Customer Reviews

Infidels

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If anyone from Columbia Records is reading this PLEASE listen! You recently re-mixed and re-released Street Legal. With Infidels, you have *much* better material to work with, and the chance to release one of BD's greatest albums. Here's all you need to do:

1) Re-mix the album so that Jokerman (one of his greatest songs ever), Sweetheart, I and I, etc. have better sound quality than the original release

2) Add the amazing songs that were inexplicably left off the original release: Foot of Pride, Blind Willie McTell, Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart, and Lord Protect My Child

3) I also understand there was a great song he did a great song called "Julius and Ethel" about the Rosenbergs -- let's hear it!

4) Release the album, then sit back and read the outstanding critical reviews, and watch the sales go through the roof!

Please, drop me a line if you have any questions...

You will never see Infidels listed among Dylan's classics which is a shame. Lyrically and vocally this is one of Dylan's hardest hitting albums. Jokerman, License to Kill, Man of Peace, Neighborhood Bully and Union Sundown all take aim at corrosive social problems. Unlike many political protest songs, the songs on Infidels are just as relevant now as when they were written. Sweetheart Like You and I and I are among Dylan's best ballads.

So why only four stars? Well, frankly the overproduction takes a lot of the bite out of Neighborhood Bully, Man of Peace and Union Sundown. But, pretty much every album ever released has flaws. So if you like Dylan, but do not have this album, get it now. If you are a neophyte, get Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 or any of his masterpieces. Then purchase Infidels, you won't be disappointed.

After reading some of the reviews, I understand this most people don't get the lyrics or the subetlies of Mark Knopfler playing which is usually in the back, beneath the overall sound with Mick Taylors guitar playing out in front. knopflers leads take quite a few listens to even hear. Lets get beyond that and get to the lyrics Jokerman is a masterpiece warning of the coming of the beast( a woman gave birth to a priest today dressed in scarlett)the only real question i have about the song is what is the Jokerman ? A country, mankind as a whole or the devil in disguise. Yes this album is full of biblical and social commentary. Neighborhood Bully is about a large portion of the worlds perception of Isarael, Man of Peace is about how the devil disguises himself, current president Bush, Arafat and host of others who seem to give goodwill in the their perception of peace. License to Kill is about man's obssesion to dominate through force and his clear abandonment of Gods laws. I and I is man inner struggle with the forces of good and evil. This Cd I have owned for over 20 years and his (Dylans) genius at wordcraft and music never fails to amaze me. For those who have'nt heard it buy it for those who have listen again and ask yourself what do you think he was refferring to when he sings the book of Leviticus and Deutoromy,the law of the jungle and the sea are your only keeper means?

1983's aptly titled Infidels represents Bob Dylan's return to secular music after a not-so-well-received trilogy of CCM albums, inspired by his brief conversion to fundamentalist Christianity. While there are no directly blasphemous or offensive lyrics on Infidels, it does sounds as if Mr. Dylan were making up for lost time, indulging in forms of boldness unheard of in Christian rock. "Jokerman" and "I And I" employ pungent, outer worldly imagery characterized by a non-specification that has little hindrance of their strength. "Neighborhood Bully," "License to Kill" and the scathingly anti-capitalistic "Union Sundown" (a song that is as poignant a protest anthem for the eighties as "The Times They Are A-Changing'" was for the sixties) demonstrate that the cunning social critic that has always resided in Mr. Dylan has awaken with a furor. He even attacks the duplicity and shallowness of the fire-and-brimstone preachers he emulated during his Christian period with "Man of Peace." Infidels is a welcome return for Mr. Dylan to non-pious music and an excellent display of the power and bravery his music can possess.

I barely remember when this Album came out, but I do remember the Cover of the Album, and I remember after seeing that Album cover, and couples years later I first heard Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", and I instantly saw that Album Cover, and when I set out to buy the tape, I thought "This will sould like Highway 61", but I was surprised, it sounded even better, and this Album is the only Album that I can say, when I see the picture of the man, I can hear his Music. Folks, this guy says who he is, and means it.

