Category Archives: Bob Dylan recording sessions

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan recording sessions, Music Calendar

Today – Bob Dylan – 15th Infidels recording session in 1983 – 30 years ago

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infidels

…..I did the album, and I call it that, but what it means is for other people to interpret, you know, if it means something to them. Infidels is a word that’s in the dictionary and whoever it applies to… to everybody on the album, every character. Maybe it’s all about infidels.
~Bob Dylan (to Kurt Loder in March 1984)

Foot of Pride:

 “Bob’s musical ability is limited, in terms of being able to play a guitar or a piano,….. It’s rudimentary, but it doesn’t affect his variety, his sense of melody, his singing. It’s all there. In fact, some of the things he plays on piano while he’s singing are lovely, even though they’re rudimentary. That all demonstrates the fact that you don’t have to be a great technician. It’s the same old story: If something is played with soul, that’s what’s important.”
~Mark Knopfler

“I’ve made shoes for everyone, even you, while I still go barefoot”
~Bob Dylan (from “I and I”)

Studio A
Power Station
New York City, New York
27 April 1983

Produced by Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan

  1. From Paul
  2. Foot Of Pride
  3. Foot Of Pride
  4. Foot Of Pride
  5. Foot Of Pride
    ….Composing it was alright, it probably had a bunch of extra verses that probably… most likely weren’t necessary, they should have been… they should have been combined. But, the reason why it was never used was because the tempo speeded up, but there wasn’t any drum machine used on that, the tempo just automatically took off, for some vague and curious reason.
    ~Bob Dylan (to Eliot Mintz – March 1991)
    –
    Foot of pride is in fact, in the words Dylan used to describe the composition “Like A Rolling Stone,” “a long piece of vomit”. … it’s about how pride destroys us and turns us into monsters.
    ~Paul Williams (BD performing artist 1974-86)
  6. Union Sundown
  7. Union Sundown
  8. (Unidentified Song)
  9. (Harmonica)
  10. (Unidentified Song)
  11. I And I
  12. I And I
  13. I And I
  14. I And I
  15. I And I
  16. I And I
    …according to author/critic Tim Riley, “updates the Dylan mythos. Even though it substitutes self-pity for the [pessimism found throughout Infidels], you can’t ignore it as a Dylan spyglass: ‘Someone else is speakin’ with my mouth, but I’m listening only to my heart/I’ve made shoes for everyone, even you, while I still go barefoot.'” Riley sees the song as an exploration of the distance between Dylan’s “inner identity and the public face he wears”.
    ~Wikipedia
    –
    “I and I”, the other epic from these sessions, is a beautiful song, powerfully sung, with a wonderfully moody and evocative instrumental setting….
    ~Paul Williams (BD perfroming artist 1974-86) 
  17. I And I
  18. I And I
  19. I And I
  20. Julius And Ethel
  21. Julius And Ethel

infidels back

Musicians:

  • Bob Dylan (vocal, harmonica, keyboards & guitar)
  • Mark Knopfler (guitar)
  • Mick Taylor (guitar)
  • Alan Clark (keyboards)
  • Robbie Shakespeare (bass)
  • Sly Dunbar (drums)

6, 7, 20, 21 Clydie King (backing/shared vocal)

Related articles here @ JV:

References:

Playlist of the day:

Other APR 27:

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan recording sessions

Bob Dylan recording sessions

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Bob-Dylan-studio

This is a collection of all published “Bob Dylan recording sessions” posts @ JV.
It will be updated along the way..

bob dylan album 1962
Bob Dylan – released March 19, 1962
bob dylan - the_freewheelin

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan – released May 27, 1963
Bob Dylan_The times they are a changinTheTimesTheyArea-Changin’ – released January 13, 1964

 
another side of Bob DylanAnother side Of Bob Dylan – released August 8, 1964
  Bob Dylan - bringing it all back homeBringing It All Back Home – released March 27, 1965
  Bob_Dylan_-_Highway_61_RevisitedHighway 61 Revisited – released August 30, 1965
  bobdylan-blondeonblonde-coverBlonde On Blonde – released May 16, 1966
  john-wesley-hardingJohn Wesley Harding – released December 27, 1967
  bob dylan nashvilleNashville Skyline – released April 9, 1969
  bob dylan new morningNew Morning – released October 19, 1970
bob dylan greatest hits vol2

Greatest Hits Vol.2 – released November 17, 1971
  bob_dylan_planet_wavesPlanet Waves – released January 17, 1974
Blood+on+the+Tracks+Dylan
Blood On The Tracks – released January 20, 1975
 Bob_Dylan-Desire-FrontalDesire – released January 5, 1976
 Bob-Dylan-Street-LegalStreet-Legal – released June 15, 1978
 bob dylan slow train comingSlow Train Coming – released August 20, 1979
InfidelsInfidels – released October 27, 1983
 bob dylan hearts of fireHearts of Fire (soundtrack) – released October 20, 1987
Bob_Dylan_-_Oh_MercyOh Mercy – released 19 September 1989
bob dylan under the red skyUnder The Red Sky – released September 11, 1990

 

-Egil

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan recording sessions, Bob Dylans's best songs, The Best Songs

Bob Dylan’s best songs – Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands #49

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Redirecting to a newer version of this post….

