyone out there in Dylan collection land can point me in a direction. I would be truly truly thankful

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  9. Great stuff. I didn't even know that "Dirty Lies" existed. Amazing that Dylan could walk away from material like that.

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  10. Congrats on your nuptials. We missed you but knew you were doing something very worthwhile. Glad to have you back - and thank you for this. I am looking forward to another expertly curated collection from my fave Dylan period.

    merci

    Atlas

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  11. These are brilliant. Thank you.

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  12. For some reason this, Ashes & Dust and maybe some of the religious comps aren't showing up in your 1980-89 category, at least for me...

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    1. It's showing up for me if you scroll to the bottom and click 'Older Posts.' They are in publication order, unfortunately.

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  13. Back cover picture seems like street in Istanbul
    :)

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    1. Haha, good catch :) It is a photo I took on one of my several visits to Istanbul. I think I took the picture in the Beyoglu neighborhood. One of my favorite cities!

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    2. OK. We did it. So we can listen Bob Dylan now

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  14. Thank you for keeping these links alive. I had some of this but not all. Greatly appreciated.

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  15. https://www.facebook.com/groups/edlis.cafe/permalink/3101569996548178/

    Gans, Terry. Surviving In A Ruthless World: Bob Dylan’s Voyage to Infidels. Red Planet, 2020.

    This has to be the perfect book to accompany these recordings?

    EDLIS Café

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/109178289X/

    http://www.edlis.org/cafe

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