I know there would be a lot of the other reviewers who would beg to differ on the contrast between this album, and Highway 61. The thing about Infidels is that Dylan wrote solid, expressive, no drugs involved, cut and dry lyrics that made me think, and the production was the best it could have been in 1983(Highway 61, Dylan was under the influence if you know what I mean, but in Infidels he was over the influence). Though I personally do not agree with every thing Dylan says in his lyrics, I can say he is very persuasive(spell), and wise in what his songs says to me.

And the social content of this Album brought out issues that were not much on the forefront in the early 80s. Look at "Nieborhood Bully", it is obvious about how the World System accuses Israel of being a bully even though they are merely defending themselves. "Sweetheart like You" is about a Christian woman on the verge of becoming a hypocrite, as the man singing in the bar gives her that convicting question "whats a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?". "Jokerman" is a gem of a gem. It's colorful lyrics are so vauge, but at the same time clear."Man of Peace" is a wake up call about the likeness of the anti-christ, "you know sometimes Satan, come as a Man of Peace", and not to be decieved by Satan's peaceful front. "Union Sundown", is one of the ones I disagree with, though I like it as a song, and the lyrics are nicely done, but we can't blame everything on bussiness owners. If anything maybe greed within the others."I and I", is a awesome song about a man's struggle with his moral conscience, and obligations as a moral agent of free will. I like the whole Album!!!!

This Album had a huge impact on me as a songwriter. My first Dylan Album was Greatest Hits vol.2, and that introduced me to Dylan, but when I got this Album it took me beyond the idea that I just thought Dylan was a good folksinger, this Album showed me that you can have a commercial sound, and still be solid, and I can use delay on my vocals, it's cool, because Dylan did it. If you haven't heard a whole Dylan Album, but want to, I recommend this one. It is deep, and it is simple.

I also enjoyed the cast of performers such as, Mick Taylor(of the Rolling Stones), and of course Dire Straight's Mark Knofler. And Sly and Robbie. The Sound is excellent, and to me it still sounds timeless. You can tell it was recorded around 1983, but it's not to nostalgic.

You can judge the book by the cover on this Album. If you look at that Album cover(that picture of Dylan with his ray-bans)......that's exactly what it sounds like. It's the real deal!!!!

This album came out when I was in 9th grade, just after I purchased my first
Dylan album, Another Side of Bob Dylan (from 1964). Infidels is very different
from early Dylan, but it applies the literary power of his early work to a unique
and focused rock style. Not only is a great Dylan album, it has an ambience and
sound that exists on no other album, by Dylan or anyone else. Excellent balancing
of lyrics and music.

This was a minor return to form for Dylan when it was released in 1983, being his first secular record since Street Legal in 1978. It also featured his first significant protest songs in quite a while. Overall, it's a really good album, featuring all of those characteristics, as well as his best set of lyrics since Blood On The Tracks. The music still sounds fine today, though it is seriously steeped in early 80's electronics, and features a bit too much of that always annoying electronic percussion at times. However, this album features several very good songs or near masterpieces. Jokerman is the logical extension of the music he was putting out his his three albums before this one, and it is hailed as one of his greatest tracks ever. Sweetheart Like You is a great love song (along with its counterpart, the equally awesome closer, Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight.) License To Kill and, especially I and I and Man of Peace are good songs as well. Dylan was very prolific during this period, as can be attested by the excellent lyrics here, some of his best in a long time. (Of course, we also know the unfortunate by-product of this prolificness, there were many great songs written for this album that didn't make it on, for whatever reason. Some has been subsequently released; some are still in the vaults. One can only wonder how great an album this would've been, had these songs been included.) Still, it's a good album all the same. The only blemishes on its surface are the songs Neighborhood Bully and Union Sundown. These aren't bad songs by any means, but they do come off a little too contrived and forced, particularly the latter. (Should've knocked 'em off in favor of Blind Willie McTell and Foot of Pride, say?) Still, this was Dylan's best album in a long time, and an overlooked gem in his catalog.