Stayin’ up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin’ “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” for you.
~”Sara” (Bob Dylan)

That song is an example of a song… it started out as just a little thing, Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, but I got carried away, somewhere along the line. I just sat down at a table and started writing. At the session itself. And I just got carried away with the whole thing… I just started writing and I couldn’t stop. After a period of time, I forgot what it was all about, and I started trying to get back to the beginning.
~Bob Dylan (to Jann Wenner Nov 1969)

This is the best song I’ve ever written.
~Bob Dylan (to Robert Shelton)

@ #49 on my list of Dylan’s 200 best songs. Recorded @ Columbia Music Row Studios – Nashville, Tennessee – February 16, 4-5.30 am.

Bob Dylan & Sara

Session list:

  1. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  2. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  3. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  4. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  5. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  6. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  7. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  8. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  9. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  10. I’ll Keep It With Mine
  11. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
  12. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
  13. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
  14. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

Spotify:

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan recording sessions, Music Calendar

Today: Bob Dylan recorded “Forever Young” in 1973 – 39 years ago

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  • Bob Dylan recorded master versions of “Dirge” (probably) & “Forever Young” on November 14 – 1973
  • Bob Dylan recorded master versions of “Mixed-Up Confusion”, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” & “Kingsport Town” on November 14 –  1962

German single cover

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

–

“So, I don’t know. I think so. It’s all in the heart, whatever keeps you that way. Keeps you forever young. Forever young doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t grow old, but you just have some contact with what put you where you are. You know, keep some type of contact. Anyway…”
~Bob Dylan (to Marc Rowland in Sept. 1978)

“This song should be sung every morning by every child in every school in every country”
~Allen Ginsberg

From Wikipedia:

…….Though there was enough material to fill an album, Dylan decided to hold one more session. On the 14th, The Band was called back to record two songs. The first was another arrangement of “Forever Young,” this time with Helm on mandolin and Danko on fiddle. This new version of “Forever Young” would create the second of two master takes for the song, and both of them would be included on the album.

The second song recorded on the 14th was “Dirge” (or “Dirge For Martha” as it was marked on the tape box). “Bob went out and played the piano while we were mixing [the album]. All of a sudden, he came in and said, ‘I’d like to try ‘Dirge’ on the piano.’…We put up a tape and he said to Robbie, ‘Maybe you could play guitar on this.’ They did it once, Bob playing piano and singing, and Robbie playing acoustic guitar. The second time was the take.”

from Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid

–

Village Recorder
Santa Monica, California
14 November 1973
6th and last Planet Waves session  

Engineer: Rob Fraboni

Songs:

  1. Forever Young
  2. Forever Young
  3. Forever Young
  4. Forever Young
  5. Forever Young
  6. Dirge

I hate myself for lovin’ you and the weakness that it showed
You were just a painted face on a trip down Suicide Road
The stage was set, the lights went out all around the old hotel
I hate myself for lovin’ you and I’m glad the curtain fell

Personnel:

  • 1-5 Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, vocal).
  • 1-3 Robbie Robertson (guitar), Rick Danko (bass), Richard Manuel (drums), Garth Hudson (organ), Levon Helm (mandolin).
  • 4, 5 Robbie Robertson (mandolin), Rick Danko (fiddle), Richard Manuel (piano), Garth Hudson (organ), Levon Helm (drums).
  • 6 Bob Dylan (vocal, piano), Robbie Robertson (guitar).
Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan recording sessions

Bob Dylan second recording session for “John Wesley Harding”

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JW: John Wesley Harding – why did you call the album that?
BD: We… I called it that because I had that song John Wesley Harding. It didn’t mean anything to me. I called it that, Jann, ‘cause I had the song John Wesley Harding, which started out to be a long ballad. I was gonna write a ballad on… Like maybe one of those old cowboy… You know, a real long ballad. But in the middle of the second verse, I got
tired. I had a tune, and I didn’t want to waste the tune, it was a nice little melody, so I just wrote a quick third verse, and I recorded that. But it was a silly little song….
~Bob Dylan to Jann Wenner November 29, 1969

This quiet masterpiece, which manages to sound both authoritative and tentative (a mix that gave it a highly contemporary feel), is neither a rock nor a folk album—and certainly isn’t folk-rock. It isn’t categorisable at all.
~Michael Gray (BD Ecyclopedia)

45 years ago Bob Dylan entered Columbia Studio A, Nashville Tennessee tempting his second recording session for “John Wesley Harding”.

Some background from wikipedia:

Dylan went to work on John Wesley Harding in the fall of 1967. By then, 18 months had passed since the completion of Blonde on Blonde. After recovering from the worst of the results of his motorcycle accident, Dylan spent a substantial amount of time recording the informal basement sessions at West Saugerties, New York; little was heard from him throughout 1967. During that time, he stockpiled a large number of recordings, including many new compositions. He eventually submitted nearly all of them for copyright, but declined to include any of them in his next studio release (Dylan would not release any of those recordings to the commercial market until 1975′s The Basement Tapes; and by then, some of those recordings had been bootlegged, usually sourced from an easy-to-find set of publisher’s demos). Instead, Dylan used a different set of songs for John Wesley Harding.

It is not clear when these songs were actually written, but none of them has turned up in the dozens of basement recordings that have since surfaced. According to Robbie Robertson, “As I recall it was just on a kind of whim that Bob went down to Nashville. And there, with just a couple of guys, he put those songs down on tape.”

Those sessions took place in the autumn of 1967, requiring less than twelve hours over three stints in the studio.

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