Yes, it's a shame about all the reported omissions from this album. Still, rather than focus on what it could have been, people should appreciate "Infidels" for what it is: It's Bob Dylan's best work during the past two decades. If there's ever been a more evocative song than "Jokerman," I'm not aware of it. The guitar work thoughout is exceptional, especially on "Man of Peace." "Sweetheart Like You" is heartbreaking, "Union Sundown" is clever in its pointedness (and ever on-the-mark, almost 20 years and one NAFTA agreement later). "Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight," as the closing song, is a sweet and hopeful cleanser to all the doubt and anger that carries every other song before it. No, not every track belongs on a "greatest hits" collection -- but I would argue that "Infidels" is filler-free, and that it's stood the test of time. "Infidels" is perfectly fair answer to the question: What's the most underrated album of all-time?

This review responds to the previous reviewer who wrongly assumes that "Man of Peace" attacks Christianity. It does not. While the review from the 18th of November, 2000, gets much closer to the true meaning, and a valid interpretation, I do not think he extends his interpretation far enough. "Man of Peace" is not attacking so much what has passed as Christ, but that is one element of it. That song is, instead, about the Anti-Christ, which explains the lines "If you want to get married do it now, for tomorrow all activity will cease." This line is directed toward Christians, and the meaning of it is that when the Anti-Christ comes into power the Rapture will have already occurred. There are several more lyrical indications to support this but because of space I won't go into them here. The entire album should be interpreted as a more religious album founded in solid Judaism, which reflects Dylan's Jewish roots, with the possible exception of "Union Sundown." This song deals with greed and the evils thereof. Each song has religious significance, but the main difference with INFIDELS and the preceding three albums is that record is not nearly as blatant as the Christian Trilogy.

When the reviewer of "A Mixed Bag" says this dominant theme is disillusionment and then cited "Neighborhood Bully" as evidence of an attack directed toward Israel, he/she lost all credibility with me. The song lyrics make it quite certain that Dylan is very pro-Israel, and he supported Israel's bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Indeed, this statement against "N. B." as anti-Israel makes me seriously doubt whether he/she has even heard the song or the album for that matter. This song's meaning is quite, quite clear, and I find it difficult to believe that someone could muff up the meaning that badly. Perhaps this reviewer was using this song as support for his/her idea of a theme jocularly. I will give them that benefit of the doubt, that even that use of a theme which is quite clearly not true stands as very bad criticism (here I mean in the academic sense, of course) indeed.

Of Dylan's notoriously dry 1980s period, this is the first of the trilogy of really worthwhile records he put out (the other two are EMPIRE BURLESQUE and OH MERCY). While I fluxuate on which is the best, when you examine all of the religious contexts these songs are obviously meant for this then INFILDELS rises head and shoulders above the other two. Taken without this, however, the other two fare very well against INFIDELS.

As for the cuts that did not make this album, I do concur that this is INFIDELS' single greatest weakness. The still unreleased "Julius and Ethel" is an excellent song, and the songs from THE BOOTLEG SERIES, especially "Foot of Pride" and "Blind Willie McTell," should have been definitely included on this album. All are excellent songs, and "Foot of Pride" especially ties into the Biblical imagery that runs throughout the album. If there is any dominant theme, it is that of infidelity. Had the songs aforementioned been included, it would definitely join the ranks of the absolutely essential Dylan records, of which there are many. Instead, it stands as a post 1960s near masterpiece.

P. S. As for favorite songs, "Jokerman" is as sublime as "Every Grain of Sand" from the previous album, which was very hard to top and both stand as some of the best work he ever did. "N. B." is really good, as is "Union Sundown" and "Man of Peace". "I and I" is one of his best songs, definitely worth the price of admission. Pick this one up! If they ever do a rerelease of Dylan's records with bonus material, this one will benefit the most.

P. P. S. These are the lyrics to as-of-yet unreleased "Julius and Ethel," recorded for and inexplicitly left off this particular album. Hopefully someday we get this song officially released. You can find the song floating around on those mp3 programs, and while I cannot officially condone downloading commercially released songs, I see no problem downloading rare unreleased stuff.

P. P. P. S. I originally included the "Julius and Ethel" lyrics in this review, but Amazon doesn't seem to like lyrics being posted, so sorry about that. Very good song.

My wife is a Dylan lover. She has every single album this man has ever done. As for me I'm just now getting to were I can listen to his music. This CD was the first one I owned. A few really strong tracks on this CD like "Jokerman", "Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight", and my favorite "Union Sundown!!" I know Dylan has done better albums, but this one is worth having if only for those three great songs!